Telephone wetting current.

Someone remarked here once that if there are any dodgy joints on a
telephone line, drawing a bit of current off it improved it..i.e. the
'on hook' current is beneficial to broadband.

I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
hook..or does it?

I am wondering if a resistors might not improve line quality slightly.

Where can I find chapter and verse on this?

On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:38:18 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
> hook..or does it?

You PABX looks like a normal phone to the exchange, when your make or
recieve a call it goes "off hook" and draws current just like a
normal phone.

A slightly iffy joint might be improved by this current but ringing
has more power. TBH I doubt it will make any difference to your ADSL.
In fact depending on why a joint is iffy it might make things worse,
damp dissimilar metals plus current = more corrosion...

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:38:18 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
>> hook..or does it?
>
> You PABX looks like a normal phone to the exchange, when your make or
> recieve a call it goes "off hook" and draws current just like a
> normal phone.
>
> A slightly iffy joint might be improved by this current but ringing
> has more power. TBH I doubt it will make any difference to your ADSL.
> In fact depending on why a joint is iffy it might make things worse,
> damp dissimilar metals plus current = more corrosion...
>
Oh well..thanks for that anyway.

On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:29:28 -0700, cynic wrote:

> On 27 Oct, 10:38, The Natural Philosopher <t...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> Someone remarked here once that if there are any dodgy joints on a
>> telephone line, drawing a bit of current off it improved it..i.e. the
>> 'on hook' current is beneficial to broadband.
>>
>> I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
>> hook..or does it?
>>
>> I am wondering if a resistors might not improve line quality slightly.
>>
>> Where can I find chapter and verse on this?
>
> Atkinsons Telephony? Out of print but you might find one on ebay?

Used copies on Amazon...that's where I got mine.



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed) says...
>
> Dave Liquorice wrote:
> > On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:38:18 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
> >>hook..or does it?
> >
> >
> > You PABX looks like a normal phone to the exchange, when your make or
> > recieve a call it goes "off hook" and draws current just like a
> > normal phone.
> >

Answers to the current possible are in SIN351 - find it at :
http://www.sinet.bt.com/index.htm

You can draw up to 4mA from the line before it may be recognised as a
"Seize". A 15K resistor across the line will draw 3mA. Try it and see -
it works well for me.

The actual physics of wetted contacts is well understood, but that said,
I've no idea where to find definitve data. It's probably in some very
specialised (expensive) textbooks on contact phenomena. To reliably
carry small signals with no superimposed DC current usually requires
platinum contacts. It's the oxide layer on other contact materials which
does the damage. We're only speaking about a layer a few atoms thick, so
a milliamp or so wetting current is usually sufficient to punch through
this.

On 27/10/2010 18:01, Gaius wrote:
> In article<(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed) says...
>>
>> Dave Liquorice wrote:
>>> On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:38:18 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
>>>> hook..or does it?
>>>
>>>
>>> You PABX looks like a normal phone to the exchange, when your make or
>>> recieve a call it goes "off hook" and draws current just like a
>>> normal phone.
>>>
>
> Answers to the current possible are in SIN351 - find it at :
> http://www.sinet.bt.com/index.htm
>
> You can draw up to 4mA from the line before it may be recognised as a
> "Seize". A 15K resistor across the line will draw 3mA. Try it and see -
> it works well for me.
>
> The actual physics of wetted contacts is well understood, but that said,
> I've no idea where to find definitve data. It's probably in some very
> specialised (expensive) textbooks on contact phenomena. To reliably
> carry small signals with no superimposed DC current usually requires
> platinum contacts. It's the oxide layer on other contact materials which
> does the damage. We're only speaking about a layer a few atoms thick, so
> a milliamp or so wetting current is usually sufficient to punch through
> this.

Is this any use?
http://www.clare.com/Products/DCTermination.htm

George

On Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:38:18 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Someone remarked here once that if there are any dodgy joints on a
>telephone line, drawing a bit of current off it improved it..i.e. the
>'on hook' current is beneficial to broadband.
>
>I have no telephones connected: Only a PABX which draws almost no on
>hook..or does it?
>
>I am wondering if a resistors might not improve line quality slightly.
>
>Where can I find chapter and verse on this?


Try an old GPO phone bell and ring the phone. The bells are ooften on
Ebay.

--
brightside S9