Weak telephone line

[Dan Beck]

Hello all,

I just purchased a printer/copier/fax combination device. I successfully
installed it, and its software on my PC. Going through the test procedures
I was told my fax line has a weak signal. Are there any hints, tricks, or
modifications I can do, before I have to call the telephone company?

Thank you in advance for reading.

Dan

 

[Art]

Hook a working phone to it and see if there is a lot of noise being
produced, then try to determine if it is from the phone company or being
produced within your residence. May just be a poor interconnect in the
in-residence wiring.
"Dan Beck" <biscuitbecks@*nospam*cableone.net> wrote in message
news:118n1gs8v6n4p3f@corp.supernews.com...

Hello all,

I just purchased a printer/copier/fax combination device. I successfully
installed it, and its software on my PC. Going through the test
procedures I was told my fax line has a weak signal. Are there any hints,
tricks, or modifications I can do, before I have to call the telephone
company?

Thank you in advance for reading.

Dan

 

[w_tom]

You are responsible for interior wires. They are
responsible for exterior wires. The interface is called a
Network Interface Device (NID). Designed so that you do
diagnostics up front. Run a phone wire directly from your fax
to that NID (a long telephone extension cord). Open the box
(with a screw driver). Unplug the interior wire from your
building. Plug in the telephone extension cord. Now test the
line.

If the signal is proper strength, then the problem is
interior wiring. If the signal is low strength, then call the
telco. Everything they do to fix the exterior wire is free.

If you don't do this test up front, then either you will not
get telco service fixed the first time, OR they will charge
you to fix your interior wiring at what could be expensive.
This is how you break a problem down into parts, and then
debug each part. All before trying to fix anything.

Dan Beck wrote:

I just purchased a printer/copier/fax combination device. I
successfully installed it, and its software on my PC. Going
through the test procedures I was told my fax line has a weak
signal. Are there any hints, tricks, or modifications I can do,
before I have to call the telephone company?

Thank you in advance for reading.

Dan

 

[D Akers]

Dan Beck wrote;
"I just purchased a printer/copier/fax combination device. I
successfully installed it, and its software on my PC. Going through the
test procedures I was told my fax line has a weak signal. Are there any
hints, tricks, or modifications I can do, before I have to call the
telephone company? "
_____________________________________
Re;
What I would do is perform what is known as a "loop test". With all
other phones and equipment "off of that line or on-hook", connect a
200-ohm, 1/4 watt resistor (you can use 2 100-ohm resistors in series)
across the red (TIP) and green (RING) of that line at that telephone
outlet. Within a few seconds (before the off-hook response), connect a
DC voltmeter across this 200 ohm resistor. You should measure at least
4VDC across the resistor; indicating that at least 20 mA loop current is
available.

As a "line check", simply measure the DC voltage between the red and
green wires at the telephone outlet in question; you should get at least
40 VDC.

Be careful. The phone lines can deliver a mild shock, especially if a
"ring" signal comes in from an incoming call. It is best to short them
(green and red) together while you are handling the leads.

I hope that helps...

-Dan Akers

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Dan Beck" <biscuitbecks@*nospam*cableone.net> wrote in message
news:118n1gs8v6n4p3f@corp.supernews.com...

Hello all,

I just purchased a printer/copier/fax combination device. I
successfully
installed it, and its software on my PC. Going through the test
procedures
I was told my fax line has a weak signal. Are there any hints,
tricks, or
modifications I can do, before I have to call the telephone company?

Thank you in advance for reading.

Dan

The advice given by w_tom was okay, but his mistake was to not consider
the fax machine as a possible suspect. If you measure the current of
the phone line with a milliammeter and it's 25 to 50 mA, then that's a
normal amount of current. If your phone is a long way from the central
office and the current is well below 20mA, then you might consider it
"weak". But there are fax machines out there that are just too critical
and complain about a situation that's not really a problem. In that
case, you might be better off replacing the fax machine.