macy@cwjcc.ins.cwru.edu (01/08/90)
[Moderator's Note: This was mailed to the Digest on December 25. It arrived January 5!! The dating above was changed so it will have a couple days life in Usenet. PT] In article <2352@accuvax.nwu.edu> John Higdon <john@bovine.ati.com> writes: >X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 587, message 6 of 9 >> I noticed a couple of years ago in PacBell land in Northern CA that >> the 0020 suffix in just about any prefix always went to a loud, >> continuous tone, which has about a 1/2 sec gap every 15 secs or so. >This tone is known in the biz as the "miliwatt". It is a 1004 hz tone >that originates with a power of .001 watt in the CO. It is a standard >so that by dialing that number, a field tech can readily measure the >loss on that particular circuit. There are several other "standard" test lines that are commonly used. Working from memory here are a few...( it's been a few years...) 1004 Hz milliwatt tone (commonly known as 0.0 db tone) Quiet line, terminated Quiet line, unterminated Quiet line, synchronous 1004 Hz low level, -20 db I think Sweep tone, for frequency response test Various progress tones (busy, intercept, etc) for equip. test Responder lines (send them 1004 Hz. 0.0 db and they respond) Dial test lines (pulse and DTMF), respond with beeps is dial is OK ANI line Ringback line (these have been talked to death here) Automatic analysis line (call it, hang up, the line you called from is checked and you are called back with "reading" info) GTE's Fourtel has an option like this, too. Of the above, 1004 and terminated quiet line are the most freqently used. >There was a number that a phone man used once on some PBX trunks that >I had installed that produced the strangest sounds I had ever heard. This was probably a "sweep" line, which uses a set of tones to check the frequency response and phase envelope delay characteristics of a line, usually a special test unit is used at the site. These were often used to setup and test "conditioned" lines and "program" lines. They do sound very odd when you listen to them. These lines often are set up to require a test set to interact with the CO unit, or they won't respond. Calling one with a 2500 set usually gets a simple beep, then they hang up. And then there is automated testing... GTE has several "access" lines here to use the automation, but few of the craftsmen use them. Their common gripe is the Fourtel is "too sensitive" and responds to many type of equipment as "trouble". At one time, GTE dispatched a repairman on every Fourtel ticket...and they found alarms, data sets, fax machines, key sysetms, PBX's and even a few single line phones created tickets... So now the GTE people run them in a more traditional format...each Fourtel ticket is checked by a human on the test board first before it is dispatched. Now they use Fourtel to spot "trends" on groups of lines (like spotting wet cable) primarily, and individual lines are checked individually. A GTE foreman told me that a recent upgrade to the system had solved a lot of these problems. Automated line testing still tends to set off a lot of alarms with "telephone line cut monitors", especially if it's a long loop. We've had to tell GTE to "bypass" several of our customers (it's actually a class mark in the CO database). Ohio Bell line test stuff has caused us few problems. Craftsmen are still resisting the use of automated test and respond lines, though. They still want to talk to a testboard operator. (Gives them time to drink their coffee, while they wait on hold...) I always used to get mad at holding, and have the frame open the pair, and then use my trusty old Simpson 260 along with some 22 volt batteries to clear the pairs.... I'd be very interested in hearing anyone else's info, experiences, and problems with test lines and/or automated testing. Macy M. Hallock, Jr. macy@NCoast.ORG uunet!aablue!fmsystm!macy F M Systems, Inc. {uunet!backbone}!cwjcc.cwru.edu!ncoast!fmsystm!macy 150 Highland Drive Voice: +1 216 723-3000 Ext 251 Fax: +1 216 723-3223 Medina, Ohio 44256 USA Cleveland:273-3000 Akron:239-4994 (Dial 251 at tone) (Insert favorite disclaimer here) (What if I gave a .sig and nobody cared?)