" wrote:
Our ring voltage was 90v for most of my lifetime but I found out from
AT&T that it somewhat recently changed to 45v. I guess the new landline
phones have a better ringer than the old rotary dial types.

The local phone companies have been improving their outside plant
facilities, and the result is that there are fewer very long customer
lines with high resistance wiring so that not as much voltage is needed
to get the same voltage at the customer as before. Also, actual bell
type ringers are non-existent any more, and the electronic-based ringers
can work on much lower voltages.

I believe I have what you refer to as "bell type ringer" in my shop. It's
an old slimline wall phone...

http://tinyurl.com/Slimline-Phone

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AT-T-Beige-S...-/400573924346

It's connected to my TWC router and rings quite nicely...well, it would if
I turned the ringer on. Now it just clicks quietly since I have the ringer
turned down as low as possible.