AT&T project Lightspeed

finally..in the Pete club, Im honored. half my posts shouldnt count cause they are alot of BS

8122pbrainard wrote: Well, the "repair" involved him removing the two brass cartridges (sorry but I don't know what they are called) from the old porcelain "interface".

Pete,while you share your boating knowledge John,Kurt and I will make a phoneman out of you. The porcelain thing is called a protector and the brass cartridges were called carbons. The new ones are all potted using gas carbons which "reset" themself that still,but rarely cause trouble.Right up there with a fire a house hit by lightining is in my opinion the nastiest repair case you can get.

Wow...haven't heard of "2 piece" protectors or 98A protectors in quite a while. Hey Gary...did you guys use those thin brass straps to modify the 98A's?

john

Gary & Jbear,
Were you guys always splicers or did you start with the company doing something else? I started off as a inst/rpr. Now I'm in the switchroom. Wished I could have started off in DA. Have a friend that started off in DA when he was 18. He said it was the best time in his life. The only guy in an office building full of young girls.
Kurt

I started in 79 and after working for 2 years, Pacific Telephone (at the time) offered a wage credit for previous work experience. I put in for it and got bumbed up to top pay AND got a retroactive check for the 2 years I had already worked. The only work experience I had was wiring commercial buildings for intercoms, paging & background music. I was only 20 at the time so it was a big surprise to me that they actually gave it to me.

Pete maybe they are keeping the footage down to make sure it works,I don't know. As to vrad or node,I've heard of node but everyone outside working on them calls them vrads. Must be a " marketing " thing. One of my coworkers got it recently and had trouble with it.He lives in a brand new subdivision so old cable wasn't an issue. Turns out it was the way he had terminated his inside wires,when he did his own phone service install With alot of things in life Pete, being the 1st to have it is not always best

Shouldn't be an issue, as long as it's wired the same. Tip and ring in on 4&5 respectivly, out on 1&8 of the RJ31X. The installer should be trained on alarm jacks. Just make sure he knows there is an alarm system.
The reason for the alarm jack is the alarm controller cuts off service to all the phones in your building in an alarm state. That is so a burgler cannot take the phones off hook and disrupt the alarm call.
Kurt

Pete, maybe you're misunderstanding me. You're correct that the jack doesn't operate the relay, but the telephone line comes in on pins 4&5 of the RJ31X, through the alarm cord, through the relay and back out on pins 1&8 and then to your telephone equipment. When you are in an alarm state, the relay operates and opens the tel line towards your telephone equipment, thereby disconnecting all the telephone wiring and keeps the telephone line connected only to your controller. If you don't believe me, try to use your telephones when your alarm has been activated. This has been the way every alarm I've ever worked on works that uses a modem and a dial up phone line to connect to the alarm company. If it is not working as I have described, then your alarm or telephone wiring has been wired incorrectly or you have a different type of alarm such as wireless, a private line or something else. I made the assumption you had a dial-up alarm modem by your question.
I agree that an alarm system is there to not let burglars in, but short of having an automatically aimed gun that shoots them dead, it doesn't always deter them. This function has been built in to not allow them to take the phone off the hook and disrupt the call your alarm controller is making to the alarm company's modem.
When you unplug the cord from your alarm controller to the RJ31X, it doesn't put a shunt on the telephone line. A shunt is a short. A short or "shunt" would kill your phone line. There are two copper bars in the jack itself that connects pin 1 to pin 4 and pin 5 to pin 8, thereby connecting the wiring in your house to the telephone line allowing you to use your phones. When you plug your cord back in, these little bars lift up and drop the connection.
Remember Pete, I'm a phone guy. I know how this stuff works. I hope this wasn't to long of a read. Kind of boring, huh?
But to answer your question about the U-Verse service, you shouldn’t have a problem with your alarm. You may even notice you might have better service because of it. When I said these pairs have been conditioned, that means they have also been rigorously tested as well. Just ask Gary.
Kurt

Kurt,
I understand exactly how a RJ31 works.
It's there are a convenience for alarm servicing. I also, as stated, know exactly what the alarm seizure relay does.

Why have all Bell employees been corrupted in there training when it comes down to the proper use of electrical terms??? A shunt may be a short in Bell terms but is is really a connection from one point to another. From Winnipka: "a shunt is a device which allows electric current to pass around another point in the circuit." If you shunt to ground then yes the phone doesn't work. Remember the "carbons" discussion??? What happens if the Bell repairman is in the field and whats to ohm (oh, I forgot you guys don't call a ohm meter a ohm meter ether but rather a "point" meter??!!) out a copper pair - He asks someone in the office to shunt the pair at that location so he can check the complete pair. When the modular plug is pulled out of the RJ31, it shunts (connects) the copper pair removing the alarm connection into the line.

Gary S wrote: Pete,Kurt is right on the RJ31X it's not for convenience of service,alarm installeres don't do anything for convenience

Gary,
You guys sure stick together! Do you hug each other for the night when leaving the office each day!!

The alarm installers do do it for convenience. The RJ31 is there for when all the finger pointing starts from the Bell employee's!! "It's the alarms fault and it's why you don't have a phone sir"!!!

Actually, I was wrong stating the RJ31 is for the convenience of the alarm installer but rather, it's to ease both the alarm and phone company employees troubleshooting/servicing and a FCC rule.

When a problem occurs, there are even instructions in most alarm manuals for the homeowner to go and simply unplug the RJ31 modular connection to isolate a Bell or alarm problem.

I wish it was that easy when you have a dedicated copper pair to the village fire department. We finally gave up at the plant after years (and costs $$) of seeing fire trucks every time it rained outside!!! Went to a standard dialer to a monitoring center. At least they call and tell us of trouble after it rains! By the time we would get a service person in from Bell, the lines are dried out and we would hear: "It's the alarms fault"

Sorry Pete I didn't get a chance to ask about the alarm yet, my source was on a 2am call out,I'll check tommorow. How much they hitting you up for? And what package,U100,U200 etc?

Pete I talked to one guy I know, and he has not heard of alarm trouble. When is the install going to happen?

Alot of them have quit,if we get together fri I'll fill in the details

It was 6 this morning and they are talking more snow tonight.I'll put up with this since I know spring will come early now. I thought I heard frost warnings for Fla this morning?

Gary S wrote: It was 6 this morning

Gary,
Where's your normal work? Outside? You do have one of those trucks with the built in heaters ducted to the vault or the tent don't you?

When the 3rd couple from AT&T came to my door to sell me (the ones who did make the sale) the U-verse, it was cold. I invited them into my entry and was told they weren't allowed to enter the house. Now I'm standing there shivering with the door open wanting to ask more questions but at the same time wanting to make it as quick as possible. I understand AT&T must have some very strick guidelines on entering a home but in winter this scenario sure makes it a tough sell! Now, the installer must enter the house. Different set of guidelines?