DIYbanter - View Single Post - Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power

Reed

wrote:
I like to have one telephone in my house that will work when the power
goes out.

I had an old push button phone that got a good dial tone, but wouldn't
dial out. I was told that in very old phones, polarity is an issue.

I bought a new phone today at Radio Shack, and it won't dial either!
The dial tone is fine.

I reversed the wires at the jack, but no help.

I tried the new phone at another jack, no help.

An AC powered phone works fine at the original jack.

I disconnected all my other phones and computers, no help.

Every other phone in my house has an AC power supply and works fine.
My computer modem works fine.

This is California, about 50 miles north of San Francisco, if that
provides any clues.

Can anyone help with this? Aside from not wanting to spend any money,
this is bugging me and i want to fix it myself!!!!

Does the house have a newer style NID (Network Interface Demarc) where
line enters house ? If so, it has jack for testing telco vs house
problems. Try the non_AC phone there. Report results.