AIU RJ11 CABLE

Just Google RJ11 cable there are a number of supply houses [Cables on Demand is one] any length you want and reasonably priced.

Thanks hibar- I did google this however; I could not find any reasonable lengths. Will try again.

cablesondemand.com lists RJ11 cable in 1',2,3,5,7,10,15,25,50'and 100' lengths

The 6 conductor cable used for the AIU is RJ25 using 6P6C 6 conductor cable.  RJ11 jacks are the same physical size but only have connectors for 2 wires.

It appears Radio Shack still stocks the $9.99, 25 ft. 6-conductor cable mentioned in this thread:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/aiu-to-tiu-cable

Be aware that the required cable is a crossover RJ25, not a straight through RJ25.

The correct cable, when layer flat, will have the clips on both ends pointing in the same direction, both up or both down.

Barry,

let me see if i have this correct, looking at the existing 2 ft cable from MTH, laying both clip side down, the wire colors are not the same. So when ordering this kind of 6 conductor cable, I should be looking for RJ25?

The cable is a reversal cable.  If you hold the cable flat, you'll see that both sides either have the tab up or both have the tab down.  That makes it a reversal cable.

oK as stated this is a crossover cable. RS seems to have this cable however I do not 25 feet. I tried per Rjr suggestion and go to cables on demand for some reason cannot find this cable. I guess it is me.

Search ebay for "6P6C reverse cable".  7 ft for about $3 includes shipping from in the US.  They even show a picture illustrating what everyone is telling you.

Try this link for one that I purchased: RJ12

Barry:

The one in your link says 6 conductors at one point, and 4 conductors at another point.  Apparently the seller is clueless.

By the way, there is no "RJ12" cord. In fact there is no RJ-anything cord. Cords are named by the size of the plug, and the number of conductors present. There are straight-through and crossover types in most sizes and conductor counts.

Roger,

The one in your link says 6 conductors at one point, and 4 conductors at another point

I bought this cable and it is, indeed, 6-conductor.

By the way, there is no "RJ12" cord. In fact there is no RJ-anything cord.

You are mistaken.

These are telecommunications cables and, as such, do carry an industry-standard, "RJ" designation.

Everything (and even more than) you ever wanted to know about RJ (registered jack) and cables:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_jack

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_connector

Barry, I have worked in the telecommunications industry for 50 years, and I am intimately familiar with the Registered Jack program. I am a Bell System veteran with 30 years of service with that company. While you may be the acknowledged command control expert, please don't try to change my mind or teach the "civilians" in the audience the wrong info.

Registered Jack means a female socket, whose purpose is to connect equipment to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)  It is (or was, until "experts" got a hold of it and corrupted the terminology) a term of art and the system by which the telephone industry names WIRING APPLICATIONS that are created by hardware.  The hardware is named by noting the number of POSITIONS "P" and the number of those positions that are equipped with CONTACTS "C". Therefore, a jack may be an RJ11, with 6 positions and two contacts, for one dial tone line, on pins 3&4, or an   RJ14, energized with two dial tone lines, on pins 3&4 and 2&5. But the cord that connects to those jacks is a 6P2C or 6P4C modular cord, respectively.

Similarly, a three-line jack is called an RJ25, but only if it is being used to supply three separate dial tones to subscriber (customer) telephone equipment. The cord that mates with it...the subject of the thread...is called a 6P6C modular cord.

Handset jacks (RJ-nothing) and the mating handset cords are skinnier, so that subscribers will not disconnect and re-connect the two cords on a telephone instrument incorrectly, causing smoke and grief.  Those mating components are 4P4C connectors.  They are not RJ12, RJ22, or any other imaginary numbers.  They do not connect anything to the PSTN.

An ethernet jack is an 8P8C socket, and the ethernet cable with 8 conductors (4 pairs) is called a data patch cord.  Neither of these items is an RJ-anything, although many uninformed people and even companies who make them, refer to them erroneously as "RJ45" equipment. (An RJ45 is a very rarely-used wiring configuration that is seldom seen in any subscriber equipment.)

It is a similar situation that you folks in the electronics industry encounter when you refer to a D connector as an "RS232." RS232 is a wiring APPLICATION or SCHEME, and the physical connector is a D-type, with however many contacts are required for the application.

There are no registered cords in this Bell System-invented, and FCC-approved, program.

I am not mistaken, but would be willing to debate this further privately.

Arthur,

As I said, you are mistaken when you state:

By the way, there is no "RJ12" cord. In fact there is no RJ-anything cord.

I also have spent my career in the informations services area of the telecom sector. I learned early on that there are textbook definitions and there are everyday, working definitons of things, as well.

I always found it was important to be able to communicate effectively by using, in effect, the "vernacular" language lot the persons with whom I was communicating..

Your point of view is along the lines of Rich Melvin's when he sees someone refer to an MU as a "lashup". His thinking comes across as "there's no such thing as a lashup", regardless of the fact that MTH, Lionel and others regularly use this term in product literature.

You're entitled to your opinion, however, please be so kind as to not disallow my use of a common term that is well-understood by those who haven't made their living as members of your industry.

There is, indeed, something called an RJ cable, as well as an RJ jack, because that's what describes those cables for sale to regular people, as this link should serve to illustrate.

Regardless, whether or not I use vernacular, common, everyday language to describe telecom cables, I think that there's little danger of my posts encouraging anyone to connect their AIU to a central office switch.

I'll close with a quote from the Wikipedia link furnished above by VinceL:

...but the term is often used loosely to refer to modular connectors regardless of wiring or gender, such as in Ethernet over twisted pair. There is much confusion over these connection standards. The same six-position plug and jack commonly used for telephone line connections may be used for RJ11, RJ14 or even RJ25, all of which are names of interface standards that use this physical connector. The RJ11 standard dictates a 2-wire connection, while RJ14 uses a 4-wire configuration, and RJ25 uses all six wires. The RJ abbreviations, though, only pertain to the wiring of the jack (hence the name registered jack); it is commonplace but not strictly correct to refer to an unwired plug connector by any of these names.

While Arthur is technically correct, it's been so common to call the cables RJ11, RJ14, etc. that I have to agree with Barry.  Perhaps the 50 year telcom workers are cringing, but I also Google when I'm looking for something.

Let's just call it a draw, you're both right.