RJ45 RJ11 question

[LoStMaTt]

So I have a client that is absolutely dumb.

Long story short they are moving and had their new offices wired with CAT5 in each office terminated on a dual RJ45 panel. One is for the phone system, the other is for data/computers/etc.

That was all fine and dandy until I found out the "phone system" they use is just a crappy dual phone line system that requires 2 phone jacks for a total of 4 lines. They have to open their business by Monday and don't have the money to install a PBX or even think about it in this amount of time.

I am not responsible for fixing this major problem for them but I want to try to help. I know CAT5 has 8 wires so would it be possible to just install new panels and split the wires off for their phones?

Is there such an adapter I can just plug into the RJ45 port and split it to two RJ11's?

If not, screw it its their problem.

Oh and the phone ports are already terminated to a 110 block where the lines come in.

 

[jpochedl]

Pairs 1 & 3 in your standard TIA568A/B layout (commonly, but wrongly, called RJ45) correspond (physically) to the center four wires on your typical phone connection. These are the Blue/Orange pairs in TIA568A, or the Blue/Green pairs in TIA568B (B is the more common config).

Therefore, you could just terminate your phone lines to pairs 1 & 3 on the 110 block, and plug a RJ11 plug right into the 8 position jack, and the phone should work fine. If the phones being connected aren't two line phones, a standard "two line splitter" lke you could pick up at Radio Shack would work just fine to split the jack into two single line jacks.

Of course, the 4/6 position (RJ11 sized) plug is a bit smaller and might be prone to losing contact (especially after it ages, or if the wall cord gets pulled a lot)... Therefore, replacing the 8 position jacks in the wall would be preferable over the long haul.... But even then, if you wire up the new jacks correctly, you wouldn't need to change the wiring at the 110 block.

HTH

 

[marley1]

whats wrong with 2 line phone? most small biz dont really need a pbx, and most small biz that i work with around here just use a 2-4 line panasonic phone with a base and then cordless so you don't need to run phone lines.

 

[MorfiusX]

whats wrong with 2 line phone? most small biz dont really need a pbx, and most small biz that i work with around here just use a 2-4 line panasonic phone with a base and then cordless so you don't need to run phone lines.

I disagree. With Asterisk, any small business can have a professional phone system with a minimal investment. It's all about the image you present to your customers.

For example, my company has two employees, but we use an Asterisk PBX and have extensions. This really helps with our image of a solid and reputable company. Oh, and I spent all of about $180 on the system that has voicemail, extensions, AVR, call routing, email integration, etc.

 

[XOR != OR]

I disagree. With Asterisk, any small business can have a professional phone system with a minimal investment. It's all about the image you present to your customers.

For example, my company has two employees, but we use an Asterisk PBX and have extensions. This really helps with our image of a solid and reputable company. Oh, and I spent all of about $180 on the system that has voicemail, extensions, AVR, call routing, email integration, etc.

This man speaks the truth. Asterisk makes the implementation costs so ridiculously low there's no reason for any business to be without a pbx.