Hi,
First, some background (sorry for the long post!)
We're fed by an underground cable, and on replacing the master sockets recently with NTE5Cs (we have two lines, both used for broadband only - one VDSL, one ADSL), I discovered the cable coming through the wall was a 3-pair internal cable. On the opposite side of the wall, there is the common Capping 25/Cover 101 combination, and on removing the cover I discovered (hidden amongst the dust and dirt) that the two pairs from the incoming cable had been jelly-crimped to the internal cable.
Is that common practice? I would have expected the feed cable to go through the wall, or at least a BT66 box instead of just leaving the crimping in the Cover 101.
On digging further (literally), I then discovered the incoming ducting stopped short about 3 inches from the bottom of the Capping 25, with the cable coming up exposed through the soil. The ducting is also only about 3 or 4 inches below ground level - it comes in horizontally along the side of the house, and then just stops.
On reading the current Openreach developers guides, it seems clear that this install doesn't meet Openreach's current specs for new builds (ducting buried 350mm-450mm, with a 90 degree bend taking it up to the outside wall of the house). Our house is on a small estate built in 1990, and we've lived there since 2000.
We're intending to have the area on top of the ducting paved, and hence have a need for the ducting to be buried deeper, and also to extend all the way above ground level (adding a 90 degree bend) to retain access to it after the paving is installed.
Rearranging the ducting would also give the opportunity to shorten it a couple of feet and hence gain enough of the original cable to feed it directly through the wall and terminate it directly on repositioned master sockets (eliminating the exterior join and the short run of internal cable).
My main question is around which master socket(s) to use to minimise any signal loss (I have high speeds already - VDSL attainable speed is about 80200/27000), I just want to squeeze out every last attainable bit/s, to give it a bit more headroom above the magical 80000, and future-proof it as far as I can.
I'm not impressed at all with the new NTE5Cs - apart from the common criticisms (cheap and flimsy), they also need to be installed with some space between them to allow the removal of the faceplates. Needing two sockets, it would be nicer to be able to position them directly adjacent to each other.
Being broadband-only lines, I don't use filters, and just connect using short BT431A to RJ11 cables to HG612s close to the master sockets.
I'm quite tempted by the old LJ4/1A dual master socket (which I could surface-mount in a metal backbox), as it would allow easy termination of the incoming cable on a single socket, without needing to crimp an extension cable to a second socket. This would seem to give me the most "pure" signal.
I was wondering what Openreach's attitude to that socket is nowadays. If I ever needed an engineer visit, would they be looking to replace it with a pair of NTE5Cs ?
The alternative I think would be a pair of NTE5As. How would Openreach ideally terminate a 2-pair cable onto two master sockets? Would they always terminate it in one socket, and then jelly-crimp the other pair to a short cable to take it to the second socket?
I obviously want to end up with something that looks like Openreach installed it...
Also, has anyone done any comparisons of the performance of the different master sockets in relation to DSL? Or am I worrying about nothing, and assuming everything internal to my house is good quality and connected properly, there's not going to be any difference?
All advice welcome!
Thanks.