atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring How to distribute 10 phone lines

Hi, Im new to this forum and have a question. In our business we have 10 phone lines that we need to distribute to 8 locations in the building. I want to know what would be the correct way to go about doing this. Is there some kind of distribution block that I can use. Any help and guidance will be appreciated. Thanks

to the board

That all depends on your usage. Are you talking about outbound or inbound? Which is your priority?

Depending on the system, all or some of the lines can be placed inside one or more "pools" so that when a user needs to call out it will automatically give them a free line.

Inbound is different. It also depends on whether there will be a receptionist to answer all calls and distribute them. That's the best as in theory, you don't assign any lines to different departments.

Some of the lines are fax/voice lines and are also shared with credit card terminal. The problem is that Ive looked around and the only thing I could find was a 4 line distribution panel. Is there a distribution block that could fit all 10 phone lines and distribute to the different locations as needed? No theres not a receptionist, the business is a grocery store and restaurant.

The fax/voice/credit card line should be all by itself if the activity of all those can sustain them AND if at all possible be at the end of the cascade.

Any "66" block or equivalent could handle that but you have to know what you're doing. No offense, but it would be wise to call in a local installer to sort this out for you.

As for the line distribution, I would assume that the client would want certain lines going JUST to the restaurant and others going JUST to the store, but it all depends on YOUR particular situation. Again, call in someone to help you. It'll pay for itself in the long run and the bonus is you get a vendor that's familiar with your situation, who can best advise you in the future.

The only way this will work satisfactorily is with a telephone system that has both analog and digital ports. Knee-jerk reaction would be Panasonic KXTA824, but it will only handle 8 telephone lines. If you were going to dedicate 1 line to faxing, and 1 line for whatever alarm system(s) you have then the answer becomes KXTA824 or comparables in another brand. Note that I'm familiar with the Panasonic and not much else for this app. Others should chime in soon with their suggestion(s). And all will say that phone systems are like real estate. Real estate is Location, Location, Location. Phone system is Support, Support, Support.

8 locations fit nicely on a 50-pair distribution block, either a 66M1-50 or 110 50-pair or 100-pair frame. By the math, 8 cables require 32 pairs. However, what you need at those 8 locations and how the 10 lines need to be distributed may be a different problem.

Are all 10 lines voice lines, or is some for fax, credit card machines, ATM's and the like?
Does each location need access to all 10 lines, or are some for, perhaps, a 6-line hunt group, and some private lines, etc.

Phone systems come in different sizes, and your favorite brand might come in sizes like (lines and extensions) 4x8, 5x9, 6x16,8x17, 10x24 or 12x32. Clearly the field narrows as size increases. A Panasonic TA-824 maxes out a 8 lines, but a TDA-50 maxes out at 12 lines. An Avaya Partner ACS can cover all of your configurations, but it isn't very feature rich.

So, it comes down to who is using the phone, how much traffic there is, and how many lines do you need per phone. Perhaps if you give us a bit more detail, we can make better suggestions.

Carl

Like I said before, get a local installer in there to sort out your needs, what you have for existing equipment, what you really need and where to go from there. All we can do from this end is suggest some options, but they open at best as we can't "see" the needs for you.

Has anyone ever used something like this. What would be better to use this or an 66-100 block?

No offense, but that looks like crap!

Use either: a "66" block, "110" block or "BIX" block. Regardless of the type of block, terminate those wires PROPERLY! :read:

:bang: Thanks Dave. I will go with the 66 block. How many CO lines can I wire to a 66 block?