Dysmey Blog Archives > Wiring the Upper Room
It was a long day for the weekend. After the morning chores, I started the big project: replacing the television cable with a telephone line to the upper room. First I tried the easy method of cutting cut the TV cable outside, binding the telephone cable to the TV cable with electrical tape, and pulling the telephone cable into the upper room. It might have worked if I had not pulled the cable too hard. But I did, and the cable came off. Then I tried several means to get the telephone cable from out to in, and from in to out, using a wire runner. None of them worked, and I ended up with the difficult task of reseating one of the siding panels. Then I used the wire runner to find the exact place the television cable came out between the house wall and the siding. I found that the hole was much closer to the siding hole than I expected! That was easy compared to wiring the jack module (the wires are small and had to be carefully striped of insulation) and the network box (I had to be careful not to zap myself while various winged insects came by to "help"). Finally I hooked up the phone and tried for a dial tone. I got one — full of static. Nor was the cause hard to figure out: The cable passes near the electricity meter, and its magnetic field is obviously playing havoc with the signal in the cable. I needed the same kind of cable that I used to rewire my sister Tina's telephone when I was housesitting back in 2002-2004. I even visited my sister's house to see if the spool was still there (it wasn't). I am fairly sure that Radio Shack in Muncie sold me the spool of that kind of cable, so I revisited the store. It turns out that the kind of cable I sought is sold as part of a kit, so I bought that as well as a box of small tools that I will need for repairs involving my computer and other electrical stuff. Tomorrow I will redo the wiring of the telephone cable with the thicker cable in the hope that it will resist the magnetic field of the meter. Meanwhile there were several antique and arts/crafts sales along Washington Street, centering around my folks' neighbors. The traffic was such that I had to park further down the street to visit them on my way to Muncie. And I hear booms in the neighborhood as the fourth of July approaches.