static in phone line

[Paul Oman]

My telephone line (one of three) has plenty of static in it (which comes and goes even during a phone call, but mostly it just comes and stays). I know it is inside the house as when I test it at the outside box it is clear and crisp. Have disconnected all the phones, modems, etc. and then plugged them in and tested one by one. Still static. Wiring in this old house is a real rats nest. Expect I will have to 'rewire' the house. Any ideas on the static first?

thanks

paul

[Phil Munro]

[John_B]

[Larry Kraus]

Loose connection, or, more likely, slight short circuit caused by moisture, especially if it affects all the phones on that line. Try isolating the wire causing the trouble. If you have a volt-ohm meter, the good wires should show near infinite resistance. A 10Kohm scale is best for looking at this type of trouble. Many times this type of static is caused by corrosion at a jack or cord end - look for dark spots between the pins of the jack/cord. Also common in an older home is a wire cut off at one end during painting remodeling, but still tied into the working lines; corrosion forms on the cut end, where the conductors are close together. This is worth the time it takes to find and fix, eventually the line will short out completely - cutting off incoming calls and then no dial tone at all.

Let us know what you find!

Paul Oman wrote: