Tick Tick!

Switching on the PC when I got home yesterday, I posted to a
forum then came back a couple of hours later to check for replies only to
find the ADSL link had dropped out - no too unusual, but the usual switching
router on and off didn't recover it. Lifting the 'phone handset there was a
loud Tick Tick on the line. Better report to BT fault line - but what's the
number? I no longer keep the bulky phone book or yellow pages which land on
the doorstep at regular intervals as all the relevant info can be found on
line, but the internet connection is dead - oh dear, a worrying dependence
on technology here!

Eventually rung 100 for operator and, after a few hiccoughs as the number
recognition system didn't work (I wonder if the Tick Tick made it think it
had a line-disconnect type dialling system) got through to a human being. No
chance of speaking to an engineer of course but the call centre arranged an
automatic line test
which came back clear - "the fault must be on your premises sir". I
explained that I had already disconnected anything which could possibly
cause such a signal, leaving just had one handset connected to the master
socket and yes, I had tried another handset! The upshot is that an
'engineer' should be calling on Saturday morning - lord know what he will
make of the manky wiring we inherited when we moved in some 15 years ago!

Being a naturally curious type, I disconnected the remaining handset and
listened with a pair of high impedance 'phones to verify the Tick was still
there, then exhumed my old Telequipment 'scope. I didn't do a full measuring
job ('scope's probably out of cal by now anyway!), but the Tick is a short
duration pulse with a sharp leading edge to an amplitude of about 15 volts
and slightly slower fall with a 5 volt 'overshoot' in the other direction,
PRF is almost exactly 1Hz, I'm pretty sure that cannot be originating "on my
premises".

Any ideas?


--

Nick H

"nick" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:f-2dnbeJWYo-(E-Mail Removed)...
> the Tick is a short
> duration pulse with a sharp leading edge to an amplitude of about 15
> volts
> and slightly slower fall with a 5 volt 'overshoot' in the other
> direction,
> PRF is almost exactly 1Hz, I'm pretty sure that cannot be
> originating "on my
> premises".
>
> Any ideas?

Do you live in the country ?

I had exactly the same fault once when an overhead line came off a
pole and landed on an electric fence. Fence energisers usually produce
10,000 volts, pulsed at around 1 second intervals. Induction into a
nearby phone line is entirely possible. It can also happen when a
well-meaning passer by lifts up an un-buried telephone cable out of
the ditch (BT often just chuck them into the hedge) and hangs it over
a fence, thinking this will help to keep it out of harm's way.

Whenever I get a line fault of any sort, first thing I do is to drive
along the course of the line ( about 2.5 miles, partly overhead,
partly cable on the ground) to see if there has been any damage due to
farmer's tractors, hedge cutters, kids or vandals. 9 times out of 10 I
can spot the fault before phoning BT. On several occasions I have even
managed to intercept a passing BT engineer to show them the problem
and they were able to repair it there and then.

Vic

"Vic" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote (snip):-
>
> Do you live in the country ?
>

Right on the edge of W. London, 'the country' (Bucks) is about half a mile
down the road, but the route from us to the exchange (Uxbridge) is all built
up. Good thought though.

Update:-

Yesterday evening, when the fault first appeared I half jokingly said to my
wife "I bet someone will walk into the exchange tomorrow, see the flashing
fault light and change a DSLAM card or something". Well what do you know, by
the time I got home for lunch the fault, still there when I left for work in
the morning, had mysteriously disappeared. Now all I have to do is call off
the engineer visit or I'll be charged £60 or so for a no fault found
call-out!

--

Nick H

Had a fault with the same symptoms earlier this year (Cambridge city).

Having confirmed that it was present at the master socket with everything
else disconnected, I waded through the automated fault-reporting system. I
seem to recall an automated call-back saying that the line had been tested
and was clear (it wasn't!); it offered a number to call if there was still a
problem. Called the number and within a few hours the fault had gone away.

nick wrote:
> "Vic" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote (snip):-
>>
>> Do you live in the country ?
>>
>
> Right on the edge of W. London, 'the country' (Bucks) is about half a
> mile down the road, but the route from us to the exchange (Uxbridge)
> is all built up. Good thought though.

Good old Bucks. Uxbridge is 10 minutes from me :-)

I was just thinking how wonderful life was, when "nick"
<(E-Mail Removed)> opened his gob and said:

>Well what do you know, by
>the time I got home for lunch the fault, still there when I left for work in
>the morning, had mysteriously disappeared

But they are still listening...

--
Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.

"nick" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Y-(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>
>
> "Vic" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote (snip):-
>>
>> Do you live in the country ?
>>
>
> Right on the edge of W. London, 'the country' (Bucks) is about half a mile
> down the road, but the route from us to the exchange (Uxbridge) is all
> built
> up. Good thought though.
>
> Update:-
>
> Yesterday evening, when the fault first appeared I half jokingly said to
> my
> wife "I bet someone will walk into the exchange tomorrow, see the flashing
> fault light and change a DSLAM card or something".

Your wife understands what a DSLAM card is?

(kim)

On Sat, 11 Mar 2006 20:54:58 UTC, "kim" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> > Yesterday evening, when the fault first appeared I half jokingly said to
> > my
> > wife "I bet someone will walk into the exchange tomorrow, see the flashing
> > fault light and change a DSLAM card or something".
>
> Your wife understands what a DSLAM card is?

Well, mine does!
--
[ 7'ism - a condition by which the sufferer experiences an inability
to give concise answers, express reasoned argument or opinion.
Usually accompanied by silly noises and gestures - incurable, early
euthanasia recommended. ]

nick wrote:
> "Vic" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote (snip):-
>
>>Do you live in the country ?
>>
>
>
> Right on the edge of W. London, 'the country' (Bucks) is about half a mile
> down the road, but the route from us to the exchange (Uxbridge) is all built
> up. Good thought though.
>
> Update:-
>
> Yesterday evening, when the fault first appeared I half jokingly said to my
> wife "I bet someone will walk into the exchange tomorrow, see the flashing
> fault light and change a DSLAM card or something". Well what do you know, by
> the time I got home for lunch the fault, still there when I left for work in
> the morning, had mysteriously disappeared. Now all I have to do is call off
> the engineer visit or I'll be charged £60 or so for a no fault found
> call-out!
>

Had a similar experience two months ago, though in my case
the handset noise was more like a relay clicking with a few
seconds between clicks. I suspected someone was working on
the line. The audible signal cleared after a short period,
though DSL service wasn't restored for several hours.

I'd reported the fault to my ISP, but they weren't aware of
restoration. ISTR being told there was an automatic reset
process on the exchange equipment, with a 1-hour retry
period (though it took longer in my case). I doubt anyone
is paid to watch for flashing alarm lights.

[from uk-t]