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Do corded phones still work during a power outage?
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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I have always been under the impression that corded phones (the kind you don't have to plug in to a power outlet) generally don't lose power at the same time as the rest of your house, giving them one advantage over things like VOIP. Is that true? I've had corded phone service for the last 2 years primarily because of this advantage, but the last few power outages I have lost phone service too, and the latest outage especially was quite localized (so it wasn't Qwest losing power on their end too). What gives? Did I just fall for an urban legend? Or did this used to be true but no longer is?
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Baninated
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Baninated
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Only as long as they do NOT HAVE AN AC PLUG. If they have a cord for the phone system only, then they work.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Then why doesn't mine work? It's one of these:
I promise there is no power cord.
When was the last time you tried this out?
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Washington, DC
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You're not using it over Qwest broadband, are you? (Sorry, noticed later you specifically mentioned it wasn't VOIP.) Is it connected directly to the phone jack, and not through an answering machine?
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Last edited by SpaceMonkey; Oct 27, 2009 at 11:21 PM.
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"One ticket to Washington, please. I have a date with destiny."
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Tampa, Florida
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What's so hard about buying a UPS for your cordless phone, internet router and VoIP adapter?
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Chicago
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Phone lines carry their own power. If the the electricity to your house is knocked out in a storm but the phone line isn't damaged then the phone should still work. My grandparents landline phones still worked over the summer when they lost power for a day.
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Barack Obama: Four more years of the Carter Presidency
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Status:
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Originally Posted by The Godfather
What's so hard about buying a UPS for your cordless phone, internet router and VoIP adapter?
They cost like $100?
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Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Calgary
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Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton
Then why doesn't mine work?
Who's your telephone provider?
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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IF YOU HAVE A REAL LANDLINE, then "corded" phones will work, pretty much no matter what. The landline provider has something called a "battery." Literally, it's a huge fish tank of a battery that provides the needed DC current for the whole landline network. In days past it was a single battery for the whole town, but now there are numerous substations and network boxes all over a good sized town, each with its own battery and/or generator.
On the other hand, if your phone service is provided by some digital provider, you're at the mercy of THEIR infrastructure which is based on a "so what if the guy's TV service goes out in a power failure" philosophy.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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I have two. One is through an answering machine, but I plugged it right into the wall to test (neither got a dial tone).
My provider (again) is Qwest. If no one knows I guess I'll go ahead and call them (assuming the power doesn't go out ), not that I expect their phone support to know anything.
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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How does your service come into the house? Qwest has both landline (a single pair of wires) and cable service depending on the original situation when they moved into/took over an area. And didn't they pretty much start in the Seattle area? You could have some pretty old equipment connecting you to their network...
Use your cell and give 'em a call.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Isle of Manhattan
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Yes, but only a corded landline connection. They work quite well during black outs.
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"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Originally Posted by ghporter
How does your service come into the house?
It's an apartment building, but I'll check it out
You could have some pretty old equipment connecting you to their network...
Isn't it the old stuff that's supposed to work like I expect, and the new-fangled doohickies that I want to avoid?
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Detroit
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the local loop could have had a power outage as well; that would prevent you from having service. it isn't practical anymore to have the CO provide the DC power to all their loops; specially when the loops are pretty far out/large capacity. some providers started placing additional power cabinets (not batteries) in areas to take the burden off of the CO battery situation. those local cabinets convert AC to DC. if those cabinets lost power...sorry, no phone service.
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Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Nobletucky
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Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton
It's an apartment building...
I think this will be the reason your line goes dead in a power outage. There's probably a main box in the building that goes dark during an outage.
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton
Isn't it the old stuff that's supposed to work like I expect, and the new-fangled doohickies that I want to avoid?
Not if it's old "cable-to-POTS" hardware. Old cable converters could be at or near their life expectancy-or worse, their batteries could be dead or nearly dead. Newer converters should have much newer batteries and thus be more dependable.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Well you might be on to something, GH. The building manager says that it's supposed to work, but during the last outage it was reported that actually some units worked and others didn't, and information is already being collected so that Qwest can fix whatever is broken.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Tampa, Florida
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Originally Posted by Chuckit
They cost like $100?
CompUSA.com | BC350 | TrippLite 350VA UPS
I'll sell you mine for $99 shipped.
You can also take the $$$ you are saving from not having a landline and buy it without using a credit card!
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Sometimes outages last longer than a day. In fact, those are specifically the ones where you want your phone to work. And my landline is my only phone, I'm not going to save that much by switching to voip.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Tampa, Florida
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Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton
Sometimes outages last longer than a day. In fact, those are specifically the ones where you want your phone to work. And my landline is my only phone, I'm not going to save that much by switching to voip.
That must be an outrageously cheap landline, or you must be made of money to sneeze at ~$300/year savings.
However, if your broadband connection dies with power outgages, beyond any UPS measure, then there's no point to this argument.
An average UPS would last many more times the rated charge duration, if you only plug the low power devices necessary for VoIP.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Originally Posted by The Godfather
That must be an outrageously cheap landline, or you must be made of money to sneeze at ~$300/year savings.
It's costing me a little less than $35/mo, depending on usage, I don't think that's anywhere close to outrageously cheap. Is there some $10/mo voip service that I don't know about? Comcast was giddy over it's "triple play" at $33/mo for each of internet, tv, and voice (OIP), and I'm pretty sure their non-promo rate is $40.
However, if your broadband connection dies with power outgages, beyond any UPS measure, then there's no point to this argument.
I don't know that it does because I never had the opportunity to test it before, but I did recently get my first UPS to protect my home theater projector, so during the next outage I'll hook up the modem to it and see how long it works (if at all).
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: FFM
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The last power outage I can remember must have been more than 20 years ago.
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status:
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Originally Posted by TETENAL
The last power outage I can remember must have been more than 20 years ago.
Must be nice. Around here the local utility has enough above-ground local distribution wiring that it's not uncommon (say once a quarter or so) to have a utility pole slammed into by a car and thus generate a 10-90 minute outage. Which sucks when you have a dog that goes bonkers at the high-pitched sounds UPSs generate to let you know the main power is off...
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Florida
Status:
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kinda off topic. but a co-worker who does commercial phone installs. told me about tapping into the phone line for power. do a google on 'how to get power from a phone line'
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status:
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Originally Posted by Gator Lager
kinda off topic. but a co-worker who does commercial phone installs. told me about tapping into the phone line for power. do a google on 'how to get power from a phone line'
TELCO lines have 48VDC across them with the red line being positive and the green being negative. It's (supposed to be) a balanced line, so you should not use either with a ground reference-just tap both wires. A pair of diodes would be useful too, since there's also both voice and a sometimes a ring current (100VAC at 20Hz) on the pair as well.
As I said earlier, that power comes from one WHOPPING battery that is kept charged by generators if commercial power is not available. Just don't try to pull too much current off of their 48v, because there are two issues related to it. First, when the user picks up the phone, it puts an equivalent of 600 ohms across the pair, which usually drops the voltage to around 20-25v. Second, if you pull too much, YOU could pull the voltage down to that range. Both of these situations will be seen at the switch as an "off hook" state-and get your power thievery noticed. You'll notice that even the old Princess phones didn't use phone line voltage for power...they always had a transformer connected to the yellow/black pair to light the phone's dial.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Garden of Paradise Motel, Suite 3D
Status:
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Originally Posted by osiris
Yes, but only a corded landline connection. They work quite well during black outs.
They work well, but if it's storming outside you shouldn't be talking on one. I've felt current run in on them (my grandparents' house was the highest point around) and I've lost plenty of answering machines to lightning strikes. As long as there's no lightning, you should be OK to use them after the storm. Otherwise, put the phone down and back away slowly.
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status:
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If there is lightning in the area, you definitely shouldn't use a landline phone. Whether you can see overhead lines or not, they are around, and it doesn't take a direct hit on anything connected to your house to blow something up. I had a strike over 100 feet away from my house induce a charge on my (underground) phone line that blew up a modem and an answering machine. There was an actual HOLE in a component in the modem, with melted/blasted plastic splattered all over the insides of the box.
By the way, "surge suppressors" are useless in a lightning strike (or near strike). I had one fail completely in the above incident and equipment plugged into it still had problems-and the phone line to the modem went through this suppressor. No cheap crap here-it was a Tripplite.
But if lightning is NOT in the area (as in you can count to 10 or more between seeing the flash and hearing the boom), then there's no problem.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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