DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan.edu) (DOUGLAS SCOTT REUBEN) (05/06/89)
Jeff-
In response to your post from Telcom 155 about a thunderstorm possibly
causing a loud hum on your phone line(s), I've had the same problem
around my house as well.
Frequently, after it rained, I got a loud hum, or no signal at all
(just dead, although Touch Tones worked), and callers calling in
to me got either a busy signal or the line picked up, AUTOMATICALLY,
without me lifting the phone.
After a while, I found out that it was a junction box outside my house,
where my lines were connected to a larger pool of wires from the
central office (?).
When it rained, water got in there, and stayed there for a few days
until it dried out. The water would ocassionally short-out my line,
almost as if someone had "picked-up" the phone and left it off-hook,
hence the apparent lack of a dial tone yet enough line current to
power the Tone pad. It also explains why it was busy for incoming
callers.
At other times, there was a dial tone, but a very loud buzzing on the
line. Incoming callers would get a very short ring, and then, (I am
guessing now) after a certain threshold was reached, the exchange
thought that the short circuit was actually me picking up, and
connected the incoming caller and started billing. Some times it buzzed
quite loudly, others not quite so, yet it happened regularly after
a heavy rain.
I told the lineman all the details, and he immediately knew what to do:
He drilled a few holes in the bottom of the box for drainage, pasted
up the top of it to stop water from entering the box, and moved
my line which was having trouble a bit further to the top of the
box so that if any water accumulated near the bottom in the future
it would affect my line.
I'm not sure you are having the same problem, but it does seem rain
related, so maybe you have some exposed contacts outside that
would tend to collect rain water in a confined area and short
out the line, rather than it having to be just in the junction
box.
Well, hope this helps!!
-Doug
dreuben%eagle.weslyn@wesleyan.bitnet
dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu
(and just plain old dreuben to locals! :-) [all one of them who
actually reads this!-thanks!]