On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:53:21 -0500, Beowulf
wrote:

Any help greatly appreciated! I had phone service reactivated to my home
(giving up cell phone)-- the phone line (black) comes into my wall to my
basement rafter, consists of two plain wires that each connect to a pole
(bolt with nut) on a thing that is connected to a basement rafter.

In answer to a question I had here I learned that thing is the surge
bypasser or surpressor (probably not its real name. I forget that.)

Ok, so I know I connect the wires from the phone lines to those two poles
where the main line comes in, but is the order important? What I mean is,
I know phones generally only need only two lines, such as green and red,
for usage, so I attach the gree and red wires to each of the two poles of
the thing on the rafter, but does it matter which pole gets red and which
gets the green?

Yes. I've heard it is different on (some?) later phones, but on real
phones, Western Electric phones**, and those that are good imitations,
if you don't have red and green right, you can talk and listen but on
touch-tone, you can't dial.

**Western Electric are the phones that God intended, and are the
actual phones used in Heaven.

All the others are Satanic.

Also, the modular phone jacks have terminals for green, red, black, and
yellow, which I connect, but are the black and yellow really needed if
only green and red are attached to the main pole terminal on the basement
rafter? And if the black and yellow are needed, is their order of
attachment on the main pole terminal important, and should the black go
with the green, and the yellow with the red?

If I anticpated failure, or if I were using the wire for something
that required more amperage, that's what I would do. That's what I do
do. I might leave the black and yellow unconnected now. If I were
running new wire, I might run more than 4-conductor. Part of my house,
from 1979 already, is run with 20 conductor wire, anticpating whatever
they invent next.

I appreciate any help, I am having one hell of a time getting this sorted
out, in part because of the phone company-- they hooked my up to my house,
I had a dial tone, then 5 minutes later the line went dead; there was no
dial tone at the "Demarc(ation) box" phone jack so I know the problem for
now is on their end. Their repair is coming back to check for a short etc
at the main box. But once they confirm a dial tone at the box I am on my
own, frustrating and I want to understand this to get my phones working
once I have a signal from the phone company.

If you had a dial tone before, you'll have one when they fix their
end. If you can't dial, because it's backwards, and you did the red
to red thing (btw, you can see red and green inthe modular wires
themselves. Just look close.) I'd reverse things in the basement if
aiui, there are no colors indicated on that thing you mentioned.

Certainly you should call yourself, or have someone else do it, after
you are connected. You should test everything after a big change like
here.

Thank you in advance,
Randall