Problem with incoming phone calls

You've got a corroded wire somewhere shorting the line out when the ring voltage is applied. Truth to tell, although you're getting a dial tone, and able to dial out, the line probably has some noise on it, right? Clicks, pops, static...that kind of thing?

I've had this happen a few times. The last time, some water got into the Customer Interface box on the outside of the house. The proper troubleshoot is to unhook the modular phone plug in that box and substitute a working telephone. (On the newest boxes, the plug is harder to find. You swing out a little terminal board to which the lines are connected). If the phone needs to be plugged in to electricity, this more complicated. Use a simpler phone, or run an extension cord outside.

In any case, if the phone now rings when you call your number (from a cell phone?), the issue is inside the house. One problem I've had is forgotten phone jacks getting 'watered' along with the house plants. Eventually the contact wires corrode and short out. Replacing the offending jack is the only option in that case.

If you're comfortable doing so, disconnect all but one jack at the box outside, and repeat your experiment (calling the number from another phone). When the problem reappears, you've isolated the problem. It can be tough to trace the wiring from the box to the jack, so it might be easier to physically examine each phone jack inside.

jak

your cellular phone doesnt use the wires in your home. it is completely wirelesss through cell antennas scattered around the countryside.

your private wired local carry around portabe phone (your cell?) that u may get perhaps 300 feet from home with is not a "cell"phone.

if u have a multi terminal commercial phone junction box in your "home", you may have a poor connection at one of the wires to terminal joints. they are almost always just push-in type. they get loose and you get all sorts of troubles. corrosion fron salt air make things worse(if you live near oceans)

& with the phone company crooks tryng to charge you up to $60 buck per quarter hour to'diagnose" your problems, i do advise you to be cautious when calling them.

anything you do to complicate the trouble will cost u dearly.

if you have so many wires as u describe, u have a business connection,

or you may have an existing DSL or high speed service that is as yet still working. a simple dsl filter may be the solution to this problem also. some phones will operate very strangley withot a fiolter

even the phone you use is suspect. try it at a neighbors home. (get to know them, they are valuable allies against poor phone service representatives)

snipped-for-privacy@wheelock.edu wrote in news:1165250313.219717.51370 @l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com:

When you went outdoors and were able to receive a call at the network interface, do you mean that you unplugged the house wiring at the interface and plugged in your phone? If so, it sure sounds like you have a problem with the house wiring.

A phone jack can go bad after years of use. (A short or intermittant in one jack can cause problems on the line.) Try disconnecting one jack at a time and testing to see if the problem goes away. (Unscrew the jack from the wall, completely disconnect all the wires from the jack.) If you find one that makes the problem go away, replace it with a new jack.

If you've disconnected all the jacks in the house and still have the problem, then it's the wiring in the house. If you *really* understand the connections at the basement panel, you can try disconnecting the various branch circuits to try to localize the problem. (Hint: Draw a clear diagram of all the connections before you start!)

Best of luck.

I had this problem once due to a faulty caller ID device. The ring voltage caused it to short out when ringing voltage was present, but it was open circuit otherwise. Also be sure there is not an alarm system or something else on the line that may not be connected directly to a visible jack. Any satellite receiver connected>

David

You might save some time by simply examining each jack (assuming you can find them all--not easy, sometimes). I had this problem when an unused jack that had been mounted 'hole up' got covered by plants. In the process of watering the plants, some water inevitably got into the hole and corroded the contacts until the corrosion 'grew' together, causing a partial, intermittent short. The phones worked okay--some noise, but usable--for dialing out, but the ring voltage was enough to get the corrosion to conduct.

The end result was exactly as the OP described. Note that this sort of problem could occur anywhere in the system where moisture is present, and bare wires are close together; but is most likely in the jack itself.

Use a small mirror and a strong light to look into the hole.

jak

In our house, I once traced an intermittent problem to a jack mounted on the basement wall. Apparently the moisture had corroded connections enough to bridge & short under the right circumstances.

WT

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