I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

on 8/20/2007 8:10 AM John Ross said the following:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John



Cordless phones need an electrical outlet, but I don't know what the NEC
says.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

so do corded phones if they have a display, which means all but the most
basic

"willshak" wrote in message
...
on 8/20/2007 8:10 AM John Ross said the following:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John



Cordless phones need an electrical outlet, but I don't know what the NEC
says.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

In article . com, John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

It's absolute nonsense.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Frankly it is a good idea, but I had not heard that it was code.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

On Aug 20, 7:10 am, John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Most new homes are done like that, along with the network and cable tv
drops to the same wall plate, same for central vacuum inlets, it's for
convenience only. I never heard it was code. Municipalities dont
care much about how the low voltage prewire is done, other than if you
drilled holes in the fire stops that you did not re-caulk.

Probably because most yuppified phones now a days plug into power also.


steve


"John Ross" wrote in message
ups.com...
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

On Aug 20, 4:10 pm, "Steve Barker"
wrote:

- Probably because most yuppified phones now a days plug into power
also.

Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish, Press 3 if you have a rotary
phone.

Joseph Meehan wrote:
John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Frankly it is a good idea, but I had not heard that it was code.


Why is it a good idea?

I should note that this is just for a modem, not an actual phone
(although I don't think that came up in the conversation).

--
John

RickH wrote:
On Aug 20, 7:10 am, John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Most new homes are done like that, along with the network and cable tv
drops to the same wall plate, same for central vacuum inlets, it's for
convenience only. I never heard it was code. Municipalities dont
care much about how the low voltage prewire is done, other than if you
drilled holes in the fire stops that you did not re-caulk.

This is an older home. This subject came up after talking about
different ways of doing it (i.e. going up to attic, down to
crawlspace). I got the impression that somehow he was saying it would
make it easier to do. I just can't see how that would be. It's not
like he needs to connect the phone wires to the electrical wires.

In addition, the most likely option is just to go straight through the
wall (it goes to a garage right near where the phone connectin to the
house is). So, again I can't see how the receptacle would have any
relevance.

I also extremely doubt this is a local code. But I have to give him
credit---he is the ONLY person (aside from this NG) who has even
mentioned "The NEC"--including electricians!!! Kinda had to give him
credit for that, even though it still doesn't seem to make sense.

--
John

"John Ross" wrote in message
oups.com...


RickH wrote:
On Aug 20, 7:10 am, John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Most new homes are done like that, along with the network and cable tv
drops to the same wall plate, same for central vacuum inlets, it's for
convenience only. I never heard it was code. Municipalities dont
care much about how the low voltage prewire is done, other than if you
drilled holes in the fire stops that you did not re-caulk.

This is an older home. This subject came up after talking about
different ways of doing it (i.e. going up to attic, down to
crawlspace). I got the impression that somehow he was saying it would
make it easier to do. I just can't see how that would be. It's not
like he needs to connect the phone wires to the electrical wires.

In addition, the most likely option is just to go straight through the
wall (it goes to a garage right near where the phone connectin to the
house is). So, again I can't see how the receptacle would have any
relevance.

I also extremely doubt this is a local code. But I have to give him
credit---he is the ONLY person (aside from this NG) who has even
mentioned "The NEC"--including electricians!!! Kinda had to give him
credit for that, even though it still doesn't seem to make sense.

--
John


Your public library will have a copy of the local codes. But, I wouldn't
bother. Just put the phone jacks where you want them. There is no logical
reason to do otherwise.

You can install phone jack any bloody place you want
on one of my phone lines I have 5 jacks all over house
Tony



"John Ross" wrote in message
ps.com...


Joseph Meehan wrote:
John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Frankly it is a good idea, but I had not heard that it was code.


Why is it a good idea?

I should note that this is just for a modem, not an actual phone
(although I don't think that came up in the conversation).

--
John

In article om,
John Ross wrote:

Joseph Meehan wrote:
John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Frankly it is a good idea, but I had not heard that it was code.


Why is it a good idea?

I should note that this is just for a modem, not an actual phone
(although I don't think that came up in the conversation).

--
John

What? Are you trolling now, John? If it's a modem, aren't you going to
want to plug it in?

On 21 Aug, 08:20, John Ross wrote:
RickH wrote:
On Aug 20, 7:10 am, John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Most new homes are done like that, along with the network and cable tv
drops to the same wall plate, same for central vacuum inlets, it's for
convenience only. I never heard it was code. Municipalities dont
care much about how the low voltage prewire is done, other than if you
drilled holes in the fire stops that you did not re-caulk.

This is an older home. This subject came up after talking about
different ways of doing it (i.e. going up to attic, down to
crawlspace). I got the impression that somehow he was saying it would
make it easier to do. I just can't see how that would be. It's not
like he needs to connect the phone wires to the electrical wires.

In addition, the most likely option is just to go straight through the
wall (it goes to a garage right near where the phone connectin to the
house is). So, again I can't see how the receptacle would have any
relevance.

I also extremely doubt this is a local code. But I have to give him
credit---he is the ONLY person (aside from this NG) who has even
mentioned "The NEC"--including electricians!!! Kinda had to give him
credit for that, even though it still doesn't seem to make sense.

--
John- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Why would you give him credit for mentioning the NEC when it wasn't
relevant to the situation? If you didn't tell him it was a modem
(which, BTW, *would* require a receptacle nearby, although not by
code) then why would the NEC be something worth mentioning?

It's akin to someone mentioning OSHA regulations when talking to you
about renovating a residential bathroom. Not only isn't it relevant,
but I would *deduct* points if it came up in a discussion since it
tells me the contractor doesn't know what (s)he is talking about.

John Ross wrote:
Joseph Meehan wrote:
John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was
talking to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be
"within 3 feet of a wall receptacle." And he said something about
this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Frankly it is a good idea, but I had not heard that it was code.


Why is it a good idea?

I should note that this is just for a modem, not an actual phone
(although I don't think that came up in the conversation).

Try to think ahead. You are doing the work, now so think about what
might be needed next year or next month. Someone rearranges the furniture
and now wants to use a cordless phone that needs to be pluged in at that
location.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Bull

ron wrote:
so do corded phones if they have a display, which means all but the most
basic

BULL, they draw power from the phone co or batteries as backup.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Aug 20, 4:10 pm, "Steve Barker"
wrote:

- Probably because most yuppified phones now a days plug into power
also.

Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish, Press 3 if you have a rotary
phone.

Suicide hotline please hold...
Incontinence hotline please hold...

"Tekkie®" wrote in message
. ..
ron wrote:
so do corded phones if they have a display, which means all but the most
basic

BULL, they draw power from the phone co or batteries as backup.

Some do, some don't. Most phones you buy in the store with more than a
1-line display, have a wall wart transformer.

aem sends...

John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial. They had a power supply
to plug in.

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 05:10:31 -0700, John Ross
wrote:

I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.


I don't see this as a requirement, but recommended. My phone has an
DC adapter to power the speakerphone and built-in answering machine.
Never heard anyone say, "There are too many electrical outlets in this
room!"

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
t...

John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial. They had a power
supply to plug in.


There were several in my parent's house in the early 70s. None had power
supply plugs. And, I have a spare AT&T "princess" style phone whose display
is illuminated. Bought it 5 years ago. No power supply plug.

In article . com,
John Ross wrote:

I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this?

No. There is virtually NO code for residential phone wiring.

I can't see what one has to do with the other.

It is almost rare that the ONLY cord a phone line-using device is the "base"
cord. Many devices that plug into a telephone outlet (jack) also require an
AC power supply, hence the value of placing the phone jack near an AC outlet.
--

JR

Mean Evil Bell System
Historical Society

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial.
They had a power supply to plug in.

There were several in my parent's house in the early 70s.
None had power supply plugs.

Nevertheless, the dial lights were powered from an external power supply: A
transformer was plugged-in SOMEWHERE in the house. Dial light current was
supplied to Princesstm and early Trimlinetm telephones using the secondary
pair in the jack, usually the yellow/black conductors of the old "quad" wire.
The current was distributed to every jack on the second pair - pair three if
3-pr cable was used.

Many of these transformers are still plugged-in today, but doing virtually
nothing since illuminated "dials" (buttons) have been "line powered" by the
C.O. battery for years.

And, I have a spare AT&T "princess" style phone whose display
is illuminated. Bought it 5 years ago. No power supply plug.

Yeah, and if it says "AT&T", it is not nearly old enough to have been powered
by the above-enumerated technique. In those days, everything was made, and
labeled as such, by Western Electric.
--

JR

"Jim Redelfs" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial.
They had a power supply to plug in.

There were several in my parent's house in the early 70s.
None had power supply plugs.

Nevertheless, the dial lights were powered from an external power supply:
A
transformer was plugged-in SOMEWHERE in the house. Dial light current was
supplied to Princesstm and early Trimlinetm telephones using the
secondary
pair in the jack, usually the yellow/black conductors of the old "quad"
wire.
The current was distributed to every jack on the second pair - pair three
if
3-pr cable was used.

Many of these transformers are still plugged-in today, but doing virtually
nothing since illuminated "dials" (buttons) have been "line powered" by
the
C.O. battery for years.

And, I have a spare AT&T "princess" style phone whose display
is illuminated. Bought it 5 years ago. No power supply plug.

Yeah, and if it says "AT&T", it is not nearly old enough to have been
powered
by the above-enumerated technique. In those days, everything was made,
and
labeled as such, by Western Electric.
--

JR

Well, there's no transformer in THIS house. It's been rewired completely,
beginning at the outside terminal box.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial. They had a power
supply to plug in.


There were several in my parent's house in the early 70s. None had power
supply plugs. And, I have a spare AT&T "princess" style phone whose
display is illuminated. Bought it 5 years ago. No power supply plug.


I had three Trimline in my house, installed about 1966 or 67. Each had a
power supply. Maybe newer designs eliminated it.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
t...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial. They had a power
supply to plug in.


There were several in my parent's house in the early 70s. None had power
supply plugs. And, I have a spare AT&T "princess" style phone whose
display is illuminated. Bought it 5 years ago. No power supply plug.


I had three Trimline in my house, installed about 1966 or 67. Each had a
power supply. Maybe newer designs eliminated it.

They did. But even on the early ones, if the Missus of the house objected to
'that ugly gray cube' taking up an outlet slot in the bedroom or wherever, a
common trick was to break the second pair on the 4-color feed line in
basement near that jack, and feed the juice to the phone that way. In fact,
there is one of those cubes hanging from an abandoned line in my basement
laundry room right now. Probably been there since the '60s. Good little
transformers, like most WE hardware of the era, damn near impossible to
kill.

aem sends...

John Ross wrote:

I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John


Sure.
Sort of. Phone jack has to be within 6 feet of an outlet unless it is
in a wall space that is less than 2 feet in width. NEC 2005 210.52(A)(1).

:-)

Except the NEC doesn't mention telephone jacks. Same code section
would require a thumbtack in the wall to be within 6 feet of an outlet.

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:20:58 -0700, John Ross
wrote:



RickH wrote:
On Aug 20, 7:10 am, John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Most new homes are done like that, along with the network and cable tv
drops to the same wall plate, same for central vacuum inlets, it's for
convenience only. I never heard it was code. Municipalities dont
care much about how the low voltage prewire is done, other than if you
drilled holes in the fire stops that you did not re-caulk.

This is an older home. This subject came up after talking about
different ways of doing it (i.e. going up to attic, down to
crawlspace). I got the impression that somehow he was saying it would
make it easier to do. I just can't see how that would be. It's not
like he needs to connect the phone wires to the electrical wires.

In addition, the most likely option is just to go straight through the
wall (it goes to a garage right near where the phone connectin to the
house is). So, again I can't see how the receptacle would have any
relevance.

I also extremely doubt this is a local code. But I have to give him

He may be referring to Morse code.

credit---he is the ONLY person (aside from this NG) who has even
mentioned "The NEC"--including electricians!!! Kinda had to give him
credit for that, even though it still doesn't seem to make sense.

I don't see why you would give him credit if he is wrong.

"aemeijers" wrote in message
...

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
t...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message

Only if you want a Princess Phone with lighted dial. They had a power
supply to plug in.


There were several in my parent's house in the early 70s. None had power
supply plugs. And, I have a spare AT&T "princess" style phone whose
display is illuminated. Bought it 5 years ago. No power supply plug.


I had three Trimline in my house, installed about 1966 or 67. Each had a
power supply. Maybe newer designs eliminated it.

They did. But even on the early ones, if the Missus of the house objected
to 'that ugly gray cube' taking up an outlet slot in the bedroom or
wherever, a common trick was to break the second pair on the 4-color feed
line in basement near that jack, and feed the juice to the phone that way.
In fact, there is one of those cubes hanging from an abandoned line in my
basement laundry room right now. Probably been there since the '60s. Good
little transformers, like most WE hardware of the era, damn near
impossible to kill.

aem sends...




Maybe that's what we had, because my sisters used to move them from their
bedrooms to the den, when they wanted to watch TV and yack on the phone
simultaneously. They only had to deal with one wire.

In article UB6zi.5753$iA.4481@trnddc05,
M Q wrote:

Except the NEC doesn't mention telephone jacks. Same code section
would require a thumbtack in the wall to be within 6 feet of an outlet.

Hehehehe! I'm sure the addendum says something like: Except on those walls
painted blue on a Thursday. Yadda, yadda...
--

JR

John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Thanks for the replies. I thought I would clear up a few things.

First, as far as the modem needing an outlet. I DO have outlets in the
room. In fact, the wall in question has one in the middle. But, I need
about 4 or 5 feet from that instead of 3 (I'll explain later). Anyway,
in this scenario, the modem would be on the ajacent wall, which would
have an outlet within 6 feet. I think it is possible to get a 6 foot
phone cord!

One thing I thought of is that wall separates the garage from house.
He said something about a "firewall" and so I am not sure if that has
anything to do with it. Also, he now just does commercial jobs, but
said he would do this since it seemed straightforward and he had some
time. So not sure if commercial is different from residential.
However, he did do residential for years before quitting it recently
(like everyone else I called!!!!!!!) so he should know the difference.

It is odd because I think he did say NEC "recommended" the 3 foot
thing, so I can't understand his insistence on it. And, he comes
extremely well recommended. But you all agree that this isn't even in
the NEC.

Still confused. But, hey at least some had a nice nostalgia trip with
talk of their princess phones

--
John

On 23 Aug, 08:53, John Ross wrote:
John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Thanks for the replies. I thought I would clear up a few things.

First, as far as the modem needing an outlet. I DO have outlets in the
room. In fact, the wall in question has one in the middle. But, I need
about 4 or 5 feet from that instead of 3 (I'll explain later). Anyway,
in this scenario, the modem would be on the ajacent wall, which would
have an outlet within 6 feet. I think it is possible to get a 6 foot
phone cord!

One thing I thought of is that wall separates the garage from house.
He said something about a "firewall" and so I am not sure if that has
anything to do with it. Also, he now just does commercial jobs, but
said he would do this since it seemed straightforward and he had some
time. So not sure if commercial is different from residential.
However, he did do residential for years before quitting it recently
(like everyone else I called!!!!!!!) so he should know the difference.

It is odd because I think he did say NEC "recommended" the 3 foot
thing, so I can't understand his insistence on it. And, he comes
extremely well recommended. But you all agree that this isn't even in
the NEC.

Still confused. But, hey at least some had a nice nostalgia trip with
talk of their princess phones

--
John

- However, he did do residential for years before quitting it
recently
- (like everyone else I called!!!!!!!) so he should know the
difference.

Once again, I think you are giving him credit where credit is not
warranted. Earlier, you gave him credit for mentioning the NEC when it
wasn't applicable to the situation. Now you're assuming he knows the
difference between residential codes and commercial codes simply
because he did residential work for years. Who's to say that he knew
the codes back then? Who's to say that he didn't bomb out of
residential work due to his lack of knowledge/talent?

Ask yourself this: Why does he have time off from commercial work
right now? If, as you say, everyone is moving from residential to
commercial work, can one assume that there is a ton of commercial work
to be had? Why is this guy available for "straightforward" jobs, all
the while spouting code requirements that everyone says are wrong?

Have you gotten 3 quotes/opinions or are you running with the first
guy you spoke with?

In article m,
John Ross wrote:

John Ross wrote:
I need to have an extra phone jack installed in my home. I was talking
to a guy who installs them, and he said it has to be "within 3 feet of
a wall receptacle." And he said something about this being in the NEC.

Has anyone heard of this? I can't see what one has to do with the
other.

--
John

Thanks for the replies. I thought I would clear up a few things.

First, as far as the modem needing an outlet. I DO have outlets in the
room. In fact, the wall in question has one in the middle. But, I need
about 4 or 5 feet from that instead of 3 (I'll explain later). Anyway,
in this scenario, the modem would be on the ajacent wall, which would
have an outlet within 6 feet. I think it is possible to get a 6 foot
phone cord!

One thing I thought of is that wall separates the garage from house.
He said something about a "firewall" and so I am not sure if that has
anything to do with it. Also, he now just does commercial jobs, but
said he would do this since it seemed straightforward and he had some
time. So not sure if commercial is different from residential.
However, he did do residential for years before quitting it recently
(like everyone else I called!!!!!!!) so he should know the difference.

It is odd because I think he did say NEC "recommended" the 3 foot
thing, so I can't understand his insistence on it. And, he comes
extremely well recommended. But you all agree that this isn't even in
the NEC.

Still confused. But, hey at least some had a nice nostalgia trip with
talk of their princess phones

--
John

I doubt if there's a single professional in here who knows every single
thing about their respective profession. So the guy made a mistake.
Maybe someone he worked for and trusted and respected said something
wrong, and he believed it. Or maybe he mis-heard something somewhere. If
he's well respected and you trust him, let him do the work, but tell him
he's mistaken. Sure, it's a stupid issue to be wrong about, and he
should've known better, but he didn't. So what? Don't let that one thing
be the deciding factor. I'm hearing a lot of sanctimonious arrogance in
here, as usual.

On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:56:57 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"aemeijers" wrote in message
...

They did. But even on the early ones, if the Missus of the house objected
to 'that ugly gray cube' taking up an outlet slot in the bedroom or
wherever, a common trick was to break the second pair on the 4-color feed
line in basement near that jack, and feed the juice to the phone that way.
In fact, there is one of those cubes hanging from an abandoned line in my
basement laundry room right now. Probably been there since the '60s. Good
little transformers, like most WE hardware of the era, damn near
impossible to kill.

aem sends...

Maybe that's what we had, because my sisters used to move them from their
bedrooms to the den,

Didn't they have a spare bedroom?

when they wanted to watch TV and yack on the phone
simultaneously. They only had to deal with one wire.