Noisy line no calls

[DaMac]

Does anybody have an idea what could cause me to have a noisy line yet still make calls, but no body can call me, if they try they get a load of fuzz and the line goes dead?
I have contacted VM but trying to get an appointment that matches up with when I am actually in has left me waiting for a while before they can come.
Thank You.

[heero_yuy]

Ringing a phone uses a pulsed signal (24 / 48Volts alternating IIRC) and a bit of power whereas making the call uses very little power. A poor line with high resistance somewhere can cause this usually with attendant crackling.

For the caller the phone would still appear to be ringing.

[Chris]

Yup ... You're suffering what Openreach would call poor pair quality. On their network it could be caused by water ingress, corrosion, erosion of the insulator, bringing the wires into contact. Don't know what the most likely diagnosis is on a VM phone line, though I understand they rely on a copper pair as far as the street cab, so maybe that needs replaced.

You will have to phone them to get someone out, as it is nothing you can fix and it won't fix itself.

[vm_tech]

I work on an underground network so it's a pretty common fault, one of the legs will be just about connected, brittle somewhere and will snap with a little pull

[DaMac]

So does that mean they will have to dig my blocked pave drive up?

[heero_yuy]

So does that mean they will have to dig my blocked pave drive up?

Unlikely as the fault is almost certainly at the point the cable makes a connection or transition such as in the street cab. The cable itself is pretty sturdy and weather proof.

It should also be running in a green conduit so even if they need a re-pull no digging required.

[DJSADERS]

It should also be running in a green conduit so even if they need a re-pull no digging required.

If it's in conduit i would be very very suprised as most are not, tech will probs use a 9083 meter on the spare pair in the drop and use those if all is good, if not take a new piece of wire from the Tee (access point in path) up the the ETB (box on outside wall of house)

[heero_yuy]

If it's in conduit i would be very very suprised as most are not, tech will probs use a 9083 meter on the spare pair in the drop and use those if all is good, if not take a new piece of wire from the Tee (access point in path) up the the ETB (box on outside wall of house)

Well they were all done like that round here, mind you that was back in the NTL days though it was McNicholas that cabled up the area. I assumed this was best practice?

[DJSADERS]

It's "supposed" to be in conduit however the chances are that it's not for several reasons...

Everything from the type of ground, to the engineer having run out, or just lazy ness...

But yeah in NTL days it was checked, not so much these days, and the type used isn't good enough to repull through...

This is at the property end though (after the tee within boundary), if you mean in the footpath/road then it's in ducting which is normal and will be in this...

[heero_yuy]

Green ribby pipe about 30mm diameter all the way from the boundary to the omnibox.

Guess we were just spoilt.

[DJSADERS]

Ah i see, yeah one of the lucky ones lol, but it's possible but not easy depending on the condition of the pipe.

For example is it goes under a block paved driveway, the weight of the cars on the drive will compress the pipe under the sand and almost cement the old cable in place, same if roots have wrapped around it etc... Loads of variables can make it near impossible to pull a new one through it... So fingers crossed it doesnt come to that...

[Ken W]

It's "supposed" to be in conduit however the chances are that it's not for several reasons...

Everything from the type of ground, to the engineer having run out, or just lazy ness...

But yeah in NTL days it was checked, not so much these days, and the type used isn't good enough to repull through...

This is at the property end though (after the tee within boundary), if you mean in the footpath/road then it's in ducting which is normal and will be in this...

My install was done by Comtel and they did not use the conduit that you mention, in fact the cable was laid across the lawn and less than to 2" deep.

[DJSADERS]

sounds about right, as i said its rarer to find a drop in conduit than without