On 10/7/2015 8:56 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 7 Oct 2015 16:22:24 -0400, Ed Pawlowski
wrote:

On 10/7/2015 3:18 PM, micky wrote:

For several days, people have had a hard time calling me. The phone
rings a bit then changes to a busy signal. Or once it sounded like
someone answers and then drops the phone

Then two days ago, I couldn't call out either. No dial tone.

But the DSL internet has worked the whole time.

Twice checking the NID, I got a dial tone.

In the last 36 hours, to fix my telephone, I replaced the phone, the
cord, the DSL filter, disconnected the main wire from the rest of the
house, and fiddled with the NID outside. Replacing the
one-piece, all-plastic, Y-connector for the phone line enabled me to
place calls again, even though I'm looking at it and it looks fine, and
I'd used it for years. But receiving calls still had the same
problems. I test by calling myself with Skype.

Have you called the phone company and asked them to check the line?
They can do that while you hold and it costs nothing.

Yeah, I did that and they didn't find anything. They wanted to come
out on a day that I wouldn't be there.

Lasst time I thought I had a problem, it was the line a couple of blocks
from my house.

What does it mean that the internet works but not the phone? Can that
still be a block away?

Think about it. Your phone is (seems to be) "busy" -- as far as callers
are concerned (more or less). The CO won't ring your phone because it
(probably!) thinks you are ON the phone (you would have to measure the line
voltage and polarity to know this for sure).

Now, pretend this was last week (or last month). *If* you were "on the phone",
wouldn't your internet (DSL) connection STILL WORK? Yet, if folks tried
to CALL you while you were on the phone, it wouldn't ring through.

I.e., the DSL function and the POTS function are independant (unless
your line is shorted or open -- in which case, both are toast).