It makes old style phones ring. Most newer phones, especially electronic ones like DECT phones and computer modems, do not require the separate ring line.
No, the line quality can get worse if you implement the ring line, as it unbalances the twisted pairs.
If the phones ring (or the device can detect ringing), there is no advantage to having the ring line.
Apart from the gas surge arrestor they are for generating the ring line from the pair that enter your property and are *ONLY* present in the master socket which is where BT's kit ends. You should not normally have cause to fit your own master sockets. Extension sockets do not have these components. NTL Centrex is another kettle of fish though.
As somebody else points out much modernish and imported kit doesn't use the ring line.
I have a Panasonic 816E digital hybrid telephone system in m home/office.
It has a 4 IDSN line card. And a 4 analogue line module.
I have connected two analogue lines directly (no wall socket i between) from the analogue module to two analogue handsets (actuall two VoIP devices).
My question is: should I place in between a socket with the rin capacitor and resistor that is found in all other extension sockets fo the telephone exchange?
What is the purpose of this capacitor/resistor? Will the quality of th line improve? Is is a more durable configuration?
At the moment the lines work.
I understand the purpose of those electronics in a BT master socket bu in an extension socket I don't know. It is not mentioned in th Panasonic installation manual, but I agree that the origina installation of the PBX extensions in my home uses sockets with thos capacitors throughout.
The extension sockets in this case are PBX outlets, not extensions to a master socket, so would each need their own ring capacitor if 3rd line ring signalling is required. They don't need the master socket's surge arrestor, though, as the lines don't go outdoors.
It's worth noting that some PBX systems do not need master sockets of either kind, because they implement their own ring capacitor internally (mine is like that).
Depending on your PBX, you may need the capacitor to reliably get all types fo phoe to ring.
(when I wired my PBX I simply added ring capacitors to the sockets as required rather than use PBX (or any other type of) master sockets).
The resistor is used for line test facilities when there is no phone connected to the master socket - you will not need this.
The capacitor enables phones that have their bell circuit wired with one leg on pin 3 to work. They deliberately connected old style mechanical ringer phones like this to avoid "tinkle" (i.e. the bells of all other extensions ringing in sympathy with the dial pulses) when pulse dialing.
Some phoes are simply two wire (connected to pins 2 and 5) and hence will work without the capacitor.
No, *always*, with Panasonic hybrids, because that way *any* analogue phone will work.
Having done a few installations with these excellent PABX's there is always one person who wants to use his 1963 bakelite dial equipped phone..
Yes, in theory some phones will run two wire, but as a professional installer of kit for customers, doing things to a consistent standard means that if a phone doesn't work, its not your problem.
This is OK, but the cost of suitable masters is not high. And its simple. Also when using structured cabling to RJ45s it's a question of a PABX master 'dongle'
Cost was not realy a factor, but reusing what was installed for least downtime was. I found that with the addition of one extra cat5 between master socket / PBX position and my office I was able to get enough spare pairs to star wire all the phone extensions without cabling any new sockets. Just added ring caps to the sockets as I went through, and sprinked a handful of scotchlok connections here and there to marry it all up!
If I were starting from scratch however then structured wiring is the way I would go certainly.
I don't think I've seen a new small PABX (i.e. wired entirely with premises wiring, not long 2-core outdoor extensions) that required bell capacitors to be added in something like 20 years. If they're expecting you to wire them with 2 or 3 pair premises cable, they put the bell caps internally and you don't need the surge arrestor..
Well check out the Panasonic hybrids. They are entirely two wire on the analogue side. They *do* need them with some phones.
I've installed a couple in the last 4 years, both brand new.
Keyphone systems are of course a different matter, as they run 3 or 4 wires to each special phone.
However, the analogue/hybrid PABX is still the cheapest way to get a small business up and running..wit a receptionist type phone..
The advantage is that any phone the customer can but at Boots etc will actually work.
I have one right next to me right now, using the house wiring and master sockets on the walls to feed 8 phones and three door phones round the house. Its the easiest way to get 8 phones ONTO a couple of lines, and also presents a low load to the ADSL line so I don't have issues with that either.
Only hassle is explaining to friends to 'dial 9 for an outside line' :-)
Strange, I found the opposite, although I've only worked with a few systems. As the 3rd line is a UK only thing and electronic goods tend to be international, wouldn't you expect them not to bother with this UK specific functionality?
A few years ago, I was struggling to get a mod to some phone wiring in France to work. Eventually, I took apart a french phone plug (was actually an RJ11 to french adaptor) to see how it was wired internally. Much to my amusement, the signal was fed up the second pair (not normal for US RJ11) and there was a ring capacitor generating a bell wire, i.e. the french phone had actually been designed for the UK market, in which case a standard BT plug would have been crimped straight on with no adaptation required. (It was a Philips DECT phone.)
BTW, I've certainly come across recent phones in the UK which still use the bell wire. You are most likely to find it in phones which are still switchable to loop disconnect (pulse) dialling, but that's not an absolute rule.
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