I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA


--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 6:56:47 AM UTC-7, KenK wrote:
I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA


--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

Does any of your neighbors have the same problem?

wrote in news:13a263bb-b728-4e40-ab6d-
:

On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 6:56:47 AM UTC-7, KenK wrote:
I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA


--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

Does any of your neighbors have the same problem?

All I know use cells.



--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

On 6/28/2017 12:20 PM, KenK wrote:

On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 6:56:47 AM UTC-7, KenK wrote:
I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find.
Do any of the phone have batteries? Are any of them portables?

Do you have any jacks not used? Any jacks that got wet?

All of the above have given me problems at one time or another. An
unused jack on the floor got wet once and six months later corrosion
caused a short. Portables with deat betteries or phones that rely on
batteries for the caller ID screen.

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the same
number? The one in the out building works but the other two do not?

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You should
be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit has gone
dead.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a jack.
You could also have a defective jack.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to damage
a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the same
number? The one in the out building works but the other two do not?

Yes.

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

As I said, I'm reluctant to do that. I hate to mess with the only phone
line that works. Also, it's my internet connection line. I don't think
it's a phone, or at least one of them, where the answering machine
doesn't work either. After all, an answering machine is just a
specialized phone.


Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You should
be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit has gone
dead.

I tried that. Doesn't work as far back towards the splitter as I can get.
Odd that both sides of the splitter should fail, but there is a signal in
and out of the splitter. The ho,emade 'splitter' is a metal box with a
barrier circuit strip. The line from the phone company box goes to two
screws on the strip where it branches to four other screws on the barrier
strip, which in turn feed the lines to the two phones. All those screw
pairs in the splitter show a dial tone. This is about 20 - 30 years old
and has worked with no problem up until now.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a jack.
You could also have a defective jack.

It would have to be two jacks as there are none before the splitter.
Seems unlikely but you never know.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to damage
a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Other questions?


--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

On 28 Jun 2017 16:34:59 GMT, KenK wrote:

Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the same
number? The one in the out building works but the other two do not?

Yes.

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

As I said, I'm reluctant to do that. I hate to mess with the only phone
line that works. Also, it's my internet connection line. I don't think
it's a phone, or at least one of them, where the answering machine
doesn't work either. After all, an answering machine is just a
specialized phone.


Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You should
be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit has gone
dead.

I tried that. Doesn't work as far back towards the splitter as I can get.
Odd that both sides of the splitter should fail, but there is a signal in
and out of the splitter. The ho,emade 'splitter' is a metal box with a
barrier circuit strip. The line from the phone company box goes to two
screws on the strip where it branches to four other screws on the barrier
strip, which in turn feed the lines to the two phones. All those screw
pairs in the splitter show a dial tone. This is about 20 - 30 years old
and has worked with no problem up until now.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a jack.
You could also have a defective jack.

It would have to be two jacks as there are none before the splitter.
Seems unlikely but you never know.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to damage
a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Other questions?

It is a simple two wire system. You have a loose / corroded / broken
wire / connection somewhere in the circuit.

I would start with the home made splitter and inspect / tighten /
clean all of the connections.

Also, your description doesn't make a lot of sense, if the twisted
pair from the street is going to your home made splitter, and then
branches off to two extension, just how is the third extension in the
out building connected to the circuit?

Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 16:34:59 GMT, KenK wrote:

Stormin' Norman wrote in
m:

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the
same number? The one in the out building works but the other two do
not?

Yes.

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

As I said, I'm reluctant to do that. I hate to mess with the only
phone line that works. Also, it's my internet connection line. I don't
think it's a phone, or at least one of them, where the answering
machine doesn't work either. After all, an answering machine is just a
specialized phone.


Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You
should be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit
has gone dead.

I tried that. Doesn't work as far back towards the splitter as I can
get. Odd that both sides of the splitter should fail, but there is a
signal in and out of the splitter. The ho,emade 'splitter' is a metal
box with a barrier circuit strip. The line from the phone company box
goes to two screws on the strip where it branches to four other screws
on the barrier strip, which in turn feed the lines to the two phones.
All those screw pairs in the splitter show a dial tone. This is about
20 - 30 years old and has worked with no problem up until now.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a
jack. You could also have a defective jack.

It would have to be two jacks as there are none before the splitter.
Seems unlikely but you never know.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to
damage a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Other questions?

It is a simple two wire system. You have a loose / corroded / broken
wire / connection somewhere in the circuit.

I would start with the home made splitter and inspect / tighten /
clean all of the connections.

Also, your description doesn't make a lot of sense, if the twisted
pair from the street is going to your home made splitter, and then
branches off to two extension, just how is the third extension in the
out building connected to the circuit?


There are two lines leaving the telephone company's box - one to the
splitter for the two phones in my home, the other a single line to my
'office'. The signal successfully, according to my alligator-clipped phone,
gets to the splitter. The problem is after that point, but that's where I
get confused. If signal is ok when arriving at the splitter, how could a
problem after the splitter on one output affect the other splitter output?
Or just coincidence that two problems arose at the same time? Hard to
believe. I'm more confused than usual. Or maybe the alligator phone is
misleading me somehow?


--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.

On 28 Jun 2017 17:55:21 GMT, KenK wrote:

Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 16:34:59 GMT, KenK wrote:

Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the
same number? The one in the out building works but the other two do
not?

Yes.

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

As I said, I'm reluctant to do that. I hate to mess with the only
phone line that works. Also, it's my internet connection line. I don't
think it's a phone, or at least one of them, where the answering
machine doesn't work either. After all, an answering machine is just a
specialized phone.


Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You
should be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit
has gone dead.

I tried that. Doesn't work as far back towards the splitter as I can
get. Odd that both sides of the splitter should fail, but there is a
signal in and out of the splitter. The ho,emade 'splitter' is a metal
box with a barrier circuit strip. The line from the phone company box
goes to two screws on the strip where it branches to four other screws
on the barrier strip, which in turn feed the lines to the two phones.
All those screw pairs in the splitter show a dial tone. This is about
20 - 30 years old and has worked with no problem up until now.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a
jack. You could also have a defective jack.

It would have to be two jacks as there are none before the splitter.
Seems unlikely but you never know.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to
damage a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Other questions?

It is a simple two wire system. You have a loose / corroded / broken
wire / connection somewhere in the circuit.

I would start with the home made splitter and inspect / tighten /
clean all of the connections.

Also, your description doesn't make a lot of sense, if the twisted
pair from the street is going to your home made splitter, and then
branches off to two extension, just how is the third extension in the
out building connected to the circuit?


There are two lines leaving the telephone company's box - one to the
splitter for the two phones in my home, the other a single line to my
'office'. The signal successfully, according to my alligator-clipped phone,
gets to the splitter. The problem is after that point, but that's where I
get confused. If signal is ok when arriving at the splitter, how could a
problem after the splitter on one output affect the other splitter output?
Or just coincidence that two problems arose at the same time? Hard to
believe. I'm more confused than usual. Or maybe the alligator phone is
misleading me somehow?

You need to unscrew the terminals in the splitter and inspect those
wires, it is really quite simple.

From what you are writing, it appears you really don't know if the
signal is "leaving" the splitter, you simply know that the signal is
present in the splitter.

If you post a picture of the internals of the splitter, it might help
me help you.

On 6/28/2017 1:55 PM, KenK wrote:
Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 16:34:59 GMT, KenK wrote:

Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the
same number? The one in the out building works but the other two do
not?

Yes.

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

As I said, I'm reluctant to do that. I hate to mess with the only
phone line that works. Also, it's my internet connection line. I don't
think it's a phone, or at least one of them, where the answering
machine doesn't work either. After all, an answering machine is just a
specialized phone.


Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You
should be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit
has gone dead.

I tried that. Doesn't work as far back towards the splitter as I can
get. Odd that both sides of the splitter should fail, but there is a
signal in and out of the splitter. The ho,emade 'splitter' is a metal
box with a barrier circuit strip. The line from the phone company box
goes to two screws on the strip where it branches to four other screws
on the barrier strip, which in turn feed the lines to the two phones.
All those screw pairs in the splitter show a dial tone. This is about
20 - 30 years old and has worked with no problem up until now.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a
jack. You could also have a defective jack.

It would have to be two jacks as there are none before the splitter.
Seems unlikely but you never know.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to
damage a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Other questions?

It is a simple two wire system. You have a loose / corroded / broken
wire / connection somewhere in the circuit.

I would start with the home made splitter and inspect / tighten /
clean all of the connections.

Also, your description doesn't make a lot of sense, if the twisted
pair from the street is going to your home made splitter, and then
branches off to two extension, just how is the third extension in the
out building connected to the circuit?


There are two lines leaving the telephone company's box - one to the
splitter for the two phones in my home, the other a single line to my
'office'. The signal successfully, according to my alligator-clipped phone,
gets to the splitter. The problem is after that point, but that's where I
get confused. If signal is ok when arriving at the splitter, how could a
problem after the splitter on one output affect the other splitter output?
Or just coincidence that two problems arose at the same time? Hard to
believe. I'm more confused than usual. Or maybe the alligator phone is
misleading me somehow?


Are both lines in the box working? That's what I asked. I had 2 lines
from same box but they were separate and one might work and the other
not. That's where phone company's at fault.

On 6/28/2017 12:34 PM, KenK wrote:
Stormin' Norman wrote in
:

On 28 Jun 2017 13:56:37 GMT, KenK wrote:

I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Are you saying you have three, wired, extension phones all on the same
number? The one in the out building works but the other two do not?

Yes.

If the above describes the problem, take one of the phones that
doesn't work and, as a test, connect it to the jack in the out
building. If the phone works when connected to that jack, then you
have a wiring problem in the house.

As I said, I'm reluctant to do that. I hate to mess with the only phone
line that works. Also, it's my internet connection line. I don't think
it's a phone, or at least one of them, where the answering machine
doesn't work either. After all, an answering machine is just a
specialized phone.


Take the above working phone and start by connecting it to the jacks
in the house from the beginning of the circuit to the end. You should
be able to isolate the two points between where the circuit has gone
dead.

I tried that. Doesn't work as far back towards the splitter as I can get.
Odd that both sides of the splitter should fail, but there is a signal in
and out of the splitter. The ho,emade 'splitter' is a metal box with a
barrier circuit strip. The line from the phone company box goes to two
screws on the strip where it branches to four other screws on the barrier
strip, which in turn feed the lines to the two phones. All those screw
pairs in the splitter show a dial tone. This is about 20 - 30 years old
and has worked with no problem up until now.

Odds are, you have a bad splitter or a loose / broken wire at a jack.
You could also have a defective jack.

It would have to be two jacks as there are none before the splitter.
Seems unlikely but you never know.

You can use your test set if you like, but you are not going to damage
a regular telephone by plugging it into a miss wired jack.

Other questions?


When ever I called the phone company first thing they would tell me is
to directly plug a phone into the box. If it worked, it is not their
fault. You could test to make sure phones work by taking them to the
one that works in your office. If phones work it sounds like fault is
in the splitter. I've seen wires break after many years of slight
vibration. Also had one finally break where original installer had
stapled to a wall and staple hit wire which finally broke after a year.

On Wed, 28 Jun 2017 13:06:23 -0400, Frank "frank wrote:

When ever I called the phone company first thing they would tell me is
to directly plug a phone into the box.

The demarcation box hanging on the exterior wall ...

On 6/28/2017 2:38 PM, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 28 Jun 2017 13:06:23 -0400, Frank "frank wrote:

When ever I called the phone company first thing they would tell me is
to directly plug a phone into the box.

The demarcation box hanging on the exterior wall ...

Back when I had old copper lines one phone or the other would fill with
static or go out. Of course the phone company would tell me to check
that box first because if they came out and it was in the house I would
have to pay for it. The line could be broken at a different junction
box. They switched both lines to optical cable and I still maintained
one as my business line but switched other to VoIP as part of my cable
package. It was funny because I had to tell the tech how to tie into
existing house lines.

What is frustrating about the phone company is that they could send
signal to line to check it rather than me have to run outside.
Generally low level workers with phone or cable are idiots.

KenK posted for all of us...



I have three phones - two in the house, one in a separate
office building. The two in my home don't work. I traced
signal to the box and barrier strips where the line is split
and goes to the two phones. Signal ok at that point. Phone in
kichen has signal from the splitter to a connector that goes
between bare phone line and female phone connector. Have
signal there where line is connected with an old repairman's
test phone with alligator clips. Phone doesn't work. Tried the
other phone. Doesn't work. Tried a spare phone that works
IIRC. Doesn't work. Only place for a problem is between bare
line connection and female connector. Not likely but that is
what I find. Afraid to test with working phone - don't want to
damage my only working phone by messing with connection or
plugging in a possibly bad phone. The other splitter line goes
to an answering machine. It doesn't answer the phone if I call
it on my cell. No convenient place there to use alligator clip
repair phone - all phone line standard connectors.

Doesn't make any sense.

Any theories to try?

TIA

Sounds like a broken wire or bad connection. Use a toner and probe to
locate.

--
Tekkie