I soldered my phoneline back together

towel401

A couple of weeks ago on a friday evening this muppet with a hedge cutter cut the phoneline. about half way down the hedge there was a junction box where the line had been patched together before with little single-use plastic connectors. The junction box and the connectors were also saturated with water and in those days my broadband used to disconnect a few minutes at random times during the day.

I didn't really feel like waiting for someone to come around to fix it so I soldered it back together and used the same junction box. It hasn't disconnected since that day. My SNR still isn't that great but it doesn't disconnect anymore. I blame the little round plastic connectors. anyone heard of them causing trouble before?

Sponge Bob

are they little (hard) plastic bubbles wrapped around the wires ??

they are called scotchlock crimps, work quite well in my experience if done properly

bushy...

A neighbours broadband started to disconnect randomly , after a look around went for that little white box and the wires were corroded. Just cleaned them up, put on a better box and waterproof grease. Cheap n nasty little plastic box with no rubber glands on it.

Hal1

You would be better off sealing it all in a junction box it should keep out the rain and damp a bit better.

Sponge Bob

another beauty is self amalgamating tape

creates a waterproof barrier

towel401

Sponge Bob wrote: »

are they little (hard) plastic bubbles wrapped around the wires ??

they are called scotchlock crimps, work quite well in my experience if done properly

yea those yokes. i think the rain must have corroded them or something. its hard to know really

You would be better off sealing it all in a junction box it should keep out the rain and damp a bit better.

I was thinking of filling up the junction box with epoxy or something to keep the damp out for now. if it ever breaks again i'll probably get rid of that junction box and get something better cause the way it is now is a mess

JMURPHY3

If you put a small sachet of silica gel, which absorbbs moisture inside the junction box before box is sealed it should provide adequate protection.....:D

towel401

JMURPHY3 wrote: »

If you put a small sachet of silica gel, which absorbbs moisture inside the junction box before box is sealed it should provide adequate protection.....:D

k. i should have loads of those

bushy...

The (usual) boxes are not good at all , the silica gel will just draw in more moisture from the outside air.
Since you have them soldered , take the tape off the soldered bits , push a little bit of tubing over each joint and fill the tubing with grease. ( ordinary grease will eat the plastic over time , use something else , maplin do a few types )
Then where the box snaps together , fill the groove in the cover with it too.That should keep out the disconnection demons

bigpaddy2004

Sponge Bob wrote: »

are they little (hard) plastic bubbles wrapped around the wires ??

they are called scotchlock crimps, work quite well in my experience if done properly

Is that what those are called, I always wondered, you cannot buy them off the shelf can you?

bushy...

The ones near the bottom of this or the cup shaped ones ?
http://www.phonesockets.co.uk/shopping.php

Sponge Bob

The Jelly Crimps from your link Bushy .

Jelly Crimps (wire connectors 8B) - Pack of Five

5 x Three wire gel-filled IDC butt connectors, specifically for connecting telephone wires outside to achieve a water-tight seal. Clear body to ensure positive termination. Can also be used to join internal cable. Use one Jelly Crimp for each wire inside the cable. You will need 4 crimps for 2 pair cable for one connection. Instructions included.

When you crimp the jelly a chemical reaction occurs which hardens it in place and makes it weathertight. You would need a small pliers to get the right amout of pressure on , see

http://store.phonetx.com/tools-splicing-single-pair--two-pair-scotchlock.html

The Scotch / 3M company make them BigPaddy so I would think the answer is yes .

Fernell or Rs would have them. They are very good for joining small fiddly wireles like awg23 or awg24 in a phone cable or cat 5 cable .

Self amalgamating tape around the whole thing if outdoors will provide an extra layer

old boy

nothing wrong with a waterproof junction box and a shot of vaseline me thinks

watty

Glue gun if you have nothing else.

lucernarian

I've seen those jelly crimps being used on the smaller black cables used to supply individual lines. Usually over the middle of the road where your local friendly neighbourhood farmer was driving with a particularly large silage trailer.

The repairmen seem to think that tying a knot acts as sufficient strain relief for the cable. The connectors have always struck me as being flimsy even when used in proper junction boxes unless the junction box itself is also sealed.

bminish

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Self amalgamating tape around the whole thing if outdoors will provide an extra layer

Watch out with self amalgamating tape, it's UV sensitive so it breaks down in sunlight. you should over warp it with a layer of good quality insulating tape.

I like Denso tape, it's cheap and if correctly applied keeps water out of just about anything. it's manky dirty stuff to work with (and no fun to cut with your teeth ;-)

If you are careful at putting it on plumbers PTFE tape is good for keeping water out of small connections too

.brendan

watty

Years ago connecting 20 core camera cables, the biggest issue was "creep" along between the insulation and potting compounds. Silicon Rubber is useless because of this unless it in a compression fitting.

Amagamating tape need stretched around the part, so while it works well on the joint of two connectors or on thick coax, it's very difficult to use it properly on thin wires (which would need wrapped individually or else water gets in between the pair.