[Gllug] OT: ADSL problems

[Christopher Hunter]

On Thu, 2007-04-12 at 10:23 +0100, Adrian McMenamin wrote:

> Is it safe or reasonable to look at that and see if there is a poorly
> screwed in connection or similar? Or do I have to waste a substantial
> proportion of my life waiting for BT to offer any customer service?

It might be best to contact Tiscali in the first instance - they'll have
set procedures to deal with faulty BT lines, and will do all the tedious
part of contacting BT for you.

> Naturally, of course, I want to yield to the hands on imperative. But I
> know nothing about the safety of telephone connections - I think they are
> low voltage DC but I am sure someone here knows much more.

An "on-hook" (ie: not in use) phone line has approximately 50 Volts DC
across it.  When the handset is lifted, this voltage drops to about 10
Volts.  Ringing is 80 Volts AC, and bites!

A quick and sometimes useful check is to monitor the "off-hook" voltage:
if it's much below 9 Volts or fluctuating, it suggests a high resistance
connection between your end and the exchange, which will require BT's
ministrations.  

However, a crackly line is more usually due to an earthy connection at
some point on the line.  BT's automated line test facility is
notoriously bad at identifying earthy lines - the equipment is often
crippled at the exchange by BT "engineers" because the vast majority of
their lines are poor to earth!

Chris


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