Getting sky+ installed on monday and need a phone socket in the front room. Not keen on them nailing clips for an extension line around the skirting board so looking at running my own extension hidden somehow or moving the 'master' phone socket.

What's the score with this then? The master socket has the lower section that is only meant to be fiddled with by a qualified engineer iirc but it can only be telephone wire connected to the correct terminals surely?

The existing master socket casing is cracked/damaged and needs resiting/refitting anyway so would be good to know how to do this before I plough ahead with it.

cheers,

Ned.

Could always get a wireless adaptor and save on the cables?

I had my sky+ installed in my new house a week or two ago.

There is no telephone socket anywhere near my telly so the sky installer offered to charge me £120 for a wireless thingy which did the trick.

I said I would provide a socket after he had gone........

Oddly I have not got round to nailing a wire round the skirting board yet and they can't look at my box remotely to see what I have been watching

It still works too!

I would suggest running a temporary extension lead to your telly for when the installer is there and unplug it when he has gone.

The only (very minor) downside is that the interactive stuff won't work - as in 'press the red button now' so we can relieve you of more cash

Cheers

Mark

Potentially a very tasty car nearly finished sitting in the garage..... a house to renovate.... and he buys Sky+......


Oh Neddy, Neddy, Neddy! (Shakes Head Smiley)

[Edited on 27/11/06 by James]

quote:

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Originally posted by mookaloid
I had my sky+ installed in my new house a week or two ago.

There is no telephone socket anywhere near my telly so the sky installer offered to charge me £120 for a wireless thingy which did the trick.

I said I would provide a socket after he had gone........

Oddly I have not got round to nailing a wire round the skirting board yet and they can't look at my box remotely to see what I have been watching

It still works too!

I would suggest running a temporary extension lead to your telly for when the installer is there and unplug it when he has gone.

The only (very minor) downside is that the interactive stuff won't work - as in 'press the red button now' so we can relieve you of more cash

Cheers

Mark

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quote:

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Originally posted by mackei23b
Could always get a wireless adaptor and save on the cables?

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Can't you just plug it in once a month whilst you watch Antiques Roadshow on a Sunday evening and leave it unplugged the rest of the time?? Should get upgrades too....

quote:

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Originally posted by James
Potentially a very tasty car nearly finished sitting in the garage..... a house to renovate.... and he buys Sky+......


Oh Neddy, Neddy, Neddy! (Shakes Head Smiley)

[Edited on 27/11/06 by James]

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Just buy a new master socket from Maplins and move it.

It's really easy to do - I've had cause to move both my phone sockets over the years and never had a problem.

Stu

I'm using a cheap BT £50 wireless phone socket for my SKY+ box and it works fine...

Phil

Ive been on sky for years, (ever since the premiership has been on there)

and have never had my sky box wired in.

however, now and then i have plugged an extension lead in, draped across the carpet and left it to its own devices, over night so the stupid thing can talk with the mother ship

mind you "now and then" last time i did it
Crystal Palace were in the premiership !!!

next time i do it will be years and years away

quote:

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Originally posted by CaLviNx

he he he

The unplugged story will only work so long as you, are contracted to have the line plugged in so they can check on your viewing habits, and sell the info to companies that send you crap through the mail....

And if they cant get that info technically your in breach of contract and eventually if you fail to be connect-able, they will charge you for it.. i know been there done that, even though my line was fully working they tried to charge me saying it wasn't, even a nice letter from debt collection agency too...

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the incoming line is only 2 wires-simply extend them.job done cost 50p

quote:

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Originally posted by ruskino80
the incoming line is only 2 wires-simply extend them.job done cost 50p

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its only 50v isnt it?! Nowt worse than a few dancing lessons.

9v is registered on my line

quote:

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Originally posted by whitestu
Just buy a new master socket from Maplins and move it.

It's really easy to do - I've had cause to move both my phone sockets over the years and never had a problem.

Stu

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Can anyone provide me a link to this maplin part?
And if I want to do it properly do I raise a fault for a fully functioning phoneline for bt to come and replace the box and being a working line how long is that likely to take and how much are they gonna take me for?!!

Or do I get hectic, smash the box completely, say it was an accident and place a fault with a non functioning line?

Had a quick squiz on bt's website and no info other than fault reporting as far as i can see..

Ned.

[Edited on 28/11/06 by ned]

still digging, found this pattern master socket as mentioned earlier:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=889&criteria=telephone%20socket&doy=28m11

and just found the people that make them for bt, but seems the min order is 200 of em, that's if they'd even sell them to a private customer:
http://www.austin-taylor.co.uk/pages/nte5.htm

background reading for anyone interested in phone sockets!:
http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wiring/UK_telephone/uk_telephone.html

[Edited on 28/11/06 by ned]

If anyone's still interested I just rung BT to ask them and to send an engineer out to replace the box is a minimum £135.13 which includes upto the first hours work, if I wanted it moved and it took longer it would be extra.

I can't believe that for a trained engineer this is more than a 5 minute job and the part must cost under a fiver so to me this seems a little extortionate?!

Ned.

quote:

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Originally posted by steve m
mind you "now and then" last time i did it
Crystal Palace were in the premiership !!!

next time i do it will be years and years away

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