" wrote in message
roups.com:
There is a heavy wire running from the outside phone box (company side)
to a big spike in the ground. I clipped that with hedge clippers some
years ago, then I repaired the break merely by twisting the ends back
together and that worked okay for many years..

Today there is a bad, constant hum on all phones. When I plugged a
phone into the outside box jack, the hum was the same. It has also been
raining for several days.

Can a bad ground cause a hum? Vigorously shaking the ground wire caused
no static. What should I expect if I disconnected the ground entirely?
(As I write this, I'm thinking maybe with corrosion the path to ground
is now non-existent.)

Also, there was a wasp nest in the customer side of the outside box
(but not in the company side). The nest didn't seem to create any
obvious destruction, though. If I connect a phone to the jack on the
customer side, then the nest seems to have no involvement anyway since
the terminals on that side become irrelevant - but you never know.

Phone lines are not (supposed to be) grounded, and generally are not shielded
either - being run as twisted pairs is all the noise protection they usually
need. The ground wire you cut is for lightning protection.

When you tested at the customer-side jack in the NID (Network Interface
Device) box and still heard hum, was this with all lines leading into the
house disconnected? (Usually the same jack that you tested at will have a
plug in it that connects/disconnects all inside lines.) If not, check it
again with inside lines disconnected and see if that makes a difference. If
disconnecting your house lines doesn't clear up the hum, it's the phone
company's problem.

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Alan "A.J." Franzman

Email: a.j.franzman [ A T ] verizon [ D O T ] net

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