AboutEric Miller Expertise I have over 10 years worth of experience in the telecommunications industry. I can give helpful information on virtually all aspects of telecommunications from residential installations to full size commercial installations. I have extensive experience in working with telecom media from CAT3 cable to fiberoptic cable. Be forewarned, hardware and software is not my thing, but I will give it my best to answer your questions.
Experience I have over 10 years worth of telephony experience, most of it in installation. I have extensive experience working with dial tone. I also have extensive knowledge in the installation/termination of all low-voltage cables, from CAT3 voice grade cable, to outside plant cable, to fiberoptic cable. I have used all types of test equipment ranging from CAT5 cable testers to OTDR's. I have experience in working with digital keys systems and PBX's.
Education/Credentials I have been BICSI certified. I have held certifications in digital key systems, voicemail, and other external equipment. I have held numerous certifications covering the installation of low voltage cable, including fiberoptic cable.
Expert: Eric Miller Date: 2/16/2008 Subject: Answering Machine Doesn't Pick Up.
Question It was just one evening around dinner time a call was coming through and the answering machine did not pick up. We thought it was strange, as it had worked just the night before. As far as we know, we weren't having any problems with our lines either. We didn't change phones, answering machines, or anything. So we assumed it was our cordless phone answering machine unit. The following day we bought a new one and tested it. Still, it wouldn't pick up a call. The machine worked fine, but it wouldn't pick up a call. The cordless phone however rang off beat, like half rings only. We use a splitter so we can have a wall phone and our cordless answering machine unit on the same wall together. Our wall phone actually rings fine, while the cordless phone rings like morse code! We thought it was possible our splitter was bad. We took it off and used just the one jack on the wall, and we got the same results with the cordless phone ringing half rings and the answering machine not picking up. We have another jack in the house that we tested our phones and answering machines on. The same results happened. There's actually another cordless phone hooked up to that jack in the other room, and it also rings half rings now too. Just out of the blue. Now there isn't a cordless phone in our home that will give a full ring or an answering machine that will pick up a call. This happened over the weekend, so we called the phone company first thing Monday morning. They thought we were crazy! They told us we owned all our equipment and it's definitely not a problem on their end. Of course we live in small town and so we have to go through a local telephone company. They offered to send somebody but the price was outrageous. Is there anything we can do ourselves to fix the problem? This problem has stumped all our friends and it's very inconvenient not having the answering machine anymore. I hope you can help us. Thanks so much!!
Answer Hi LIsa, my apologies for not answering your question sooner. I've been a touch under the weather. Okay, let me see if I have this right. You have several cordless phones and an answering machine that ring only half-rings on several different jacks in the house but have a wall phone that rings just fine. Honestly, my first inclination was to think that the service coming to the house from your service provider was bad, but now I'm not so sure. For an analog phone (i.e. your wall phone, cordless phones, answering machines etc.) to ring it needs to see "ringing voltage" from the service provider. Ringing voltage is simply voltage generated at the service providers central office sent downstream towards your location. The ringing voltage then "rings" your phone. Usually, that voltage comes in around -48 volts DC, give or take a few volts. But if your wall phone is ringing OK, then the problem probably doesn't lie with the service provider. Just to be sure, I'd probably make a service call and have them send a technician TO THE HOUSE and verify the incoming voltage at the connection at the house. Since they are checking their equipment, there shouldn't be any charge. When they start servicing and checking YOUR equipment, that's when they start to charge. Now, on to your actual dilemma. Either before or after the service company gets to check their equipment, you can check your own voltage inside the house. All you need is a screwdriver and volt/ohm meter. Unscrew the jack from the wall and looking at the back of the jack, you should see several different colored wires connected to screws. We're just interested in the red and green wires. Now, using your volt/ohm meter select VDC (volts direct current) by turning the knob on the meter. Now, connect the probes to the red and green wires, one probe per wire. Now, have somebody place a call to your house. The meter should measure the incoming voltage and it should read around -48 volts DC. If it's more than -54 volts DC, then you've got TOO much voltage coming from the central office. If that's the case, the excessive ringing voltage has damaged your answering machine and cordless phones. If it's not quite -48 volts DC, your devices might not be seeing ENOUGH voltage to ring completely. As an alternative, you can go to Wal-Mart or K-Mart and purchase a cheap cordless phone and try that at your place. If it works OK, then your devices are bad. If it DOESN'T work, then the problem more than likely lies with your service provider. If that's the case, they will probably be reluctant to do anything about it, until you can get someone out to the house to verify their connections. Just save all the packaging and your receipt so you can take the phone back to the store.
Since your problem is a difficult one to diagnose, there are going to be several troubleshooting techniques that need to be employed, but the ones I've highlighted above would be the first methods I would use. If I can further help with your problem or answer any more questions, please do not hesitate to let me know. Good Luck! Thanks for the question.
