Home Network ADSL-Network-Phone

I wanted to share my home network setup. It’s not a state-of-the-art network with the latest and greatest wireless or wired technologies featuring complex routers and switches. Instead, I went old school with a single long CAT5 Ethernet cable. I have a FreeBox, an ADSL2 router, connecting to the main phone jack. The output from the FreeBox connects my PC, television, and phone. All these components are connected using the single cable mentioned earlier. This setup leverages the fact that out of the 8 wires in an Ethernet cable, only 4 are used for the network; pins 1-2 and 3-6 of the RJ45 are utilized. The connection is straightforward, with wires from pin 1 to pin 1 of the other side, and so on. Similarly, I use the other two pairs for the telephone and ADSL.

Here’s a basic block diagram, as a picture can express more:

The input of the ADSL router is a simple RJ11 connecting with 2 wires. The connection between the PC and the router uses 4 wires with RJ45 (2 pairs, one pair for transmit and the other for receive). The phone needs only one pair with RJ11.

These pictures show the RJ45 connections in detail and also include a picture of the backside of the FreeBox.

The success of setting this up yourself depends on your skill with a crimp tool, as sometimes the connections aren’t proper, requiring you to repeat the whole process from the start. A quick search for making RJ45 cable connections on the web will provide more details. If you need any more tips, please drop me a line.