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Problem with incoming phone calls
I just moved into a new house and have a problem with the phone system.
We get a dial tone and can make calls, but when someone tries to call us they get a ring which then breaks into static; the phone doesn't even ring at our house (This happens, by the way, if only one working phone is plugged into a jack or even if no phones are plugged into any jacks in the house, so it's not a problem with my phone.) I took a phone outside and plugged it into the jack at the network interface and was able to receive a cell phone call fine, so I'm guessing the problem is in the house. Last night I opened an access panel in the basement to check the phone wiring coming into the house -- quite a tangle of wires! -- and, with assistance from various websites on the Internet, was able to finally make some sense of all the connections, though the problem wasn't immediately apparent. I'm hoping someone could tell me what might be causing this. Can a problem at one of the jacks cause a problem with the whole system even if no phone is plugged into that jack? Or is the problem more likely to be with the wires coming into the house? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions. |
Problem with incoming phone calls
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Problem with incoming phone calls
your cellular phone doesnt use the wires in your home. it is completely
wirelesss through cell antennas scattered around the countryside. your private wired local carry around portabe phone (your cell?) that u may get perhaps 300 feet from home with is not a "cell"phone. if u have a multi terminal commercial phone junction box in your "home", you may have a poor connection at one of the wires to terminal joints. they are almost always just push-in type. they get loose and you get all sorts of troubles. corrosion fron salt air make things worse(if you live near oceans) & with the phone company crooks tryng to charge you up to $60 buck per quarter hour to'diagnose" your problems, i do advise you to be cautious when calling them. anything you do to complicate the trouble will cost u dearly. if you have so many wires as u describe, u have a business connection, or you may have an existing DSL or high speed service that is as yet still working. a simple dsl filter may be the solution to this problem also. some phones will operate very strangley withot a fiolter even the phone you use is suspect. try it at a neighbors home. (get to know them, they are valuable allies against poor phone service representatives) wrote in message ups.com... I just moved into a new house and have a problem with the phone system. We get a dial tone and can make calls, but when someone tries to call us they get a ring which then breaks into static; the phone doesn't even ring at our house (This happens, by the way, if only one working phone is plugged into a jack or even if no phones are plugged into any jacks in the house, so it's not a problem with my phone.) I took a phone outside and plugged it into the jack at the network interface and was able to receive a cell phone call fine, so I'm guessing the problem is in the house. Last night I opened an access panel in the basement to check the phone wiring coming into the house -- quite a tangle of wires! -- and, with assistance from various websites on the Internet, was able to finally make some sense of all the connections, though the problem wasn't immediately apparent. I'm hoping someone could tell me what might be causing this. Can a problem at one of the jacks cause a problem with the whole system even if no phone is plugged into that jack? Or is the problem more likely to be with the wires coming into the house? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions. |
Problem with incoming phone calls
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Problem with incoming phone calls
Jim Land wrote:
wrote in news:1165250313.219717.51370 @l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com: I just moved into a new house and have a problem with the phone system. We get a dial tone and can make calls, but when someone tries to call us they get a ring which then breaks into static; the phone doesn't even ring at our house (This happens, by the way, if only one working phone is plugged into a jack or even if no phones are plugged into any jacks in the house, so it's not a problem with my phone.) I took a phone outside and plugged it into the jack at the network interface and was able to receive a cell phone call fine, so I'm guessing the problem is in the house. Last night I opened an access panel in the basement to check the phone wiring coming into the house -- quite a tangle of wires! -- and, with assistance from various websites on the Internet, was able to finally make some sense of all the connections, though the problem wasn't immediately apparent. I'm hoping someone could tell me what might be causing this. Can a problem at one of the jacks cause a problem with the whole system even if no phone is plugged into that jack? Or is the problem more likely to be with the wires coming into the house? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions. When you went outdoors and were able to receive a call at the network interface, do you mean that you unplugged the house wiring at the interface and plugged in your phone? If so, it sure sounds like you have a problem with the house wiring. A phone jack can go bad after years of use. (A short or intermittant in one jack can cause problems on the line.) Try disconnecting one jack at a time and testing to see if the problem goes away. (Unscrew the jack from the wall, completely disconnect all the wires from the jack.) If you find one that makes the problem go away, replace it with a new jack. If you've disconnected all the jacks in the house and still have the problem, then it's the wiring in the house. If you *really* understand the connections at the basement panel, you can try disconnecting the various branch circuits to try to localize the problem. (Hint: Draw a clear diagram of all the connections before you start!) Best of luck. You might save some time by simply examining each jack (assuming you can find them all--not easy, sometimes). I had this problem when an unused jack that had been mounted 'hole up' got covered by plants. In the process of watering the plants, some water inevitably got into the hole and corroded the contacts until the corrosion 'grew' together, causing a partial, intermittent short. The phones worked okay--some noise, but usable--for dialing out, but the ring voltage was enough to get the corrosion to conduct. The end result was exactly as the OP described. Note that this sort of problem could occur anywhere in the system where moisture is present, and bare wires are close together; but is most likely in the jack itself. Use a small mirror and a strong light to look into the hole. jak |
Problem with incoming phone calls
In our house, I once traced an intermittent problem to a jack mounted on the
basement wall. Apparently the moisture had corroded connections enough to bridge & short under the right circumstances. WT "Jim Land" wrote in message . 3.44... wrote in news:1165250313.219717.51370 @l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com: I just moved into a new house and have a problem with the phone system. We get a dial tone and can make calls, but when someone tries to call us they get a ring which then breaks into static; the phone doesn't even ring at our house (This happens, by the way, if only one working phone is plugged into a jack or even if no phones are plugged into any jacks in the house, so it's not a problem with my phone.) I took a phone outside and plugged it into the jack at the network interface and was able to receive a cell phone call fine, so I'm guessing the problem is in the house. Last night I opened an access panel in the basement to check the phone wiring coming into the house -- quite a tangle of wires! -- and, with assistance from various websites on the Internet, was able to finally make some sense of all the connections, though the problem wasn't immediately apparent. I'm hoping someone could tell me what might be causing this. Can a problem at one of the jacks cause a problem with the whole system even if no phone is plugged into that jack? Or is the problem more likely to be with the wires coming into the house? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions. When you went outdoors and were able to receive a call at the network interface, do you mean that you unplugged the house wiring at the interface and plugged in your phone? If so, it sure sounds like you have a problem with the house wiring. A phone jack can go bad after years of use. (A short or intermittant in one jack can cause problems on the line.) Try disconnecting one jack at a time and testing to see if the problem goes away. (Unscrew the jack from the wall, completely disconnect all the wires from the jack.) If you find one that makes the problem go away, replace it with a new jack. If you've disconnected all the jacks in the house and still have the problem, then it's the wiring in the house. If you *really* understand the connections at the basement panel, you can try disconnecting the various branch circuits to try to localize the problem. (Hint: Draw a clear diagram of all the connections before you start!) Best of luck. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
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