Making The Connections
As previously mentioned the actual connections are made using Insulation-displacement connectors (IDC). A punch down tool is required to do this and two sorts are available. One is of plastic construction and only intended for occasional use. The other is a tool manufactured by Krone and is of more robust construction : an example is shown in the photograph. It also comes with a tool for removing wires from sockets. The outer sheath of the cable is removed but the insulation from each wire is left and just placed in the connector. The Krone tool both inserts the wire into the connector and cuts off the excess wire in one action. The action of pushing the wire into the connector cuts into the insulation and makes contact with the wire. A maximum of three wires can be attached to each connector but it is best to stick to two if possible as the third is not usually a good connection.
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Krone IDC Tool, showing the wire removal tool open officially known as Inserter Wire No. 2a
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Plastic IDC Tool, for occasional use only
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4 wire cable the old sort, but much thinner
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6 wire cable the current type
Read more about this topic: British Telephone Sockets
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