POTS test set

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › POTS test set - DIY?

bener

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#127115 30-Jul-2013 14:03

I am often diagnosing a customer's ADSL issues, and trying to rule out internal line issues - what's my best bet for a budget version of a lineman's test set/butt set?

The only one I can find is the real deal for about $250.00 - I just need something I know is reliable so I can rule out customer phone sets as being the cause of line noise (e.g. phone line
sounds noisy on their phone handset, but I need to rule out the possiblilty that their phone handset is faulty). I was thinking about making something up, with a cheap small phone and
swappable alligator clips/standard jack, as I would like to be able to easily test different parts of the phone lines.

Anyone here got any better ideas?

Cheers!

Inphinity

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#868532 30-Jul-2013 14:06

(e.g. phone line
sounds noisy on their phone handset, but I need to rule out the possiblilty that their phone handset is faulty). I was thinking about making something up, with a cheap small phone and
swappable alligator clips/standard jack, as I would like to be able to easily test different parts of the phone lines.

If you just want to rule out their phone being noisy, rather than the line, couldn't you just take a spare phone with you to swap theirs out for to test?

bener

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#868564 30-Jul-2013 14:28

I did think about that, but I would like to be able to test at other parts of the line too so it would be nice to have some alligator clips attached as well. I'm leaning towards just rigging up a cheap phone like I mentioned.

sbiddle

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#868682 30-Jul-2013 16:31

If the only price you've seen is $250 you obviously haven't looked beyond your local electrical wholesaler!

You can buy one for 1/2 the price of the chepest phone at The Warehouse from any of the usual Chinese sites such as Aliexpress. A "pro" one with extra features will probably set you back US$60

chevrolux

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#868761 30-Jul-2013 17:54

Here is what I use....
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8kg90f7qzmxwq20/20130730_173739.jpg

I have been using this as a butt phone forever and it is awesome. I have worked in Chorus provisioning and used this set so it has stood the test of time and rugged-ness.

From the phone I have a standard BT plug. That goes in to a filter which acts as an adpater. I cut off the BT on the adapter and put an RJ45 on the end of that so I can plug in to voice tie panels. then out fo the RJ11 plug on the filter I just crimped some jumper wire in to an RJ11 plug. That goes to the connection block which allows me to either just put some more wire on it to go across Krone modules or I can clip on to cable loops with that block. It covers me for every possible situation where you need to diagnose a phone issue.

Total cost $0 and it is all salvaged haha. Yes I am tight lol.

bener

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#868874 30-Jul-2013 20:46

sbiddle - I did some googling and only found a few wholesalers that said 'apply for prices' - I would not commit the cardinal sin of posting before looking for myself! Although I will admit I maybe did not know what the correct search terms should have been, I would not be posting if I did not search first... As an example, searching 'POTS buttinski set basic' returns these results, which are not much help.

I was hoping I might be able to pick one up cheaply and easily from somewhere in the country, or make something up myself, and was hoping for suggestions. Edit: Thanks for the aliexpress suggestion though, there are lots of el cheapo units on there.

chevrolux - that looks like just the ticket, thanks for your input! Spending a whole $0 on it sounds like just the ticket - it is not something I would keep as more than a handy tool, as it's only for quick line tests, and DIY is what I was hoping to do.

Goosey

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#868877 30-Jul-2013 20:54

well im no phone guru but if the noise is heard on all handsets then its not the handsets that are the issue?
Mind you could be a corroded jack in a socket or a corroded jackpoint ! (remember to look behind all the outlet plates).

Around here, its mostly the cord from the phone base to the handset that causes the crackles.
I think only once we had an issue with a corroded jackpoint.

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bener

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#868933 30-Jul-2013 21:43

Yeah I agree, but there are situations where there are no other phones in the house, and lots of other situations where it would be handy. What I am aiming for is a setup I can take to as near to the demarc as possible and start tracing back - if a chorus tech gets called out for line tests and they find the issue is internal, it costs my customer an instant $150.00 - so I like to be sure the line issues are not internal before we go down that route, if it's feasible to check fairly quickly.

For example, I was troubleshooting a customer's adsl issues today, and they had a junction box in their ceiling about 1m from the external point of entry, if I had my handy-dandy tester I could have unclipped the wires, tested before and after the junction box (which looked ancient), and ruled out internal issues, as the line went from the junction box, down inside the wall to a single jack point.

What chevrolux suggested would be excellent, but since sbiddle has suggested aliexpress, I have found they are about $10usd, with the different wiring sets (phone jack, alligator clips etc.), so I may just buy one.

coffeebaron

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#868953 30-Jul-2013 22:24

I snap a cheap RJ45 on to the demark, plug a phone in:
If crackly - Chorus
If not crackly - start internal troubleshoot

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bener

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#868972 30-Jul-2013 22:40

Brilliant!

sbiddle

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#869008 31-Jul-2013 06:21

bener: sbiddle - I did some googling and only found a few wholesalers that said 'apply for prices' - I would not commit the cardinal sin of posting before looking for myself! Although I will admit I maybe did not know what the correct search terms should have been, I would not be posting if I did not search first... As an example, searching 'POTS buttinski set basic' returns these results, which are not much help.

Try something like this http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=telephone+butt+set&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20130730102045

cyril7

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#869036 31-Jul-2013 08:23

I have a Fluke Butt, got it about 5yrs ago to replace a setup similar to Sam's, the biggest advantage of a proper Butt is they sit perfectly between your head/ear and shoulder and stay in place, this leaves your hands free to jumper/punch or whatever .

Cyril

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bener

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#869063 31-Jul-2013 09:13

sbiddle:
bener: sbiddle - I did some googling and only found a few wholesalers that said 'apply for prices' - I would not commit the cardinal sin of posting before looking for myself! Although I will admit I maybe did not know what the correct search terms should have been, I would not be posting if I did not search first... As an example, searching 'POTS buttinski set basic' returns these results, which are not much help.

Try something like this http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=telephone+butt+set&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20130730102045

Those are so cheap there's not much point making something myself... Thanks for the tip!

bener

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#869064 31-Jul-2013 09:13

Hi Cyril - I agree a proper set would be nice, but I would not be using it enough to justify the cost.

DonGould

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#875982 12-Aug-2013 16:23

bener:
sbiddle:
bener: sbiddle - I did some googling and only found a few wholesalers that said 'apply for prices' - I would not commit the cardinal sin of posting before looking for myself! Although I will admit I maybe did not know what the correct search terms should have been, I would not be posting if I did not search first... As an example, searching 'POTS buttinski set basic' returns these results, which are not much help.

Try something like this http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=telephone+butt+set&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20130730102045

Those are so cheap there's not much point making something myself... Thanks for the tip!

Yip loving that!

Which one do you think looks best.

I'm thinking of ordering at least one. Did you get one?

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