[Electronics-Talk] Modern Landline Phone Service

[Aaron Spears]

Just see if you can disconnect the phone box from power and connect the 
modem to the nearest phone jack using a standard phone cable, nothing 
unusual or fancy, just a plain phone cable.


Before you do that though, take a handset that is corded and only needs 
a telephone jack to work. Plug it in and press a button on the keypad. 
If it doesn't beep, then I don't think it has power and I believe it 
safe to run a standard telephone cable from modem to nearest jack and 
then expect all the other jacks to work once you plug a telephone into them.


Note I don't expect you to hear a dial tone, but if it still has power, 
a phone that pulls the power from the landline service will beep or do 
pulse dialing, indicating that it has power. If you have power, just 
disconnect the phone box before you connect the modem to the nearest 
phone jack. I can't see any logic in you paying $60 a month or more just 
because of that one small detail. Don't cave in that easy. Or give me 
that money instead, I have actual need of it.


Note also that a cordless phone cannot be used to test for power. The 
answering machine base even can't, it gets power from the 120 outlet. It 
must be a phone that only ever needs to be plugged into just the phone 
line, with no extra power supply. You also probably can't use a rotary 
phone to test. I'm pretty sure they make the clicking noise in the phone 
even if unpowered.


Last case scenario, buy a good 4 handset cordless phone system probably 
from Panasonic for the cost of maybe 3 AT&T phone bills, plug the base 
directly into the modem, plug the chargers for the other handsets into 
the 120v outlets where ever you want them to be and call it done.



Cheers:
Aaron Spears, AKA Valiant8086 General Partner at Valiant Galaxy Associates "we make (VERY GOOD AUDIOGAMES) for the blind comunity" http://valiantGalaxy.com

On 6/19/2022 4:06 PM, Leslie Fairall via Electronics-Talk wrote:
> Would I be better off switching to AT&T's voip service since they are 
> the local phone company? Unfortunately, they are telling me the same 
> thing as Comcast, but if my jacks would work with them, it would be 
> worth it.
>