On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:51:14 -0500, Jim Redelfs
wrote:

In article . com,
wrote:

These are gonna be live wires, no?

Yes. -48VDC


Rrrrriiinnngggg!!!!! -48VDC (high impedance) and 75VAC (low impedance)

(Very little current, but still some.)
So what do I use to handle them?

Your BARE fingers and hands.

We virtually NEVER turn off a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line prior to
working on it.

Unless you are soaking wet and well grounded, you will never feel dial tone
current.

On the other hand, if you are soaking wet and well grounded, and someone RINGS
your line while you are handling the pair, you will get zapped with ~100VAC.
Such risk is minimal and comes with the job.


Interestingly, rats chew on phone wires. Rat saliva is a good
conductor. Whenever you call someone, you could be hurting a rat.

Working on 22-24-gauge wire with insulated gloves - or ANY gloves for that
matter - is almost impossible. Don't worry about it.
--
64 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy