asv@uunet.uu.net> (10/18/90)
I was just given an "older" black, desk style telephone unit. There
is an "AT&T" on the underside of the handset. It works perfectly in
it's former location (I've tested it there.) but 30 miles away it acts
differently. When any numerical key on the keypad is pressed, no tone
is generated. Moreover, the speaker in the handset seems to "deaden"
for the duration of the keypress. I'm baffled. Is this due to some
local anomaly in my area? Can the phone be made to work at it's new
home?
Thanks for the help! :-)
- Stan Voket, asv@gaboon - OR - ...uunet!hsi!stpstn!gaboon!asv -
- Voice: (203) 746-4489 - FAX 746-9761 TELEX 4996516 -
[Moderator's Note: The most common reason touch tone keys will not
sound when pressed is because the polarity is reversed. Try switching
the wires where you have the phone connected. If you have red on red
and green on green at the junction box they *should* work provided the
original installer did it correctly. Swap them out to green/red and
red/green. See if the touchtones sound now. If they sound, then the
touch tones should 'cut' the dial tone and work. If they sound, but do
not cut the dial tone, then you are out of luck: the line is not
equipped to tone dial. Muting the earpiece when the buttons are
pressed is a common practice. The sound level is reduced; otherwise
you would go deaf if you were on the phone constantly dialing all day
and listening to the loud tones. The contact on the tone pad which
shorts the earpiece line works whenever a key is depressed. It has no
relationship to whether or not the keys actually sound tones. (See
above explanation about why the tones may or may not sound.) PAT]