I admit this is not the rocket science question of the day. But during a recent storm, I heard a huge bag on the phone as I was talking. That phone seems to be dead. That line is full of serious static. Any phone I put on that line renders bigtime static. I switched the wires that handle that line from the box to the main phone jack and the static was still there. Then I looked more carefully at the phone box and saw those little connector wires going to the terminal area. I unplugged and used a phone there and heard the static very clearly.
So, deduction of the day, the problem is not in the house. Right?
The only reason I doubt it at all is that when I placed the repair order the phone company person tested the line and said it was ok. I'll have to pay for the visit if it's a fault in the house. But probably the test routine they ran wasn't very meaningful.
**** If you heard a dial tone at the external phone box customer service plug, and were able to dial out, the phone company line test would say it was OK, even if there was static. However, assuming you used a good phone, the problem is on THEIR side of the box.
***** You are correct. However, do it once again to be sure using
1 or 2 different phones, if you have them. No point in running up a $50 dollar charge because you overlooked something. Good luck.
Their tests are pretty good, even from the Central Office. They've got lots of high dollar gear, but the trouble is getting somebody involved with enough of a clue to use it. If you do, then they can tell you whether or not your line can "Whistle Dixie" and if not, which notes are off key. The typical problem, however, is getting that person with a clue.
Your test at the box "doesn't count at all" unless you unplugged the cord that goes from "their side" to "your side".
When you say "that line is full....." and "[a]ny phone I put on that line...." are you talking about separate phone lines, or just separate jacks in your house?
If you only have one phone line coming into your house from the telco, then every jack in every room is in parallel with the incoming line. Something screwed up on any one of them can manifest itself on all of them and without isolating everything, you're accomplishing nothing.
Suggest you unplug every single phone in your house. Don't forget modems in computers, your Tivo box, your cable converter, your DishNetwork or DirecTV satellite receivers, and anything else that may have required or inspired you to attach a telephone line to it for whatever reason.
Now go to the box and find the point where the telco's pair comes over to your side and unplug that connection. If it's a relatively new junction box, that plug is a regular male modular plug (RJ-11). Now you should be holding telco's side of the connection in your hand as a male RJ-11 connector that's not connected to anything. You might have to make a Radio Shack run at this point.
You need an RJ-11 "barrel" (female-to-female connector), an RJ-11 phone cord (6' or so) and a real phone. Not a cordless phone, not any kind of phone that requires any kind of battery. Not a phone that has a speaker phone function. Not a phone that has any sort of memory or fancy stuff at all. Just a plain old phone; the heavier it is, the greater the chances are that it's just a plain old phone.
Connect the telco pair's RJ-11 up to one side of the barrel and plug your cord up to the other side. Now plug up the phone and try it. Static or not?
Only after you've done these basic things, can you say that you've really tested anything at all.
If there is static, then it's probably "them"; if not, then it's most likely "you".
Also, all bets are off if you have DSL or a home alarm system that dials out to a security company.
That's an odd ass backwards set up. On my house (and every junction box I've ever seen in my area) the male plug comes from the house and the female socket is the telco feed. Unplug the RJ-11 connector and plug in your phone. In order to plug in your phone you have to disconnect the whole house so the process is
100% full proof with no adapter needed.
Why won't a modern fancy phone (known working of course) work for testing purposes vs. an old princess phone?
Been in the telecom field for 11 years. I also have one of those newer telco boxes on my house. If you plug a good working phone in outside and have any noise or no dial tone the problem *IS* the phone company. This is one of the reasons they moved away from the old terminal posts. Most people don't have butt sets laying around!! This allows the customer to seperate his wiring from telco's.
BTW, I don't work for any telco or communication company. Am an in house tech for an organization with approx 11 phone systems.
Sorry I did not read all the other messages so this may have been said, but I suggest that if you totally disconnect your home wiring and connect a phone at the junction box and you still have the problem, you have pined it one the phone company (BTW, check with your neighbors to see if they also have a problem and check out your "known good" phone on their line to make sure it is known good.)
I was rather lost in admiration when I realized what that little connector and jack allowed me to to, ie test the connection out right at the entry point.
Actually, the "new" style boxes are a direct result of the Carterphone decision and deregulation. Once the courts said it was okay to plug something into the phone systems that wasn't provided by Ma Bell (this was years before breakup), then the phone company needed a way to separate their wiring that they are responsible for and any devices and/or wiring that they have no control over. That is why the box is called a 'demarc', or demarcation, box, since it marks the spot where responsibility changes. It used to be a cute little metal box with a slide-off top that had these neat wooden tubes that looked like fuses in it. They provided lightning protection, and the open connection made a good point for the service guy to check where the problem was. Later, it was just a junction box hidden somewhere, usually in the basement. Now it is the box with the RJ-11 (one for each line to the house).
Tim (Who has been involved for the last 28 years [I bought the last 801A in Cincinnati - who remembers what 'they' were?])
28 Years!!!! Yeh got me beat!!! I am only 35 years old. AT work we typically use 66 and 110 blocks. We use 110's on the wall field to patch dial tone over to the jacks. Do you work on PBXs? We have 4 fairly new Definity G3's and an Audix voicemail system. Until last year our switches were over 15 years old. Had three G1's and a System 75. Our four main campus locations are networked via point to point PRI's in a star config topology. Our smaller centers uses small partner switches. What I am curious about is why Verizon dmarcs uses Krone blocks? Just gotta be different? One time I asked a Verizon tech if he carried a 66 or 110 punchdown blade and he said no. Don't know if he was bsing me.
Regards Joe .
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Actually, the "new" style boxes are a direct result of the Carterphone decision and deregulation. Once the courts said it was okay to plug something into the phone systems that wasn't provided by Ma Bell (this was years before breakup), then the phone company needed a way to separate their wiring that they are responsible for and any devices and/or wiring that they have no control over. That is why the box is called a 'demarc', or demarcation, box, since it marks the spot where responsibility changes. It used to be a cute little metal box with a slide-off top that had these neat wooden tubes that looked like fuses in it. They provided lightning protection, and the open connection made a good point for the service guy to check where the problem was. Later, it was just a junction box hidden somewhere, usually in the basement. Now it is the box with the RJ-11 (one for each line to the house).
Tim (Who has been involved for the last 28 years [I bought the last 801A in Cincinnati - who remembers what 'they' were?])
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