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Posted by HotRod on August 10, 2006, 8:28 am
imagine running a whole house off of 24 gauge wire. Amazing. Not sure why we
install 14+ gauge in our houses. I've hears of ideas like this before they
are right up there with "perpetual motion"
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>>>>
>>>> >
>>>> >> Wondering if anyone knows why a non-cordless phone would require
>>>> >> batteries for the caller-ID function to work. Forget about any
>>>> >> other
>>>> >> features (time, etc.) Isn't the signal from the phone company
>>>> >> enough
>>>> >> to display the incoming call's information?
>>>> >
>>>> >My guess, so that you can customize the display, and the customization
>>>> >won't
>>>> >be lost if you move the phone to another jack or disconnect it
>>>> >omentarily.
>>>>
>>>> A battery backup would only require a small rechargeable cell, or
>>>> maybe a watch battery - not 4 AAA's.
>>>>
>>>> I suspect the real reason is that there's not enough current present
>>>> on the phone line to power the device until AFTER the phone is taken
>>>> off-hook, which of course is too late to actually read the Caller*ID
>>>> data. Plus you would be unable to review your calls list, etc.,
>>>> without first taking the phone off-hook.
>>>
>>>Current doesn't just magically appear when you take the phone off hook.
>>> The way a phone works is that when you talk, the current in the line
>>>fluctuates. This is what carries your voice.
>>>
>>>The answer to the OP question is that a telephone is expecting a
>>>certain voltage depending on the on-hook and off-hook state. If you
>>>tried to use the line voltage, it would cause an impedence mismatch and
>>>in effect "short-circuit" the audio, or cause distortion.
>>
>> There's always current in the lines. I know this because last year I
>> lost my job and could not pay my electric bill. When they shut off my
>> power, I just connected a large diode to my phone line. Then I added
>> a huge capacitor for stability. After the capacitor, I placed a
>> circuit that caused the DC to be converted to an 60 cycle AC, along
>> with a voltage regulator. I ran this to my breaker panel and wired it
>> to the incoming main cables, which no longer went to the power company
>> because the electric meter was removed. I had lights in the house,
>> but found they were dim. Measuring the voltage showed I had about 60
>> volts going into the house wiring. A step up voltage doubler
>> transformer solved this problem and I ran my entire house from the
>> phone lines. The one problem I had was that I could not make phone
>> calls when I ran the electric dryer, range, or air conditioner. I
>> always had to shut those devices off when I made a phone call.
>> I also noticed that the retrace lines on my tv set would get harmonics
>> which fluctuated according to my voice when I talked on the phone and
>> tried to watch tv at the same time. I just learned to live with that
>> small annoyance. All of this worked great until I turned on the range
>> top, range oven, and the air conditioner at the same time. All of a
>> sudden my phone line overloaded and melted where it connects to the
>> house. When the phone company came they noticed the heavy load on my
>> lines and refused to re-connect me until I removed my equipment. I
>> removed it, they reconnected me, and after they left I hooked it all
>> up again. I have been more careful since then not to overload the
>> wiring.
>
> I pity the fool that thinks there will be an actual answer in USENet.
>
> On the other hand, everyone gets an A+ for creative writing.
>
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