Getting Telephone Lines Working

Not that I am aware of. Of course, practices and coverages may differ substantially between companies.

There is some degree of latitude given to the individual technician at the premises. Over the years, I have encountered the occasional "basket case" house where I have respectfully declined to rewire the ENTIRE place just after the new owners took possession. Our LineBacker plan provides two, MINIMUM coverages: There is NO charge for a technician visit and we will provide good, working service to ONE jack.

Basically, the affected wiring and outlets must appear to the technician to have worked RECENTLY. Connecting blocks with NO wire feeding them are not covered. Wiring done with doorbell wire, thermostat cable, zip cord, bailing wire and coat hangers is NOT covered. Damage to working wire by hanging clothes on them across the basement is not covered.

Generally, here, our coverage is quite liberal with the instance of coverage declination being rare.

As is the case with most extended warranties and similar coverages. We are the New and Improved Fone Company: We're in business to MAKE money.

Well, as an "insider", I HAVE heard of them - and fixed them.

The owner of a newer, fine, 5-BR, two-story home reported noise on their line. The trouble showed to the INSIDE of the home. Without the inside coverage, but without an official NID, I was not allowed to invoke the trouble isolation charge. (Fine with me, I have to live in this neighborhood.)

I installed, at no charge, a NID (Network Interface Device/demarc). The customer chose to pay our EXORBITANT hourly rate to have me locate and repair the trouble. It took HOURS.

The house was wired with sheathed, 24-gauge, 6-pair cable in a loop configuration (single run of cable looping throughout the large home). I eventually isolated the trouble to between two bedrooms. They had mice in the attic that were chewing on the cable. I was able to find/create ONE, good pair across the fault to restore dialtone to the jacks beyond.

I informed my customer that the fix could last for years or as long as it took to get out of their driveway. Since the "meter" was at about the $400 point, the good man opted to call the job completed. I never heard from them again.

This is an excellent example of why some of these fine home BURN: If you think the mice are chewing ONLY on phone wiring, you are mistaken.

A cut? Sure. A home with TWO lines (and all two-line phones) where the two lines are CROSSED requires substantially more skill and experience.

Yet Another Horror Story: The first step is to disconnect ALL telephone equipment. We did that, yet the cross remained.

I then proceeded to get down on my hands and knees with a MiniMag light and look into EVERY jack. Zippo. They were all clean.

OK, now it's time to take the jacks off the wall.

Prior to each step, I asked the customer if ALL equipment had been removed. He assured me it had. Prior to the start of removing jacks, I asked him AGAIN if I had seen ALL the jacks. He assured me that I had.

At about the $350 point, he said, "Oops! I forgot!" There was an unused jack in the attached garage I had not checked. The cruddy, green corrosion was actually hanging OUT of the block a bit. I clipped-off the wire, the cross disappeared and I put his home back together for another $75.

Wires laying on the wet ground under a mobile home; A worker pulls-off the wire stapled to exterior siding prior to painting and LEAVES it laying on the ground; cat "sprays" on a jack; toddler jams crayon into a jack; etc., etc.

We all buy car insurance hoping we'll never need it. We buy LIFE insurance hoping we'll never die. The inside wire maintenance plan is no different. You're betting you'll need it and the telco is betting you won't. Obviously, it makes money for the telco or they wouldn't sell the coverage. Heaven knows I've wasted my money on worse things.

I am skeptical of that statistic. It may have been true only a few years ago but I heard that AT&T divested itself of most (all?) residential rental equipment a few years ago. I believe they just "walked away" from it. In any case, it has been YEARS since I have encountered a customer still renting.

Make that every six months or less. So far, I have purchased FIVE AT&T Trimline 210 phones from Best Buy for ~$12.50 each. Of course, they are made by "slaves" in China, but what isn't today? As "corded" phones, they are pretty good.

Reply to
Jim Redelfs
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In article , Jim Redelfs wrote: ...

How about two-line phones.

The Other opinion? Hidden deal somewhere?

Thanks,

David

Reply to
David Combs

It is pretty easy to build a two line switch with a DPST toggle switch or a rotary switch.

Reply to
Taropatch

Am I missing posts, or how come some threads start in the middle, with one person answering another, when I never saw the first post.

This one has only one newsgroup in the distribution list.

More below.

I'm not happy to defend China, but I thought only *some* things made in China were made by prisoners and political prisoners, in what are probably terrible jails. But some other people are doing well. The news showed streets that a few years ago were full of bicycles, now full of cars. This is sad from the world's pov, but the Chinese who own those cars probably like it.

How much the peoplle not in jail who make phones and such get paid, I have no idea. They might still be in poverty, and one might call that slavery too, but I think it would be metaphorical.

Reply to
mm

The situation in China is better than under Mao, but it's still a zoo by western standards. The wealthy, who are the Party members, are getting stinking rich, there is a growing middle class and the pissantry is still the pissantry.

The socially and ecologically responsible thing to do is get an old WE or Automatic Electric phone with a coil hybrid and one semiconductor in the touch tone pad (i.e. a 1200 set). They wil last for a century under moderately careful use.

Reply to
Taropatch

Absolutely metaphorically. Like you, I have no more idea of Chinese working conditions and compensation than the man in the moon. I'm sure I could find out, though.

The USA and the rest of the consuming "first" world (and you know who you are) are consuming China into the 21st century. This is NOT a bad thing. Odds are pretty good that it will be a GOOD thing. I hope so. Our hope is to make 'em so rich, fat and lazy (ya know, like us) that they don't want to hassle with geopolitical saber-rattling.

My biggest lament of this situation is those time that I wish to buy a truly GOOD, name-brand tool - and I can't find one! It's all [Save BIG money] big box, Home Menards Lowes Depot junk.

To those that would see us back in the "good, old days", I urge them to think again. Before electricity and petroleum oil there was WHALE OIL light when the sun went down. The whales, to this day, in their daily prayers, thank GOD that we discovered petroleum oil.

Reply to
Jim Redelfs

Most of my Western Electric phones have "gone away" (given away, keypad died, etc). I do, however, enjoy a working antique on our kitchen wall:

1935 Automatic Electric model 465

My wife answers calls on it to this day when, a mere 18-inches away, is the Home Receptionist with cool call data display (Caller ID). Unless we get a DIRECT lightning strike, the antique phone may outlive me.

Reply to
Jim Redelfs

Thanks,

but how do you know which one is ringing.

In fact, how do you hear the "other" one *ringing*?

Thanks,

David

Reply to
David Combs

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