# Connecting to station telephones

This topic describes how to connect station telephones or other devices to a CX 2000C board:

- Cabling considerations

- Cable connections

- Developer's cable kit

Warning: | Important safety notes for telephony connections Allow only qualified technical personnel to install this board and its associated telephone wiring. Never install telephone wiring during a lightning storm. Safety regulations require that you properly ground the board by connecting the ground stud on the chassis to a good earth ground. If your site connects to private lines that leave the building, make sure that external protection is provided.

## Cabling considerations

When cabling your stations (especially off-premises stations), consider the following issues:

- As the cable length increases, the DC resistance increases. Most telephones operate correctly if the loop current is at least 20 mA. To maintain this minimum current, the total cable resistance (the resistance on the tip wire plus the resistance on the ring wire) must be less than 1500 Ohms over the expected temperature range. When Telcordia guidelines are followed, the cable length cannot exceed 18,000 feet. If these guidelines are exceeded, the attached device may not operate properly.

- As the cable length increases, the cable presents an impedance to the audio path. This attenuates the audio signals in both directions and creates an echo path. Attempting to compensate for the loss by increasing gain will increase the echo and other noise. The 18,000 foot cable limit also sets a limit of acceptable audio quality for traditional telephony services. To improve the frequency response of the loop, many telephone networks add a device called loading coils when subscriber loops approach or exceed 18,000 feet. This can increase the echo.

- Telephone networks offer services commonly called foreign exchange circuits. These should be considered for applications requiring longer loops.

- If any section of the wiring between the board and connected local telephone lines runs outdoors or between buildings (buried or above ground), be sure to provide adequate lightning protection.

Warning: | For lines that run between buildings, you or the approved installer must provide primary protectors at the building service entrance point. These can be carbon block or gas discharge protectors, but solid-state protectors are recommended. The NMS warranty does not cover damage by lightning or other electrical discharge.

NMS recommends 24 AWG (0.6 mm) twisted pair cable for distances over 50 feet (15 meters). The following table lists the recommended cable types and maximum distances for each:

Cable type | Recommended maximum distance
--- | ---
CX 2000C-32-R | All other CX 2000C boards
24 AWG twisted pair | 2000 feet | 18 k feet (1500 Ohms maximum)
0.6 mm twisted pair | 700 meters | 5.5 km (1500 Ohms maximum)

## Cable connections

As shown in the following illustration, the station interface connectors are located on the CX 2000C rear I/O transition board and bracket. They are RJ-21, 25-pair interfaces.

Connectors on a CX 2000C board

The connectors are each designed to accommodate a 25-pair cable. This cable is commonly wired to a punch-down block or break-out box. The telephones or other station devices are connected to the block or box through standard telephone wiring as shown in the following illustration:

Connecting the board to stations

The RJ-21 connector on the cable must be the 180-degree design. The common 90 degree RJ-21 connector is not compatible with the CX 2000C board.

90-degree vs. 180-degree RJ-21 connectors

The following illustration shows the pin locations for the RJ-21 connectors on a CX 2000C board:

Connector pinout

The following table describes the pinouts for the top RJ-21 connector on a CX 2000C (the one labeled STATIONS 1 TO 24):

Station | Ring pin | Tip pin |  | Station | Ring pin | Tip pin
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | 1 | 26 |  | 13 | 13 | 38
2 | 2 | 27 |  | 14 | 14 | 39
3 | 3 | 28 |  | 15 | 15 | 40
4 | 4 | 29 |  | 16 | 16 | 41
5 | 5 | 30 |  | 17 | 17 | 42
6 | 6 | 31 |  | 18 | 18 | 43
7 | 7 | 32 |  | 19 | 19 | 44
8 | 8 | 33 |  | 20 | 20 | 45
9 | 9 | 34 |  | 21 | 21 | 46
10 | 10 | 35 |  | 22 | 22 | 47
11 | 11 | 36 |  | 23 | 23 | 48
12 | 12 | 37 |  | 24 | 24 | 49

Note: Pins 25 and 50 are not used.

The following table describes the pinouts for the bottom RJ-21 connector on a CX 2000C (the one labeled STATIONS 25 TO 48):

Station | Ring pin | Tip pin |  | Station | Ring pin | Tip pin
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
25 | 1 | 26 |  | 37 | 13 | 38
26 | 2 | 27 |  | 38 | 14 | 39
27 | 3 | 28 |  | 39 | 15 | 40
28 | 4 | 29 |  | 40 | 16 | 41
29 | 5 | 30 |  | 41 | 17 | 42
30 | 6 | 31 |  | 42 | 18 | 43
31 | 7 | 32 |  | 43 | 19 | 44
32 | 8 | 33 |  | 44 | 20 | 45
33 | 9 | 34 |  | 45 | 21 | 46
34 | 10 | 35 |  | 46 | 22 | 47
35 | 11 | 36 |  | 47 | 23 | 48
36 | 12 | 37 |  | 48 | 24 | 49

Note: Pins 25 and 50 are not used.

## Developer's cable kit

NMS provides an optional developer's cable kit (NMS P/N 80659). The kit contains two 10 foot RJ-21 cables and two breakout boxes. Each breakout box connects one RJ-21 to 24 standard RJ-11 (POTS) jacks for individual telephones. Use the cables to connect to the breakout boxes or to standard 66 or 110 blocks.

All components of the developer's cable kit sold by NMS are also commercially available from telephone product distributors such as Graybar and Anixter. These distributors can provide variations in cable lengths.