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Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
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Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
In article ,
mm wrote: And new cordless phones can't be turned off. They say better design enables them to stay charged for what, 3 or 4 days, even when on. Yeah, but if one could turn them off, so they didn't ring when the phone rang, but I could place a call from one, they would last 20 or 30 days. That would be really good. You can turn OFF the "ringer" on most modern phones (corded and cordless) that still allow you to place a call. Also, when a cordless handset is out of the charger and otherwise idle, it's not the ringer that consumes the most battery power, it's the LCD display or, at least, its backlight. Maybe I will have to take mine apart and modify it. If you do, please report back. I wouldn't dare touch the insides of a modern phone. I believe there is "nothing" there that can be messed with. It's all integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs). -- :) JR |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
Jim Redelfs writes:
Did you know you can "dial" and entire number by simply/quickly "flashing" the switch-hook? It's called pulsing the line. I used to have to do this with an old modem hooked into my CoCo. The phone and modem were polarity dependent and opposite. With one polarity, the phone didn't work (for dialing). With the other the mode, the modem wouldn't work. The access number had multiple 8s, 9s, and 0s... which made it a real killer to mess up. Plenty of negative reinforcement to get it right the first time. I was eventually able to dial most numbers without too much problem. -- flip Just on the border of your waking mind, There lies - Another time, Where darkness & light - are one. And as you tread the halls of sanity, You feel so glad to be, Unable to go beyond. ELO - Twilight Prologue In my email replace SeeEmmYou.EeeDeeYou with CMU.EDU |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
mm wrote: .... Western Electric phones are practically indestructable. I can believe .... Except for the touch-tone dials. Dropping touch-tone phones 5 ft. onto a carpeted floor has been known to cause the dial to stop functioning. I guess that quality was declining even before the break-up |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:21:58 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , mm wrote: And new cordless phones can't be turned off. They say better design enables them to stay charged for what, 3 or 4 days, even when on. Yeah, but if one could turn them off, so they didn't ring when the phone rang, but I could place a call from one, they would last 20 or 30 days. That would be really good. You can turn OFF the "ringer" on most modern phones (corded and cordless) that still allow you to place a call. If turning off the ringer means that the nothing in the phone is running, that the receiver isn't on, that's all I would want. But I have seen several cordless phones, including the matched set of three that I'm using now, where there is no switch for that. Also, when a cordless handset is out of the charger and otherwise idle, it's not the ringer that consumes the most battery power, it's the LCD display or, at least, its backlight. I get used phones various places, and so far only one, that I'm not using, has a display. None that I've used have a display or backlight. It's running the receiver that runs down the battery. On the phones that have had a switch to turn them off, I can go sometimes 10 days without charging. I don't get many calls, and even when I do, I go straight to a more comfortable phone. So talking on the cordless phone is not my goal, only having it nearby so I can answer when someone calls. (Sometimes I'm outside and often I am in my bedroom. The phone jack in my bedroom stopped working. The long term plan is to repair the jack.) Maybe I will have to take mine apart and modify it. If you do, please report back. I wouldn't dare touch the insides of a modern phone. I believe there is "nothing" there that can be messed with. It's all integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs). It wouldn't be too hard to interrupt the connection where the batteries go. Either at the + end or the - end. There wouldn't be room to mount a switch, but there would probably be to run an external wire to an external switch. I don't think I posted to this newsgroup, but I wanted to change my Sony Watchman, with the 2 inch screen, to run off the car battery, instead of 4AA cells. That thing is really stuffed full of parts. Two of the screws that hold the case also connect the battery plus and minus to the circuit board. But I was able to slip a wire under each screw, use a soldering iron to make a notch in the case and run a 3 inch 2-conductor wire to an inline jack. I'm using a cellphone charger** to power the tv. **I somehow have 6 car chargers for cell phones, and the voltages are all different, for 5.5 to 9. Only two were 6 volts or less. The 5.5 was enough to play the tv in the sound-only setting, and the 6.06 charger is enough to play the picture also. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
In article ,
mm wrote: You can turn OFF the "ringer" on most modern phones (corded and cordless) that still allow you to place a call. If turning off the ringer means that the nothing in the phone is running, that the receiver isn't on, that's all I would want. Turning off the ringer means... turning off the ringer. Nothing more. It's not an engine, it's a phone: What do you mean by "running"? A cordless handset, out of the charger but not being used, is on "standby". It consumes VERY little - or SHOULD only consume very little - power. A new, fully-charged handset should be able to go MANY days before a recharge is needed. I have seen several cordless phones, including the matched set of three that I'm using now, where there is no switch for that. I assume your goal is the equivalent of removing the battery from the handset between uses. I, too, have never seen a handset with such a feature. Handsets, out of their charger and on "standby" consume some power, albeit very little. It's running the receiver that runs down the battery. What's "running" when a cordless handset is out of the charger and on "standby"? Obviously, it is "on" just enough to react when an incoming call is detected. As I stated above, with a good, fully-charged battery, you should be able to go MANY days (2-3 weeks?) between charges if the handset is never used during that time. If your needs are greater, then perhaps the addition of the switch you propose is called for. That sounds like a kludge to me, however. Good luck! -- :) JR |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:44:44 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , mm wrote: You can turn OFF the "ringer" on most modern phones (corded and cordless) that still allow you to place a call. If turning off the ringer means that the nothing in the phone is running, that the receiver isn't on, that's all I would want. Turning off the ringer means... turning off the ringer. Nothing more. If it is not going to ring, why have it on standby? What is the purpose of standby in that case, to keep the transistors warm? :) Let it be OFF, and let it turn on when the user starts to receive a call or starts to place a call. If the ringer is off, he'll have to rely on hearing another phone ring, but that's fine. It's not an engine, it's a phone: What do you mean by "running"? A cordless handset, out of the charger but not being used, is on "standby". It consumes VERY little - or SHOULD only consume very little - power. A new, fully-charged handset should be able to go MANY days before a recharge is needed. But if it weren't on standby, if it were on OFF, it would go many times many days before a recharge was necessary. I have seen several cordless phones, including the matched set of three that I'm using now, where there is no switch for that. I assume your goal is the equivalent of removing the battery from the handset between uses. I, too, have never seen a handset with such a feature. I didn't say never, just that I can't find new ones with it. I have two old phones like that***. But they are not a pair, and currently what I wanted was is a charger in my bedroom and a base station near a phone jack. The reason I still want the charger in the bedroom is that even though it takes a lonnng time for these phone batteries to drain when the phone is off, I don't want to have to keep track of how long it has been since I charged them, and whether I keep track or not, I won't actually have any warning when the batteries are getting too weak, until the phone doesn't work when I need it. ***I'm looking at one of them now, a Panasonic, and it has a small slide switch marked "power/ringer", and two settings "off" and "on". I'm pretty sure I couldn't even answer the phone by pressing "talk" when the phone was set to "off", but I'm sure they are clever enough to make it possible to have an true "off" setting that turns to "on" when one presses "talk", or picks the phone out of the charger even. Handsets, out of their charger and on "standby" consume some power, albeit very little. It's running the receiver that runs down the battery. What's "running" when a cordless handset is out of the charger and on "standby"? Obviously, it is "on" just enough to react when an incoming call That's the "on" part that I'm talking about. is detected. As I stated above, with a good, fully-charged battery, you should be able to go MANY days (2-3 weeks?) between charges if the handset is never used during that time. With a battery that good, if it weren't on standby but OFF, you could go 4 to 9 weeks (or a year). And even with a battery that good that one used to talk some once in a while, or a battery not quite so good, you could still go 2-3 weeks. I always keep a flashlight in my car and until very recently they all had incandescant bulbs and carbon-zinc batteries, and I can go 6 months, maybe a year or two, on one set of batteries. That's because the flashlight is off almost all the time. I might use it 5 minutes or even not at all in 6 months. So if the label on the package said "Use by June 2009", the batteries will last to June 2009 if I have them in the flashlight but never use them. If the flashlight were on standby, the batteries would be dead in a month. If your needs are greater, then perhaps the addition of the switch you propose is called for. That sounds like a kludge to me, however. To me, turning the phone off seems like the normal state when it's not being used. Not a kludge at all. Good luck! Thank you. I know what I want, and I want what I want, and I don't always get what I want, but that doesn't change my preference. Why others don't also want what I want is usually a mystery to me. :) |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 23:56:05 GMT, M Q
wrote: mm wrote: ... Western Electric phones are practically indestructable. I can believe ... Except for the touch-tone dials. Dropping touch-tone phones 5 ft. onto a carpeted floor has been known to cause the dial to stop functioning. I guess that quality was declining even before the break-up You're right. The phone I just threw away had a dirty touch tone mechanism, even though there really wasn't any real dirt in the phone. I don't what it was that kept the metal rods in the dial from turning and springing back easily. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 07:48:48 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , Goedjn wrote: Try dialing by banging on the switch-hook. Use the new, $10 Radio Shaft phone for this exercise. I suggest using a 16-lb sledgehammer. FWIW, the correct term for "banging on the switch-hook" is "flashing the switch-hook". Many modern phones have a "flash" key, but is usable only for a SINGLE flash to switch between callers in Call Waiting mode. The days are gone when you can get the attention of the switchboard operator by flashing the hook a lot. Did you know you can "dial" and entire number by simply/quickly "flashing" the switch-hook? It's called pulsing the line. I'm hoping to be kidnapped and held for ransom with only a phone line or a locked phone available, so I can do that, and rescue a beautiful woman, also. Flash the switch-hook, in rapid succession, 5 times for the number 5; 8 times for the number 8; and so on. It really works but you have to be VERY nimble with your finger on the switch-hook and ACCURATE with the short pause between each pulsed number. Talk about worthless trivia... Not if you're being held for ransom! |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:10:16 -0500, Philip Lewis
wrote: Jim Redelfs writes: Did you know you can "dial" and entire number by simply/quickly "flashing" the switch-hook? It's called pulsing the line. I used to have to do this with an old modem hooked into my CoCo. The phone and modem were polarity dependent and opposite. With one polarity, the phone didn't work (for dialing). With the other the mode, the modem wouldn't work. The access number had multiple 8s, 9s, and 0s... which made it a real killer to mess up. Plenty of negative reinforcement to get it right the first time. I was eventually able to dial most numbers without too much problem. Amazing! |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:09:50 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , Mark Lloyd wrote: I got to see a CO when I was in college. They said many of the batteries came out of submarines. I'd never heard that but certainly believe it. I wonder if we'll get their used nukes? bg I think I heard that a tenth of the electricy in Europe or the US, or a fifth of the nuclear made electricity, something like that, comes from old Soviet bombs. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
In article ,
mm wrote: I got to see a CO when I was in college. They said many of the batteries came out of submarines. I'd never heard that but certainly believe it. I wonder if we'll get their used nukes? bg I think I heard that a tenth of the electricy in Europe or the US, or a fifth of the nuclear made electricity, something like that, comes from old Soviet bombs. I watched the War -er- HISTORY channel a couple days ago. It was Modern Marvels, I recall. They claimed that a good portion of the nuclear fuel for our power plants now comes from decommissioned (destroyed/dismantled) Soviet/Russian missile warheads. -- :) JR |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
In article ,
mm wrote: I don't want to have to keep track of how long it has been since I charged them, and whether I keep track or not, I won't actually have any warning when the batteries are getting too weak, until the phone doesn't work when I need it. Modern cordless telephone handsets ALERT the user to a low battery condition. IOW, they TELL you when they're low on power. With ~20 phones in my home, I have yet to really WANT a cordless. I also appreciate the privacy of a CORDED phone. -- :) JR Mean Evil Bell System Historical Society |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
Doug,
I think you are making an assumtion and it is mostly incorrect. I had worked in the towers off and on since they were under construction and I am in the communication business. First, Cell antennas are not mounted on 110 story buildings, that would be way too high for effective coverage. 2nd, What was on top of the Trade center was a number of Microwave and VHF/UHF systems (receivers and repeaters) in addition to the main TV transmitter for the NY Metro area. These systems included NYC emergency frequencies for the PD, FD, etc. 3rd, Next to he Trade Center was a NY Tel (Verizon) main central office on West Street which suffered incredabile damage and was out of operation 4th, Around the Trade Center were many building that did have Cell Antenna and continued to work only if they were not supplied dial tone from the damage Central Office and for as long as their batteries lasted (don't forget that the power grid also suffered major damage). 5th and last, In one of the cellar levels of the Trade Center, there was a major alternate telephone service provider switching center and fiber operations center whcih was destryoyed. So between the Central office damage, the alternate provider damage, the physical destrution to the trunking cables and the pure volume of calls that happens during this kind of emergency, land line service is the surrounding area was severly curtailed Cellular service in the area only lasted untill the central office went out of service or until battery operation was exhausted. It was quite a few weeks until the power grid was restored as the manholes were not usable and the cable in them had melted. Con Ed and the great boys of IBEW Local 3 worked around the clock to restore temp power to the area. I lost a number of friends on that day and WE WILL NEVER FORGET - God Bless America On Jan 24, 8:06 am, (Doug Miller) wrote: In article , mm wrote: I think these are the most reliable too, but feel compelled to give one opposite example. AFter the World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001, much/most landline phone usage was impossible in NYC, but cell phones continued to work, well in most cases.That's exactly backwards. The WTC was home to a number of cellular antennas, and the cellular service obviously went down when the towers did. Landlines that were not routed through the towers continued to work. -- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com) It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
I think I heard that a tenth of the electricy in Europe or the US, or a fifth of the nuclear made electricity, something like that, comes from old Soviet bombs. Dude, you're babbling. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:22:56 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , mm wrote: I got to see a CO when I was in college. They said many of the batteries came out of submarines. I'd never heard that but certainly believe it. I wonder if we'll get their used nukes? bg I think I heard that a tenth of the electricy in Europe or the US, or a fifth of the nuclear made electricity, something like that, comes from old Soviet bombs. I watched the War -er- HISTORY channel a couple days ago. It was Modern Marvels, I recall. They claimed that a good portion of the nuclear fuel for our power plants now comes from decommissioned (destroyed/dismantled) Soviet/Russian missile warheads. I remember hearing that those things (nuclear warheads) get old and have to be replaced every 10 years. -- 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 |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:44:44 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , mm wrote: You can turn OFF the "ringer" on most modern phones (corded and cordless) that still allow you to place a call. If turning off the ringer means that the nothing in the phone is running, that the receiver isn't on, that's all I would want. Turning off the ringer means... turning off the ringer. Nothing more. It's not an engine, it's a phone: What do you mean by "running"? A cordless handset, out of the charger but not being used, is on "standby". It consumes VERY little - or SHOULD only consume very little - power. A new, fully-charged handset should be able to go MANY days before a recharge is needed. I have seen several cordless phones, including the matched set of three that I'm using now, where there is no switch for that. I assume your goal is the equivalent of removing the battery from the handset between uses. I, too, have never seen a handset with such a feature. Handsets, out of their charger and on "standby" consume some power, albeit very little. It's running the receiver that runs down the battery. What's "running" when a cordless handset is out of the charger and on "standby"? Obviously, it is "on" just enough to react when an incoming call is detected. And when one is detected, even more power is consumed. Power to light the phone's display for a few seconds. As I stated above, with a good, fully-charged battery, you should be able to go MANY days (2-3 weeks?) between charges if the handset is never used during that time. I'd say that one unanswered 3-ring junk call is equivalent (in battery drain) to 20 minutes of talk time. That's just a guess. Got anything better? If your needs are greater, then perhaps the addition of the switch you propose is called for. That sounds like a kludge to me, however. Good luck! -- 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 |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:30:38 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote: On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:22:56 -0600, Jim Redelfs wrote: In article , mm wrote: I got to see a CO when I was in college. They said many of the batteries came out of submarines. I'd never heard that but certainly believe it. I wonder if we'll get their used nukes? bg I think I heard that a tenth of the electricy in Europe or the US, or a fifth of the nuclear made electricity, something like that, comes from old Soviet bombs. I watched the War -er- HISTORY channel a couple days ago. It was Modern Marvels, I recall. They claimed that a good portion of the nuclear fuel for our power plants now comes from decommissioned (destroyed/dismantled) Soviet/Russian missile warheads. I remember hearing that those things (nuclear warheads) get old and have to be replaced every 10 years. Well, If the material you're using has a half life of 87 years, and you want at least 90% of the designed bang, how long before you have to re-refine the stuff? I get around 13 years, but I'm not all that sure of my math. (10 years comes out to 92 percent of the designed boom.) |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:26:51 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , mm wrote: I don't want to have to keep track of how long it has been since I charged them, and whether I keep track or not, I won't actually have any warning when the batteries are getting too weak, until the phone doesn't work when I need it. Modern cordless telephone handsets ALERT the user to a low battery condition. IOW, they TELL you when they're low on power. OK, that would be good. But it would still be better if it didnt' run down the batteries at all when I wasn't talking on it. I guess we'll justhave to agree to disagree. With ~20 phones in my home, I have yet to really WANT a cordless. I also appreciate the privacy of a CORDED phone. I like corded too. I only have 7 corded phones and one cordless, and when I repair the jack in my bedroom, I'll only use the cordles when I'm expecting a call and working on the car or doing something outside. Did you hear about the woman who was planning to murder her husband, on a cordless phone? The people in the next house heard her on their baby monitor. True story. IIRC she's in prison now. I guess in prison there's not much privacy either. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
mm wrote:
On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:26:51 -0600, Jim Redelfs wrote: In article , mm wrote: I don't want to have to keep track of how long it has been since I charged them, and whether I keep track or not, I won't actually have any warning when the batteries are getting too weak, until the phone doesn't work when I need it. Modern cordless telephone handsets ALERT the user to a low battery condition. IOW, they TELL you when they're low on power. OK, that would be good. But it would still be better if it didnt' run down the batteries at all when I wasn't talking on it. I guess we'll justhave to agree to disagree. With ~20 phones in my home, I have yet to really WANT a cordless. I also appreciate the privacy of a CORDED phone. I like corded too. I only have 7 corded phones and one cordless, and when I repair the jack in my bedroom, I'll only use the cordles when I'm expecting a call and working on the car or doing something outside. Did you hear about the woman who was planning to murder her husband, on a cordless phone? The people in the next house heard her on their baby monitor. True story. IIRC she's in prison now. I guess in prison there's not much privacy either. Hmmm, If you buy El Cheapo made in China phone, LOL! Anyone still remember Morse code? I do. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
In article wyVuh.823880$R63.18777@pd7urf1no, Tony Hwang wrote:
Hmmm, If you buy El Cheapo made in China phone, LOL! Are there any phones (El Cheapo or otherwise) not made in China? Anyone still remember Morse code? I do. -- . - --- --- -- |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". | | Gary Player. | | http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article wyVuh.823880$R63.18777@pd7urf1no, Tony Hwang wrote: Hmmm, If you buy El Cheapo made in China phone, LOL! Are there any phones (El Cheapo or otherwise) not made in China? Anyone still remember Morse code? I do. -- . - --- --- Hi, It's matter of specification. They just make things per spec. Difference is quality El Cheapo being at the bottom. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
Jim Redelfs posted for all of us...
In article , DK wrote: You do know that the phone company must supply power to the phone lines for running the old phones don't you? It's required for NEW phones, too. It's called "dial tone" or "battery". It is obvious that you are suffering a power shortage on your phone line A "power shortage", eh? I knew it. We need a new government bureaucracy to address our dependence on FOREIGN DIALTONE. sigh you can ask the phone company to provide the proper power to your phone lines. Say what? ...as if there's a master potentiometer out there somewhere. Some of your 'powered' phones are masking your line problem. Who WAS that masked phone? Heh heh heh good one! -- Tekkie Don't bother to thank me, I do this as a public service. |
Telephone will not dial out--the kind of phone with no AC power
On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 07:41:16 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote: In article , DK wrote: You do know that the phone company must supply power to the phone lines for running the old phones don't you? It's required for NEW phones, too. It's called "dial tone" or "battery". It is obvious that you are suffering a power shortage on your phone line A "power shortage", eh? I knew it. We need a new government bureaucracy to address our dependence on FOREIGN DIALTONE. sigh you can ask the phone company to provide the proper power to your phone lines. Say what? ...as if there's a master potentiometer out there somewhere. Some of your 'powered' phones are masking your line problem. Who WAS that masked phone? Phoney McRing-Ring? |
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