WBOX 0E-RJ31XSET3

This RJ31X set contains a surface-mounted wall jack and a quick disconnect cable. It can be used in either a commercial or a residential setting. The purpose of the RJ31X connection is to provide a quick point of disconnect for an alarm system in the event it is malfunctioning and not releasing the telephone line.

In the past, there was a silent war fought between alarm technicians and telephone technicians. When an alarm system was properly connected to a phone line, it would "seize" the line any time it needed to send a signal to the monitoring station. This meant that while the alarm panel had the phone line off-hook, none of the telephones that used that line could get a dial tone. When a customer picked up any phone connected to that line, it would be dead. If an alarm panel malfunctioned and kept the phone line off-hook for an extended period of time, this could be a problem.

Most homeowners didn't realize the alarm system was the issue and would call a telephone repair person. The telephone technician would determine that the alarm panel was the issue and simply cut the line going to the panel, bypassing it. This solved the issue with the phone service but caused an issue with the alarm panel, which would eventually result in another repair call. As a compromise, the RJ31X was born. With an RJ31X jack, if a phone technician determines that the alarm panel is causing an issue with the phone line, they can quickly unplug the RJ31X cable. This disconnects the alarm panel from the line and restores phone service to the customer's phones. Once an alarm technician addresses the alarm panel issue, the system can be quickly reconnected to the phone line.

The RJ31X cable is also useful when replacing a phone line with a cellular communicator that performs what is called "Dialer Capture". These cellular communicators, such as the Telguard line of Universal Alarm Communicators, connect to an alarm panel's telephone terminals. In some cases, they monitor the telephone connection to the panel, and if the connection drops, they step in and provide a backup means for the alarm panel to communicate.

In recent times, with most traditional phone services being discontinued, these cellular communicators actually replace the telephone connection to the panel. The cellular communicator connects to the alarm panel's Tip and Ring terminals. It provides the alarm panel with a simulated dial tone. If the panel needs to send a signal, it dials as it normally would using a phone line. The cellular communicator provides a handshake signal to the alarm panel. The alarm panel transmits a signal, then the communicator provides an acknowledgment. In the meantime, the captured alarm signal is transmitted via LTE cellular signal to the monitoring station. To the alarm panel, it appears as though it called out using a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) phone line.

Most alarm systems that have used a telephone connection to communicate signals in the past will already have an RJ31X jack in place. However, that may not always be the case. For those systems that are transitioning from a POTS line to a cellular communicator, and that don't already have an RJ31X jack and cable, this product will make the connection between the alarm panel and the cellular communicator quick and easy.