Puzzling phone problem
Lizard Blizzard
two line set, both lines are (or should be) standard POTS. But the
distance from the CO as the crow flies is 8 or 9 miles. The symptoms on
both phones, on both lines are that the calling party may hear this end
fine, but this end can't hear the calling party. Or sometimes the user
picks up the phone and doesn't hear a dial tone, until the TT key is
pressed.
The phones are Radio Scrap two line sets, fairly recently purchased.
They're the kind that has a wall wart power supply that furnishes power
to the LEDs and electronics, so they should not have to depend on the
phone line for power. But I brought another phone out to substitute,
and it was even worse. It was a three line set, also from RS and also
having the power supply. So I went out a second time and put a used GE
two line even dumber set in, without a power supply. I haven't talked
to them since but I haven't heard any followup complaints, so it may be
working properly.
I'm thinking that the problem can't be the wiring because if it failed,
the loss of signal would _not_ be in one direction only. And it's not
likely that both phones would fail the same way. I think that the
problem is either that the lines have so low a current (because of the
long length) that the phones don't work properly, or that the problem is
in the telco equipment upstream: sometimes lines go into local pair gain
equipment, and the equipment has a problem affecting more than one line.
I'm gonna email the Pac Bell acct rep to see if they can give us some
info on the lines, like whether they are hard copepr to the CO or have a
pair gain, and what the line length and loop current might be. I'd like
some feedback on this, to see if I'm on the right track. Thanks.
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Brad Houser
"Lizard Blizzard" <NOS...@rsccd.org> wrote in message
news:b9b5qg$2kpki$1...@hades.csu.net...
> I've got a puzzling phone problem. There are two phone sets, each is a
> two line set, both lines are (or should be) standard POTS. But the
> distance from the CO as the crow flies is 8 or 9 miles. The symptoms on
> both phones, on both lines are that the calling party may hear this end
> fine, but this end can't hear the calling party. Or sometimes the user
> picks up the phone and doesn't hear a dial tone, until the TT key is
> pressed.
If you want to isolate a to the phone or the line, swap with a known good
phone and take your phone to a known good line. Depending on whether the
problem moves or stays, you can then determine if it is the phone or the
line.
Brad Houser
Terry S
Measure the line current !
Lizard Blizzard
SBC employee because she transferred to another job. So the new acct
rep asked if we had a trouble ticket #, and I said that we hadn't called
it in yet, because we weren't sure if there was a problem in the lines.
She wanted a TT # so she could refer it to someone to work on, so I
asked on of our HD ladies to call it in. She called it in, but the SBC
svc rep wanted permission to dispatch, and our help desk lady just
wanted a TT for the new SBC acct rep, not a dispatch. But the svc rep
refused to give a TT # without permission to dispatch! Sheesh! Catch 22!
That's the way it was Thur, when I was at the dentist, so I haven't
heard anything since. Now that it's Mon, I'll have to talk with our HD
lady when she comes in. All I know is that our HD people don't want to
dispatch because it could be a $95 an hour charge if there is no
problem. And this is on two lines!
Lizard Blizzard
> "Lizard Blizzard" <NOS...@rsccd.org> wrote in message
> news:b9b5qg$2kpki$1...@hades.csu.net...
>
>>I've got a puzzling phone problem. There are two phone sets, each is a
> Measure the line current !
Yeah, it's 16 miles out to the site, so if I can get out there sometime
this week, I'll do that.
Lizard Blizzard
Thanks, but the problem is intermittent, and it occurs o0n both phones
and both lines. And it doesn't occur when I bring the phones to my
shop. Puzzling.
> Brad Houser
Lizard Blizzard
> X-No-Archive: Yes
>
> Lizard Blizzard wrote:
[snip]
> As suggested by Brad, substitution with a known good instrument is the
> best way to determine where the fault lies.
Well, the third phone set I took out was a brand new one, and it works
okay on the phone lines at work.
> You say the Radio Scrap phones are new... did you have any other
> telephone set/s working on these lines prior to getting the RS units? If
> so how did the service perform?
Both two-line sets worked okay on both lines for a few months prior.
> Depending upon the line conductor guage and construction the
> impedance/attenuation characteristics will affect the signal level and
> may be outside the capability of the RS phones to be audible. Generally
> speaking, an 8 - 9 mile copper line length is near the limit for an
> automatic service so the available voltage at the instrument when the
> line is looped may be quite low. It would be my guess that the RS phones
> are not capable of reliable operation with that line length and
> construction.
I heard from the helpdesk lady working with me on this that the lines
are on pair gain, so there must be a CEV somewhere locally. Could be
that it's putting out marginally on the line card(s). That's happened
before to some of our lines.
> Ross Herbert
Dana W. Smith
I'm going to assume you ran star topology and that is all that is
connected to the telephone company lines.
At the network interface (NID) measure the off-hook line current. The
current should read 23ma or greater. I suspect you will read 19 or 20.
Volume is directly related to line current. What's the voltage on the line?
Don't assume it's 48VDC - measure it. Expect voltage to be between 42 and
56. Lower voltage usually means you're on a subscriber loop carrier (SLC)
circuit, higher could be a REG unit. (Neither SLC nor REG are your problem
to fix) Make sure the premise is disconnected when you take the above
measurements.
How's the ground connection? I've seen poor grounds do strange things.
If the line current and voltage are correct try measuring your line
current at the jack. Have there been any reports of static or is it just
volume? Static could be an indicator of a high resistance open or poor
connection which may add resistance to the line.
If you can't find anything wrong with your end, have the phone company
dispatch a technician. If the technician wants to bill for the dispatch,
have him/her prove it was on your end before accepting a bill. If they're
right take it as a learning experience. But, make sure they prove it.
Hope this helps.
Dana
"Lizard Blizzard" <NOS...@rsccd.org> wrote in message
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