I finally stopped ignoring the old phone lines in houses

I was working on a retrofit in a 1920s house in Pasadena, and the homeowner, Mr. Ellis, pointed to the old phone jack and said, 'That thing still has a dial tone, you know.' I checked it and he was right. I used it to run a communicator backup, and it saved the system when the internet went down for two days. What's the oldest wiring trick you've used on a job?

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3 Comments

barbaraschmidt7mo ago

Ever use old knob and tube for low voltage like @singh.jessica?

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singh.jessica7mo ago

Last year in a 1940s bungalow, the old doorbell transformer was still live inside a closet. Honestly, I was just going to rip it out, but the voltage was perfect. I used it to power a new smart doorbell cam instead of fishing new wire. Tbh it was the cleanest install I've done all year.

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park.tara7mo ago

Found a similar setup in my own house with the original doorbell wiring. Just spliced in a new transformer right at the old box to keep the voltage steady. Saved me from running any new cable through the walls.

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