Have a commercial garage with a very faint phone line. It seems the longer you talk the phone line gets to the point of not hearing the other person at all. But seems the better reception seems to come from some mobile callers bt say that its not their line, any help would be appreciated as this is highly embarrasing!
very faint phone line
- Thread starter carreraman
- Start date
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If you have an NTE 5 ( master socket where the lower front half can be removed ) then remove the front part and plug a known good telephone into the test socket you will see in the rear section of the NTE5.
Borrow a simple phone from home or buy one for a few pounds to use as the test phone.
If the fault is still there then the fault is on the BT line and is their responsibility to find and repair.
If the fault is not there when you use the test socket with a phone that you know works normally then the fault is in your internal wiring.
Borrow a simple phone from home or buy one for a few pounds to use as the test phone.
If the fault is still there then the fault is on the BT line and is their responsibility to find and repair.
If the fault is not there when you use the test socket with a phone that you know works normally then the fault is in your internal wiring.
Hi,
A few thoughts. You state you have a commercial garage. How are your phones distributed around the workshop.? Are there a number of extensions working via a phone system, NEC, Panasonic or simular? Or is it just one line with one or more phones connected to it?
If it is the latter, have you added any new phones or extension leads recently?. Try removing the additions and see if the situation improves. Two many phones connected to one line = degenerating reception, there's not enough power in the phone line to overcome the resistance of all the phones. As a general rule of thumb, no more than four phones to a single line. Also look out for wiring staples puncturing the extension lead. These can cause utter havoc!
If your phones use a phone system, there are a number of possibilities. All the extensions should connect in a wiring box. (Telephone engineers call this a premises DP's - distribution points) The box will be close to the phone system. The individual leads within the box connect on a 'Chrone strip' to put it simply the lead is forced between a small metal V shaped jaw. The jaw cuts through the insulation and make contact with the metal condutor forming the connection.
It is not unknown for the connection to deteriorate. Pop into Maplins or B & Q, or speak to a friendly phone engineer and buy/borrow a 'Telecom Impact Tool'
BEWARE!!! If you get the packer tool, it will have a cutting blade on one side of the impact jaw. This blade is there to cut of any excess cable close to the termination block, thus keeping everything neat & tidy. Use the tool the wrong way around and you will cut the very cable you are trying to reseat!
Having scared you to death
and after checking the orientation of the impact toll, work down each connection in the DP, pushing the tool hard into each connector. You will feel it click. Do it at least twice on each cable. Any high resistance connections will be cleared.
These Crone connections are also used in many telephone sockets. It is worth going around to ensure all those connections are sound too.
Finally, swap the extension between two different ports on the phone system. Release the lower cover on the phone system, there you will see the cables coming in from the DP. Get someone to pick up the phone and listen as you release the line plugs, like the plug into the extension socket, they have a tab that needs to be pushed in before they pull out. When you yank the right plug, the extension goes dead. Now swap the extension for another on the system. If the fault moves between the two extensions, the fault is on the phone system. Move the phone to a completely different port and reprogram as per handbook.
If the fault stays on the same extension, it's the cabling, socket or phone.
Sorry the post is so long but is hopefully of some help.
A few thoughts. You state you have a commercial garage. How are your phones distributed around the workshop.? Are there a number of extensions working via a phone system, NEC, Panasonic or simular? Or is it just one line with one or more phones connected to it?
If it is the latter, have you added any new phones or extension leads recently?. Try removing the additions and see if the situation improves. Two many phones connected to one line = degenerating reception, there's not enough power in the phone line to overcome the resistance of all the phones. As a general rule of thumb, no more than four phones to a single line. Also look out for wiring staples puncturing the extension lead. These can cause utter havoc!
If your phones use a phone system, there are a number of possibilities. All the extensions should connect in a wiring box. (Telephone engineers call this a premises DP's - distribution points) The box will be close to the phone system. The individual leads within the box connect on a 'Chrone strip' to put it simply the lead is forced between a small metal V shaped jaw. The jaw cuts through the insulation and make contact with the metal condutor forming the connection.
It is not unknown for the connection to deteriorate. Pop into Maplins or B & Q, or speak to a friendly phone engineer and buy/borrow a 'Telecom Impact Tool'
BEWARE!!! If you get the packer tool, it will have a cutting blade on one side of the impact jaw. This blade is there to cut of any excess cable close to the termination block, thus keeping everything neat & tidy. Use the tool the wrong way around and you will cut the very cable you are trying to reseat!
Having scared you to death
and after checking the orientation of the impact toll, work down each connection in the DP, pushing the tool hard into each connector. You will feel it click. Do it at least twice on each cable. Any high resistance connections will be cleared.These Crone connections are also used in many telephone sockets. It is worth going around to ensure all those connections are sound too.
Finally, swap the extension between two different ports on the phone system. Release the lower cover on the phone system, there you will see the cables coming in from the DP. Get someone to pick up the phone and listen as you release the line plugs, like the plug into the extension socket, they have a tab that needs to be pushed in before they pull out. When you yank the right plug, the extension goes dead. Now swap the extension for another on the system. If the fault moves between the two extensions, the fault is on the phone system. Move the phone to a completely different port and reprogram as per handbook.
If the fault stays on the same extension, it's the cabling, socket or phone.
Sorry the post is so long but is hopefully of some help.
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Extreme lateral thinking.
If the speech reduces over the time the phone is Off Hook then one possible fault is a cable with damaged insulation in a wet area with slow ingress of water into the cable.
On hook the 50Volt idle line voltage is enough to keep the insulation reasonably dry without taking enough current to trip the Off Hook at the exchange. But while the phone is in use the 9 volts or so on the line is not enough to keep the insulation dry and as it dampens it shorts out the line.
Has happened with paper spaced pairs in punctured lead sheath under water but once a pair was wet replacing the phone on hook did not release the call at the exchange as current through the wet paper was enough to hold the A relay in the exchange.
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