kravitz@ucsd.edu> (06/01/90)
[Moderator's Note: Jody is a fairly new reader, and probably would not
have known that we've run this little blurb about once a year for a
few years now ... but that's okay, its always good for a laugh for new
readers who have not seen it before. PT]
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 86 16:03:35 PDT
From: Dave Taylor
Subject: Interesting Phone Calls
AN UNUSUAL TELEPHONE SERVICE CALL
This story was related by Pat Routledge of Winnipeg, Manitoba about an
unusual telephone service call he handled while living in England.
It is common practice in England to signal a telephone subscriber by
signaling with 90 volts across one side of the two wire circuit and
ground (earth in England). When the subscriber answers the phone, it
switches to the two wire circuit for the conversation. This method
allows two parties on the same line to be signalled without disturbing
each other.
This particular subscriber, an elderly lady with several pets called
to say that her telephone failed to ring when her friends called and
that on the few occasions when it did manage to ring her dog always
barked first. Torn between curiosity to see this psychic dog and a
realization that standard service techniques might not suffice in this
case, Pat proceeded to the scene. Climbing a nearby telephone pole and
hooking in his test set, he dialed the subscriber's house. The phone
didn't ring. He tried again. The dog barked loudly, followed by a
ringing telephone. Climbing down from the pole, Pat found:
a. Dog was tied to the telephone system's ground post via an iron
chain and collar
b. Dog was receiving 90 volts of signalling current
c. After several jolts, the dog was urinating on ground and barking
d. Wet ground now conducted and phone rang.
Which goes to prove that some grounding problems can be passed on.
This anecdote excerpted from Syn-Aud-Con Newsletter, Vol 4, No 3, April 1977.
[Moderator's Note: This time at least, I caught the 'Winnepeg, Ontario error'
and changed it to Manitoba. PT]