atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Can a 66 block go bad?

How did you terminate them when you installed the 66 Block? Did you use the proper tool? Or did you use a screw driver, knife etc.? Also by the way your profile shows you are located in the USA. Just exactly in the USA?

Mike

When I got of the boat & first saw a 66 block i thought wtf, looked like something designed by the flintstones......Most developed countries use Krone..............with Krone there's not the temptation for the user/company who doesnt want to pay for a Tech to do their on DIY connection with 2inches of bare wire and a screw driver.

Well if both your DSL and your phones are out the trouble is before the splitter so that's where I'd start. That is assuming it's a splitter instead of filters at each phone.

I've seen lines killed inside the house by something as simple as a vacuum cleaner damaging the cord from the jack to the handset.

Troubleshooting 101 like johnp says. Unplug everything. Go to 66 block. DT or NDT?? DT--plug one device in--NDT --go to each jack and take wires off of the jacks. Keep going---step by step. Slow.

I've had customers kids put crap in an unused jack--shorted out all of the lines. I've had a fork coming out of a jack one time. Goofy.

Troubleshooting 101.

Agreed 100%

Unplug all phones and check for dailtone on the 66 block.

If no dialtone, pull all of your cross connects and check for dialtone.

If there is dialtone, reconnect each jack one at a time, checking for dialtone after each connection. This will point you towards a bad jack/shorted cable pair.

If there is still no dialtone, your feed to the demarc is bad.

D

Do you have a central station alarm system in the house?

That would be the first thing to suspect. With myself and all my friends and relations we don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times Telco has been incorrect by trouble-shooting from a computer five states away.

Dean

Wow. And I thought folks were good about helping people on computer-related forums. I didn't expect so many helpful responses to my question. I couldn't help but think most people would pass on by rolling their eyes thinking "what a doofus."

It helps to know that it's very unlikely for a 66 block to "go bad." Agrees with my logical assumptions, although limited experience.

The whole thing started with buzzing on lines, then no dial tone. First thing I did was pull the "distribution line" (I call it) off one jack at a time on the 66 block, each time checking with my cordless phone. I got to one that, after pulling off, gave me clear DT on cordless. Thought my problems were done (knowing I'd have to look at that jack... later). Then found out the jack my DSL was on was dead. Then the rest of the story.

So... now that I know that 66 blocks rarely go bad (I don't have pool chemicals in the mech room and I don't have an alarm system), I will redouble my efforts in checking/remaking the connections on the block.

One of you may have hit the nail on the head. I had an old punchdown tool. I'm inexperienced and hadn't slept much the night before, so I was using the wrong tip. I was using the notched tip you'd use to put wires into a female wall outlet do-hicky (for ethernet), not the one that surrounds the 66 block terminal point. The wires looked squeezed down between the metal points but the wrong tool probably isn't providing reliable results. I'll look to see if there the right tip inside the handle of that thing and start rechecking all connections.

I have verified that the line from the phone company is good all the way into the mechanical room to the point where I'd punch it into the block.

Thanks everybody for your replies and patience with a guy that is not an expert. Maybe part of my bday present (to myself) today will be that I fix the darn phone service in the house.

--Shawn

You're not a dufus at all. A dufus is one who drives around naked , but that's another story.

If the 66-block proves to be trouble for you, I don't see why you couldn't replace it with a barrier terminal block . They're readily available from Home Depot type stores and don't require special tools. They also provide a great way to tie multiple pairs together, which at some point can get tricky with a 66-block.