I consider myself technical, but this one baffled me....

Working on some oak trim molding, I unplugged a phone jack of a nearby phone
(which also has an AC outlet, that remained plugged in).

- Several hours later, I try to make a call and get NO dial tone from any
phone in the house.
- I start to unplug one phone at a time, seeing where the culpit is. Still
NO dial tone.
- All phones disconnected, I don't even get a signal at the main feed into
the house.
- Convinced it was "OUTSIDE" I called SBC service to "check my line".

After some discussions, I find the problem was I never disconnected the AC
outlet for the one phone that I originally unplugged the phone jack.

Once the AC outlet for that phone was unplugged. I had full dial tone. The
service rep says voltage was TRAPPED in the phone line, even though the
phone jack was disconnected. Somehow unplugging the AC plug "frees" up the
trapped voltage in the phone lines.

The 2 circuits seem completely independant. How is this possible???

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 02:45:07 GMT "Bill"
used 25 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.home.repair

Once the AC outlet for that phone was unplugged. I had full dial tone. The
service rep says voltage was TRAPPED in the phone line, even though the
phone jack was disconnected. Somehow unplugging the AC plug "frees" up the
trapped voltage in the phone lines.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

And you believed him??

I assume you are talking about a cordless phone that was plugged into
a 110V outlet. I could see some correlation *maybe* if that phone was
still plugged into the telco jack, and it was creating a short on Tip
& Ring internally. But what you describe makes absolutely no sense.

Check that wire going to the jack - did ya shoot a nail through it
putting up the trim? Is it under the carpet/ behind the trim and you
disturbed it? Finally, check the pins on the jack itself - they might
be shorted together.

There is no such thing "trapped" voltage in the phone line. Thanks
for the laugh!


--
-Graham

Remove the 'snails' from my email

Previously in alt.home.repair, G. Morgan
proclaimed :

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 02:45:07 GMT "Bill"
used 25 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.home.repair

Once the AC outlet for that phone was unplugged. I had full dial tone. The
service rep says voltage was TRAPPED in the phone line, even though the
phone jack was disconnected. Somehow unplugging the AC plug "frees" up the
trapped voltage in the phone lines.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

And you believed him??

I assume you are talking about a cordless phone that was plugged into
a 110V outlet. I could see some correlation *maybe* if that phone was
still plugged into the telco jack, and it was creating a short on Tip
& Ring internally. But what you describe makes absolutely no sense.

Check that wire going to the jack - did ya shoot a nail through it
putting up the trim? Is it under the carpet/ behind the trim and you
disturbed it? Finally, check the pins on the jack itself - they might
be shorted together.

There is no such thing "trapped" voltage in the phone line. Thanks
for the laugh!

I always hold one up of an extension cord up to make sure any trapped
electricity runs out the bottom of the cord before I store it.

Stale electricity isn't only just dangerous, it rots the insulation.

;-)




__________________________________________________ ________________________

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's
safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.
-Unknown
__________________________________________________ ________________________
Remove "die spammers" to email

Is this one of those units that sends the telephone over house wiring?

Bill wrote:
I consider myself technical, but this one baffled me....

Working on some oak trim molding, I unplugged a phone jack of a nearby phone
(which also has an AC outlet, that remained plugged in).

- Several hours later, I try to make a call and get NO dial tone from any
phone in the house.
- I start to unplug one phone at a time, seeing where the culpit is. Still
NO dial tone.
- All phones disconnected, I don't even get a signal at the main feed into
the house.
- Convinced it was "OUTSIDE" I called SBC service to "check my line".

After some discussions, I find the problem was I never disconnected the AC
outlet for the one phone that I originally unplugged the phone jack.

Once the AC outlet for that phone was unplugged. I had full dial tone. The
service rep says voltage was TRAPPED in the phone line, even though the
phone jack was disconnected. Somehow unplugging the AC plug "frees" up the
trapped voltage in the phone lines.

The 2 circuits seem completely independant. How is this possible???

Bill wrote:
I consider myself technical, but this one baffled me....

Sometimes if a phone circuit is shorted or left off hook for a long period
of time, it goes offline. If you wait a bit it will come back on it's own.

"Bill" wrote in message
...
I consider myself technical, but this one baffled me....

Working on some oak trim molding, I unplugged a phone jack of a nearby
phone
(which also has an AC outlet, that remained plugged in).

- Several hours later, I try to make a call and get NO dial tone from any
phone in the house.
- I start to unplug one phone at a time, seeing where the culpit is.
Still
NO dial tone.
- All phones disconnected, I don't even get a signal at the main feed into
the house.
- Convinced it was "OUTSIDE" I called SBC service to "check my line".

After some discussions, I find the problem was I never disconnected the AC
outlet for the one phone that I originally unplugged the phone jack.

Once the AC outlet for that phone was unplugged. I had full dial tone.
The
service rep says voltage was TRAPPED in the phone line, even though the
phone jack was disconnected. Somehow unplugging the AC plug "frees" up
the
trapped voltage in the phone lines.

The 2 circuits seem completely independant. How is this possible???

Not sure, but you should also make sure you blow out your phone lines
because they can get stuck too....

The problem was two-fold...
What likely happened was your mother (or mother-in-law,
it doesn't mattter which really) placed a call to your
house at the precise moment you disconnected the phone
line from the wall. She, or rather the "voltage" of her
voice, was trapped in your home's phone line system.

Now, as everyone knows, AC stands for "Another Call" which
you had incoming to your house (your mother). Once you
disconnect and reconnect the AC, it clears any outstanding
(incoming) calls, and you can again use your phone.

The service rep really knew his business, hopefully
you wrote down his name so's you can ask for him
specifically next time you call with an issue ;-)

mikey.


Bill wrote:
I consider myself technical, but this one baffled me....

Working on some oak trim molding, I unplugged a phone jack of a nearby phone
(which also has an AC outlet, that remained plugged in).

- Several hours later, I try to make a call and get NO dial tone from any
phone in the house.
- I start to unplug one phone at a time, seeing where the culpit is. Still
NO dial tone.
- All phones disconnected, I don't even get a signal at the main feed into
the house.
- Convinced it was "OUTSIDE" I called SBC service to "check my line".

After some discussions, I find the problem was I never disconnected the AC
outlet for the one phone that I originally unplugged the phone jack.

Once the AC outlet for that phone was unplugged. I had full dial tone. The
service rep says voltage was TRAPPED in the phone line, even though the
phone jack was disconnected. Somehow unplugging the AC plug "frees" up the
trapped voltage in the phone lines.

The 2 circuits seem completely independant. How is this possible???