We just moved in to a house that was built in the early 90s and this is what I found in the network panel.

This had to be for analog phone service back then. Is it possible to terminate these cables with RJ45, then install a switch to get whole home Ethernet?

  • Sleepless_In_Sudbury@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Check the writing on the cables to see if they are cat5 or something else. If they are cat5 or better they’ll work for sure, but if they are original to an early 90’s house they might be cat3 or cat4 in which case they’ll probably work for gigabit Ethernet (anything will work if the cables are short enough) but it is more of a crap shoot.

    If you want to replace the telephone bridge panels with something that fits in the same spot I think this

    https://www.amazon.com/Legrand-Q-AC1058-Network-Interface/dp/B078FLT5S3

    might be the right part. You may need to replace the keystones on the other ends too.

  • SamirD@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Yes it is. Did in our apartment a few years in a brand new build that had this same crap while all the jacks were properly terminated for ethernet. I would check your jack terminations since they might have all 4 pairs and be tia a or b and be okay. If the wires are out of order that doesn’t matter is you do the same thing on the patch panel side as the signal doesn’t know what color the wire is–will just seem off to someone who only goes ‘by the book’.

    You can replace those panels with ones designed for ethernet and re-sell the old ones as AMP is a very reputable company. Then you will need a switch there for all the ports to be usable.

    I think the cabling should be good for not only gigabit ethernet, but maybe even 2.5Gb as my parents 1990s house has some of this same stuff and it’s fine for gigabit if terminated properly and not untwisted too much.

  • Supergrunged@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Provided the wiring is home ran, and not daisy chained, it should work. You’ll have to double check the terminations at each wall plate jack as well, when you do crimp on RJ45s. And do yourself a favor while doing it… Label things, for easy identification later. Will help troubleshooting down the road, and any odd connections you may think up, or add.