Earth line on BT landline

andrew_d_may@hotmail.com

Running parallel to the BT line where it comes into my house is a
uninsulated copper cable one ned of which terminates in the ground [1]
and the other near the junction box although it is not actually
connected. Is this / should this be connected? Was it ever a
requirement? The line is an overhead line that would have been first
installed anything up to 60 years ago. I don't know if the cable has
been replaced since.

Thanks,

Andrew

[1] Actually it has rotted away and now ends about 2 inches above
ground level.

Peter Andrews

<andrew_d_may@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1177077305.031725.233680@b75g2000hsg.googlegr oups.com...
> Running parallel to the BT line where it comes into my house is a
> uninsulated copper cable one ned of which terminates in the ground [1]
> and the other near the junction box although it is not actually
> connected. Is this / should this be connected? Was it ever a
> requirement? The line is an overhead line that would have been first
> installed anything up to 60 years ago. I don't know if the cable has
> been replaced since.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew
>
> [1] Actually it has rotted away and now ends about 2 inches above
> ground level.
>

Many years ago when the GPO/BT had shared service lines, they used earth
calling/ringing to differentiate between the two lines. Your earth wire is
long since redundant, I've also got the remains of a corroded uninsulated
wire at the side of my house. Remove it if you wish.

Peter

andrew_d_may@hotmail.com

Peter Andrews wrote:

> Many years ago when the GPO/BT had shared service lines, they used earth
> calling/ringing to differentiate between the two lines. Your earth wire is
> long since redundant, I've also got the remains of a corroded uninsulated
> wire at the side of my house. Remove it if you wish.
>
> Peter

Thanks Peter,

That's good to know. I'll leave it attached to the wall because it is
not exactly in the way and is quite neat. But I won't bother about
making sure that it is buried when I come to dig the garden.

Andrew

fred

In article <1177077305.031725.233680@b75g2000hsg.googlegroups .com>
, andrew_d_may@hotmail.com <andrew_d_may@hotmail.com> writes
>Running parallel to the BT line where it comes into my house is a
>uninsulated copper cable one ned of which terminates in the ground [1]
>and the other near the junction box although it is not actually
>connected. Is this / should this be connected? Was it ever a
>requirement? The line is an overhead line that would have been first
>installed anything up to 60 years ago. I don't know if the cable has
>been replaced since.
>
Older NTE5 termination boxes had an earth terminal and 3 terminal GDTs
(transient suppressors) to protect against longitudinal (and differential)
transients. My own box has a 3 terminal socket but a 2 terminal GDT. If I
was living in the sticks, I'd want the 3 term GDT and a good earth.
--
fred
Plusnet - I hope you like vanilla

Graham

<andrew_d_may@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1177077305.031725.233680@b75g2000hsg.googlegr oups.com...
> Running parallel to the BT line where it comes into my house is a
> uninsulated copper cable one ned of which terminates in the ground [1]
> and the other near the junction box although it is not actually
> connected. Is this / should this be connected? Was it ever a
> requirement? The line is an overhead line that would have been first
> installed anything up to 60 years ago. I don't know if the cable has
> been replaced since.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew
>
> [1] Actually it has rotted away and now ends about 2 inches above
> ground level.
>

Remnant of a Party Line installation. 30 years ago it was quite common
to have to share your exchange pair with one of your neighbours.
You had to press a "call exchange" button to obtain dial-tone
(earth-leg recall, hence the local "functional earth" wire).
Sometimes the earth was a ground spike as in your case, there are
storeys about having to use a watering can to "get a line"!
In the case of the house where I grew up (1953 installation) it
was a clamp around the feed pipe on the toilet cistern, similar
to the equipotential bonding arrangements you see today.

Of course, if the other party was using the line you were
expected to discreetly replace the receiver and try again
later, can you imagine that working today?

Only your phone rang when someone called your number
how did that work? I suppose the ringing current was
on one wire referenced to earth. but I am not sure.

--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%

Russell Hafter News

In article <f0b1dl$2hj$1@news.datemas.de>,
Graham <me@privacy.com> wrote:

> Only your phone rang when someone called your number
> how did that work? I suppose the ringing current was
> on one wire referenced to earth. but I am not sure.

When I lived in the USA 1973 - 1976, our phone was a 4 party
line. Not that we *had* to have it, but the line rental was
significantly cheaper. There were two groups of two parties,
and according to Ma Bell the other parties could be anywhere
in town used the same first three digits.

The line had two different ringing tones (a bit like
callsign these days). If there were just two parties
connected at the time, then only your own phone rang. If
there were three parties, then one of the three was on their
own and OK, but the other two would have to check the
ringing tone before answering, to find out if it was for
them or the other party. If all four were used, then of
course everyone was in this situation.

Most of the time it caused no problems at all, but there was
a short period when the other party's ringing tone kept
going off constantly until about 0200. We had to bury the
phone under cushions in order to sleep.

After one particularly annoying night my gf deliberately
picked up the phone just after the other party had answered
and gave them a telling off. Amazingly, that worked!

--
Russell
http://www.russell-hafter-holidays.co.uk
Russell Hafter Holidays E-mail to enquiries at our domain
Holiday spe******ts for Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic

Sign the petition to press the government for more resources for rail electrification
<http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/electrify/>

Martin²

Fred:
>Older NTE5 termination boxes had an earth terminal and 3 terminal GDTs
>(transient suppressors) to protect against longitudinal (and differential)
>transients. My own box has a 3 terminal socket but a 2 terminal GDT. If I
>was living in the sticks, I'd want the 3 term GDT and a good earth.

I live in the sticks and have problems with dropping SNR & thus BB.
Where can I get the older NTE5 ?

TIA
Regards,
Martin

Graham

"Martin²" <never@give.one> wrote in message
news:46296a91$0$8750$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
> Fred:
>>Older NTE5 termination boxes had an earth terminal and 3 terminal GDTs
>>(transient suppressors) to protect against longitudinal (and differential)
>>transients. My own box has a 3 terminal socket but a 2 terminal GDT. If I
>>was living in the sticks, I'd want the 3 term GDT and a good earth.
>
> I live in the sticks and have problems with dropping SNR & thus BB.
> Where can I get the older NTE5 ?
>
> TIA
> Regards,
> Martin

Using one might protect your phones and router against lightening damage but
will do nothing for your SNR
--

Graham.
%Profound_observation%

Andrew Gabriel

In article <tIWrOFATZQKGFwXO@y.z>,
fred <not@for.mail> writes:
> Older NTE5 termination boxes had an earth terminal and 3 terminal GDTs
> (transient suppressors) to protect against longitudinal (and differential)
> transients. My own box has a 3 terminal socket but a 2 terminal GDT. If I
> was living in the sticks, I'd want the 3 term GDT and a good earth.

I'm not sure if it's age related. I noticed one of these was
fitted when we had a business line installed for a fax, when
I didn't get one for a home line installed at the same time.
At the time (7 years ago), I thought it might be associated
with being a business line or a fax line.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

fred

In article <f0ck3j$46l$1@news.datemas.de>, Graham <me@privacy.com>
writes
>
>"Martin²" <never@give.one> wrote in message
>news:46296a91$0$8750$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
>> Fred:
>>>Older NTE5 termination boxes had an earth terminal and 3 terminal GDTs
>>>(transient suppressors) to protect against longitudinal (and differential)
>>>transients. My own box has a 3 terminal socket but a 2 terminal GDT. If I
>>>was living in the sticks, I'd want the 3 term GDT and a good earth.
>>
>> I live in the sticks and have problems with dropping SNR & thus BB.
>> Where can I get the older NTE5 ?
>>
>> TIA
>> Regards,
>> Martin
>
>Using one might protect your phones and router against lightening damage but
>will do nothing for your SNR

Indeed, I could have been clearer, GDTs or Gas Discharge Tubes are
intended to reduce the risk of equipment damage from gross transients.
They won't strike until the transient reaches 200V or so and have no effect
at signal levels.
--
fred
Plusnet - I hope you like vanilla