Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Battery backup for Fiber Optic Phone Land-Line
387 views
Skip to first unread message
Baron
May 27, 2012, 12:53:11 PM5/27/12
to
Hello,
Any thoughts on how to provide a power backup to my new fiber
optic telephone land-line?
I am about to have my phone land-line converted from copper to
fiber optic at the insistence of my phone company. We have held onto copper
for as long as we could.
The fiber optic line requires a battery backup that is installed
in the house. I have been told by the phone company that the battery backup
will last eight hours if there is a power failure. The old copper line
relied on power from the phone company so that in the event of a power
failure encompassing the phone company, their own centrally located
generators would keep the phone lines running for, I assume, several days.
The fiber optic battery backup and/or the junction box located in my house
are required to be plugged into a wall outlet. This means that if a tree
falls across the power lines to only my house, I will have eight hours of
land-line phone service at most before power is restored to my house. With
a copper line, this would not have been a problem since the power to the
land-line came form a source other than that in my house.
Any suggestions on how I can provide power either to the backup
battery or the lands-line itself in the event of a power outage of more than
eight hours? I would rather not rely on an inverter from my car and I do
not wish to purchase a generator. Is there a solar or secondary battery
back up that I could use?
TIA
Any thoughts on how to provide a power backup to my new fiber
optic telephone land-line?
I am about to have my phone land-line converted from copper to
fiber optic at the insistence of my phone company. We have held onto copper
for as long as we could.
The fiber optic line requires a battery backup that is installed
in the house. I have been told by the phone company that the battery backup
will last eight hours if there is a power failure. The old copper line
relied on power from the phone company so that in the event of a power
failure encompassing the phone company, their own centrally located
generators would keep the phone lines running for, I assume, several days.
The fiber optic battery backup and/or the junction box located in my house
are required to be plugged into a wall outlet. This means that if a tree
falls across the power lines to only my house, I will have eight hours of
land-line phone service at most before power is restored to my house. With
a copper line, this would not have been a problem since the power to the
land-line came form a source other than that in my house.
Any suggestions on how I can provide power either to the backup
battery or the lands-line itself in the event of a power outage of more than
eight hours? I would rather not rely on an inverter from my car and I do
not wish to purchase a generator. Is there a solar or secondary battery
back up that I could use?
TIA
de...@dudu.org
May 27, 2012, 12:59:40 PM5/27/12
to
On Sun, 27 May 2012 12:53:11 -0400, "Baron" <pfis...@comNGcast.net>
wrote:
http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/eu1000i
>
>TIA
>
>
wrote:
>
>TIA
>
>
Mighty Wannabe
May 27, 2012, 1:07:41 PM5/27/12
to
Try this 10 watt hand crank generator for $66.45:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Pocket-Socket-Hand-Crank-Generator-Survival-
Supply-Ever-Kit-Needs-NEW-/180781511412?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2
a176af2f4#ht_2639wt_1364
--
de...@dudu.org
May 27, 2012, 1:28:56 PM5/27/12
to
want to run as well. That line of Honda generators are awesome. They
are extremely quiet. Have a "Eco throttle" that idles them down to
minimum when load is small. The will run for days on a very small
amount of fuel. And they are extremely cheap. Trying to keep a
secondary battery backup available and charged up all the time doesn't
seem as effective. The batteries would still run out in several days.
The Honda you could keep running for months on a few gallons of gas.
>
>Try this 10 watt hand crank generator for $66.45:
>
>
>http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Pocket-Socket-Hand-Crank-Generator-Survival-
>Supply-Ever-Kit-Needs-NEW-/180781511412?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2
>a176af2f4#ht_2639wt_1364
Hisler
May 27, 2012, 1:57:45 PM5/27/12
to
get the inverter power and the low noise level, plus good fuel economy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RWK9N2/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1/178-9491301-9490741?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=1KPZ9PPEV11PQDGE5TJW&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_i=B0045FUQX2
http://preview.tinyurl.com/7z4f9ej
de...@dudu.org
May 27, 2012, 2:26:46 PM5/27/12
to
more. Still think it makes more sense than trying to maintain a
secondary battery back up that might only be good for a few days.
Stormin Mormon
May 27, 2012, 3:00:42 PM5/27/12
to
Please check with the tel co, and see what they reccomend. My SWAG is they
will reccomend a 12 volt SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, with a charge plug.
And this will be outrageously expensive (more than you want to pay).
Please ask them what's the voltage of the backup power. I'm guessing it will
be 12 VDC (volts, direct current). Please ask if the backup power is AC
(alternating current) or DC (direct current). Please ask them what is the
amp hour rating of the SLA battery they reccomend. (Well, that is, if they
DO reccomend SLA battery.)
With this added information, we can be more help.
I have a few ideas, of how to handle the matter. But, I may or may not be
going in the right direction. Need more information.
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Baron" <pfis...@comNGcast.net> wrote in message
news:4fc25c61$0$16973$882e...@usenet-news.net...
will reccomend a 12 volt SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, with a charge plug.
And this will be outrageously expensive (more than you want to pay).
Please ask them what's the voltage of the backup power. I'm guessing it will
be 12 VDC (volts, direct current). Please ask if the backup power is AC
(alternating current) or DC (direct current). Please ask them what is the
amp hour rating of the SLA battery they reccomend. (Well, that is, if they
DO reccomend SLA battery.)
With this added information, we can be more help.
I have a few ideas, of how to handle the matter. But, I may or may not be
going in the right direction. Need more information.
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Baron" <pfis...@comNGcast.net> wrote in message
news:4fc25c61$0$16973$882e...@usenet-news.net...
ne...@jecarter.us
May 27, 2012, 3:51:07 PM5/27/12
to
On Sun, 27 May 2012 12:53:11 -0400, "Baron" <pfis...@comNGcast.net>
wrote:
wrote:
equipment wattage should provide power for a number of hours. When
the UPS shuts down from low battery, the phone would still have 8
hours from its own battery. This system requires almost no
maintenance..
You should be able to find a 350 watt or larger UPS on sale for under
$100US from the various office supply houses (Staples, OfficeMax,
etc).
AT&T's Uverse all-in-one (phone, TV, Internet) package is wired, but
the wire comes in to a router which has a battery backup that's good
for about 4 hours. If power is out longer than that, I'll connect a
UPS (I have several) to maintain the phone service - unless other
power is needed (furnace, fridge) in which case I'll run a generator
for a couple of hours several times a day to keep the furnace and/or
fridge running as needed, as well as charging the phone backup and the
UPS batteries.
If the generator isn't needed, I could charge the UPS battery (12
volts) from a solar panel, but that's another story.
Winston_Smith
May 27, 2012, 4:38:00 PM5/27/12
to
The Mormon Embarrassment wrote:
>Please check with the tel co, and see what they reccomend. My SWAG is they
>will reccomend a 12 volt SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, with a charge plug.
>And this will be outrageously expensive (more than you want to pay).
More to the point, I'd ask who pays for the replacement when the
>Please check with the tel co, and see what they reccomend. My SWAG is they
>will reccomend a 12 volt SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, with a charge plug.
>And this will be outrageously expensive (more than you want to pay).
original wears out.
>Please ask them what's the voltage of the backup power. I'm guessing it will
>be 12 VDC (volts, direct current).
someone posts facts?
The phone company power on copper land lines is 48 V DC. Less when
you start drawing current by going on line. The drop depends on the
length/condition of the wires to your house. The phone works over a
big range. At one time, rural farmers got phone service via barbed
wire fences.
If they are going to keep the existing telephones in the house, your
12 V may be your usual crock. It might work on 12 V, but I doubt it
will need that much watt-hour capacity.
>Please ask if the backup power is AC
>(alternating current) or DC (direct current).
I know that charges is a battery, so the charger output is DC. 3)
Legacy phones use DC. More SM crock.
>Please ask them what is the
>amp hour rating of the SLA battery they reccomend. (Well, that is, if they
>DO reccomend SLA battery.)
good chuckle while he's at it.
He is going to get a complete working system. Most chargers say on
them what voltage and current outputs they are capable of. A few
simple tests with a free Harbor Freight multimeter** will quickly tell
the story if it's not stated right on the equipment.
>With this added information, we can be more help.
>
>I have a few ideas, of how to handle the matter. But, I may or may not be
>going in the right direction. Need more information.
The story of your life. A little information short of ... pretty much
>I have a few ideas, of how to handle the matter. But, I may or may not be
>going in the right direction. Need more information.
anything.
**
Got my Nth free meter yesterday when I bought a canvas tool bag, which
was already on sale, plus I had a 20% off coupon. Now I can pack an
expanded pet kit for the BOV.
terryc
May 27, 2012, 10:29:11 PM5/27/12
to
On 28/05/12 02:53, Baron wrote:
> Any thoughts on how to provide a power backup to my new fiber
> optic telephone land-line?
From the rest of your description, the real problem is just battery
> Any thoughts on how to provide a power backup to my new fiber
> optic telephone land-line?
size and then an appropriately sized charger.
If the back-up battery charging is just taken care of by a plug pack and
the battery is external, then it would be an easy matter to swap them
over the a large capacity SLA and a plug pack charger.
A further improvement would be to have a solar panel through a MPPT
style regulator charging the battery. Perhaps t can be switched in when
the power through the plug-pack goes off.
terryc
May 27, 2012, 10:39:40 PM5/27/12
to
On 28/05/12 06:38, Winston_Smith wrote:
> The phone company power on copper land lines is 48 V DC. Less when
> you start drawing current by going on line. The drop depends on the
> length/condition of the wires to your house. The phone works over a
> big range. At one time, rural farmers got phone service via barbed
> wire fences.
That is probably why it was 48V, they needed the high voltage to
> The phone company power on copper land lines is 48 V DC. Less when
> you start drawing current by going on line. The drop depends on the
> length/condition of the wires to your house. The phone works over a
> big range. At one time, rural farmers got phone service via barbed
> wire fences.
overcome the resistance in long distances of "copper".
As you noted, the old phones themselves can run on less than 48V.
However, with optical fibre, it really is simply a matter of powering a
device at the house, so something like a 12v battery makes a lot of
sense(cheap, reliable and widely available). The phone company would
have to be real arseholes if they required some proprietary, expensive
custom battery only available from them.
>
> If they are going to keep the existing telephones in the house,
adequately on 12v. OTOH, the cost to the phone company of providing a
mass produced modern phone would be negligible compared to supporting
old tech on the new fibre optic termination.
hmm, that is a question I can ask as australia is rolling out a natioanl
fibre-optic backbone.
Winston_Smith
May 27, 2012, 10:50:10 PM5/27/12
to
On Mon, 28 May 2012 12:39:40 +1000, terryc
<newsnine...@woa.com.au> wrote:
>On 28/05/12 06:38, Winston_Smith wrote:
>
>> The phone company power on copper land lines is 48 V DC. Less when
>> you start drawing current by going on line. The drop depends on the
>> length/condition of the wires to your house. The phone works over a
>> big range. At one time, rural farmers got phone service via barbed
>> wire fences.
>
>That is probably why it was 48V, they needed the high voltage to
>overcome the resistance in long distances of "copper".
>
>As you noted, the old phones themselves can run on less than 48V.
>
>However, with optical fibre, it really is simply a matter of powering a
>device at the house, so something like a 12v battery makes a lot of
>sense(cheap, reliable and widely available). The phone company would
>have to be real arseholes if they required some proprietary, expensive
>custom battery only available from them.
All true. The question is do you have to buy modern phones or will
<newsnine...@woa.com.au> wrote:
>On 28/05/12 06:38, Winston_Smith wrote:
>
>> The phone company power on copper land lines is 48 V DC. Less when
>> you start drawing current by going on line. The drop depends on the
>> length/condition of the wires to your house. The phone works over a
>> big range. At one time, rural farmers got phone service via barbed
>> wire fences.
>
>That is probably why it was 48V, they needed the high voltage to
>overcome the resistance in long distances of "copper".
>
>As you noted, the old phones themselves can run on less than 48V.
>
>However, with optical fibre, it really is simply a matter of powering a
>device at the house, so something like a 12v battery makes a lot of
>sense(cheap, reliable and widely available). The phone company would
>have to be real arseholes if they required some proprietary, expensive
>custom battery only available from them.
their system work with the legacy phones people own.
>> If they are going to keep the existing telephones in the house,
>
>Assuming he has a relatively modern technology phone, they may work
>adequately on 12v. OTOH, the cost to the phone company of providing a
>mass produced modern phone would be negligible compared to supporting
>old tech on the new fibre optic termination.
90 Vrms at 20 Hz for the ringer.
ne...@jecarter.us
May 27, 2012, 11:34:51 PM5/27/12
to
the house wiring is traditional and they use standard phones, both
wired and cordless. Changing the device interface would generate too
much bad PR - people are angry enough about the increases in the cost
of communications services - don't add to it by forcing them to
replace their phones with something more expensixe.
Baron
May 28, 2012, 12:03:12 PM5/28/12
to
Hello Again,
Wow! Thanks for all the great advice. I had not considered
some of the options.
I am trying to stay away from liquid fuel powered generators to
avoid the purchase expense, the hassle of maintaining it, and having to run
a line from outside into my basement. While a generator would power more
than just my phone, I have plans and preps in place to deal with a power
outage with respect to my refrigerator and home heating. I am looking for a
solution that will give me several days of phone backup. More than that
would mean the outage is beyond my immediate neighborhood, which would cause
me to put other plans in action. I could resort to using a cell phone but I
live in a "black hole" when it comes to cell reception so it is not a great
solution. Also, there are the issues around cell phones compared to land
lines in an emergency.
The hand-cranked generator is interesting!
The installation of the fiber optic line should take place in a
few days. I will ask the field technician for a lot more information about
the battery system, including what they recommend for this situation. The
question about who pays for the replacement when it wears out is an
especially good one. I already know that I do NOT have to replace my
existing phones once the fiber optic line is installed.
"The phone company would have to be real arseholes if they
required some proprietary, expensive custom battery only available from
them." This would not surprise me. This is the phone company, after all.
I thought a battery UPS was much more expensive than about
$100US. This may be a good solution for me especially if I can recharge the
UPS by solar when forced to although the hand cranked generator really
captured my imagination.
I will repost after the fiber optic line is installed posting
what I have learned. I am surprised that I have not seen this topic posted
before in the newsgroup or blogs / forums I frequent. Given that there is a
big push to replace copper with fiber optic, I would have thought all the
sites recommending keeping at least one land line due, among other reasons,
to it still working in the event of a power outage would have brought up the
eight hour backup issue.
Thnaks.
Wow! Thanks for all the great advice. I had not considered
some of the options.
I am trying to stay away from liquid fuel powered generators to
avoid the purchase expense, the hassle of maintaining it, and having to run
a line from outside into my basement. While a generator would power more
than just my phone, I have plans and preps in place to deal with a power
outage with respect to my refrigerator and home heating. I am looking for a
solution that will give me several days of phone backup. More than that
would mean the outage is beyond my immediate neighborhood, which would cause
me to put other plans in action. I could resort to using a cell phone but I
live in a "black hole" when it comes to cell reception so it is not a great
solution. Also, there are the issues around cell phones compared to land
lines in an emergency.
The hand-cranked generator is interesting!
The installation of the fiber optic line should take place in a
few days. I will ask the field technician for a lot more information about
the battery system, including what they recommend for this situation. The
question about who pays for the replacement when it wears out is an
especially good one. I already know that I do NOT have to replace my
existing phones once the fiber optic line is installed.
"The phone company would have to be real arseholes if they
required some proprietary, expensive custom battery only available from
I thought a battery UPS was much more expensive than about
$100US. This may be a good solution for me especially if I can recharge the
UPS by solar when forced to although the hand cranked generator really
captured my imagination.
I will repost after the fiber optic line is installed posting
what I have learned. I am surprised that I have not seen this topic posted
before in the newsgroup or blogs / forums I frequent. Given that there is a
big push to replace copper with fiber optic, I would have thought all the
sites recommending keeping at least one land line due, among other reasons,
to it still working in the event of a power outage would have brought up the
eight hour backup issue.
Thnaks.
Frank
May 28, 2012, 2:20:49 PM5/28/12
to
power is a line that is covered by my backup generator.
I don't normally use the generator for brief power outages and my wife
got one of those large backup battery units which could probably be used
for this with its built in inverter.
Might also mention that I have all my computers on battery backup and
small ones are fairly cheap and could also serve you.
I've got Comcast cable and thought originally Verizon was trying to
sneak in FIOS as they are always bugging us but they have not been
maintaining the copper. We had two separate lines and once both were out.
We also just got the Comcast triple play as part of a package to reduce
cost and now have a new phone line on the modem but that would require
battery backup which Comcast does not provide.
Might mention that wife and I also have cell phones.
Frank
May 28, 2012, 2:26:31 PM5/28/12
to
use will work.
de...@dudu.org
May 28, 2012, 3:05:43 PM5/28/12
to
will be. Maybe before, unless either the next round of solar flares
or an impending EMP turn out to be complete disappointments. In
other words, I can't hardly wait until everyone's cell phones suddenly
die. All those stupid little teenagers are going to have to learn to
read books.
Stormin Mormon
May 29, 2012, 8:56:53 AM5/29/12
to
Were you able to get the voltage, and amp requirements?
"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61***spam...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:...
(alternating current) or DC (direct current). Please ask them what is the
"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61***spam...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:...
Please check with the tel co, and see what they reccomend. My SWAG is they
will reccomend a 12 volt SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, with a charge plug.
And this will be outrageously expensive (more than you want to pay).
will reccomend a 12 volt SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, with a charge plug.
And this will be outrageously expensive (more than you want to pay).
Please ask them what's the voltage of the backup power. I'm guessing it will
be 12 VDC (volts, direct current). Please ask if the backup power is AC
(alternating current) or DC (direct current). Please ask them what is the
amp hour rating of the SLA battery they reccomend. (Well, that is, if they
DO reccomend SLA battery.)
DO reccomend SLA battery.)
With this added information, we can be more help.
I have a few ideas, of how to handle the matter. But, I may or may not be
going in the right direction. Need more information.
going in the right direction. Need more information.
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Baron" <pfis...@comNGcast.net> wrote in message
news:4fc25c61$0$16973$882e...@usenet-news.net...
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Baron" <pfis...@comNGcast.net> wrote in message
news:4fc25c61$0$16973$882e...@usenet-news.net...
Hello,
Any thoughts on how to provide a power backup to my new fiber
optic telephone land-line?
I am about to have my phone land-line converted from copper to
fiber optic at the insistence of my phone company. We have held onto copper
for as long as we could.
The fiber optic line requires a battery backup that is installed
in the house. I have been told by the phone company that the battery backup
will last eight hours if there is a power failure. The old copper line
relied on power from the phone company so that in the event of a power
failure encompassing the phone company, their own centrally located
generators would keep the phone lines running for, I assume, several days.
The fiber optic battery backup and/or the junction box located in my house
are required to be plugged into a wall outlet. This means that if a tree
falls across the power lines to only my house, I will have eight hours of
land-line phone service at most before power is restored to my house. With
a copper line, this would not have been a problem since the power to the
land-line came form a source other than that in my house.
Any suggestions on how I can provide power either to the backup
battery or the lands-line itself in the event of a power outage of more than
eight hours? I would rather not rely on an inverter from my car and I do
not wish to purchase a generator. Is there a solar or secondary battery
back up that I could use?
TIA
Any thoughts on how to provide a power backup to my new fiber
optic telephone land-line?
I am about to have my phone land-line converted from copper to
fiber optic at the insistence of my phone company. We have held onto copper
for as long as we could.
The fiber optic line requires a battery backup that is installed
in the house. I have been told by the phone company that the battery backup
will last eight hours if there is a power failure. The old copper line
relied on power from the phone company so that in the event of a power
failure encompassing the phone company, their own centrally located
generators would keep the phone lines running for, I assume, several days.
The fiber optic battery backup and/or the junction box located in my house
are required to be plugged into a wall outlet. This means that if a tree
falls across the power lines to only my house, I will have eight hours of
land-line phone service at most before power is restored to my house. With
a copper line, this would not have been a problem since the power to the
land-line came form a source other than that in my house.
Any suggestions on how I can provide power either to the backup
battery or the lands-line itself in the event of a power outage of more than
eight hours? I would rather not rely on an inverter from my car and I do
not wish to purchase a generator. Is there a solar or secondary battery
back up that I could use?
Baron
May 29, 2012, 10:31:02 AM5/29/12
to
"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61***spam...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4K3xr.4596$LR4....@news.usenetserver.com...
> Were you able to get the voltage, and amp requirements?
>
> Christopher A. Young
> Learn more about Jesus
> www.lds.org
> .
>
>
In a few days, when the fiber optic line will be installed. Rest
>
> Christopher A. Young
> Learn more about Jesus
> www.lds.org
> .
>
>
assured, I will ask for this information as well as more.
Thanks.
Larry
May 30, 2012, 12:05:36 PM5/30/12
to
In article <jpuohe$6iu$1...@dont-email.me>, newsnine...@woa.com.au says...
> That is probably why it was 48V, they needed the high voltage to
> overcome the resistance in long distances of "copper".
The old hand crank phone that hung on the wall when I was a kid used four
telephone batteries, which gave 6 volts, fully charged. They lasted for
years, and I doubt they were putting out more than about 3 volts most of the
time.
> That is probably why it was 48V, they needed the high voltage to
> overcome the resistance in long distances of "copper".
telephone batteries, which gave 6 volts, fully charged. They lasted for
years, and I doubt they were putting out more than about 3 volts most of the
time.
Larry
May 30, 2012, 12:05:38 PM5/30/12
to
In article <jpuntp$44i$1...@dont-email.me>, newsnine...@woa.com.au says...
> A further improvement would be to have a solar panel through a MPPT
> style regulator charging the battery. Perhaps t can be switched in when
> the power through the plug-pack goes off.
Solar is not reliable enough for emergency use, and can't be used at all in
some sites.
> A further improvement would be to have a solar panel through a MPPT
> style regulator charging the battery. Perhaps t can be switched in when
> the power through the plug-pack goes off.
some sites.
terryc
May 30, 2012, 8:55:15 PM5/30/12
to
do a single largel panel and MPPT regulator for under $AUS 500 and the
same again for a wind generator(only two significant months of wind),
but it is about $2,000 for a reliable small generator.
Frankly, the reliability of modern small stuff worries me.
0 new messages