sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Static on POTS lines

I am having one hell of a problem with static on a friend's line at her house.

she has mediacom internet and phone service, and is experiencing static on the lines usually during long distance calls or "damp" weather.

The thing is she also had the SAME problem when she had a POTS line thru AT&T.

Thinking it was bad internal wiring, I replaced it all, as she has a small house and it was an easy install. Now that she's switched to mediacoN and is still having issues, I'm wondering what it could be.

The last time I was over there, I noticed the ground rod was just 4 foot of plain steel, and quite corroded, so I replaced the rod with a proper 8 foot copper clad rod, as well as the clamps. I also cleaned the connections on the copper conductors and tightened them properly. (Mediacon left some finger tight!)

All of the cabling is new, the phone wire, the coax, jacks, EVERYTHING!

Is there anything else I should check?
Testing with my Sidekick meter shows readings in the good range for voltage, line quality, etc.
She has tried other phones, thinking it was the phone itself with no luck.

I take it that the line is clean at the demark with the telco side disconnected from the house wiring?

Is the phone line actually copper POTS or does it come through the cable? Mine is a combination phone/data modem (EMTA)
If that is the case, you could just plug a phone into the EMTA and test from there?
At my house, Time Warner disconnected the NID completely when we switched our phone service over to them.

Derrick, there really is no demarc, per se, just the cable modem that the computer and the phone both hook into. Every time I've been over there, it sounds clear to me, and she says it's usually only on long distance calls.

The NID is completely unhooked. I will have her plug her phone directly into the EMTA and see if that solves it.

From the cable modem, the line goes to two phone jacks over Cat3, all new wiring I put in myself, so I don't see what else could be causing it.

How about shielded twisted pair? would it help?

Thanks for the help guys! let me know what else you think.

If it's only on long distance the problem is not with you.

The thing is she also had the SAME problem when she had a POTS line thru AT&T.

Another thought is that the only thing you haven't changed is the phones right?

-Hal

Shielded twisted pair is not going to cure static.

I'm with Hal on this.

Sounds like the person who calls her LD has static or is calling from a cell phone. Have her log when it happens, to whom she is talking, what kind of phone they're using, and do they hear it also?

If it was internal wiring, she'd hear it on all calls, but it would be clean at the cable modem (the "demarc" in this case) when all other cabling was disconnected.

What kind of telephone does she have?

Did she have this phone when she used AT&T?

Have you checked the base cords that the phones use to plug into the jacks? Could be pinched, chewed on by pets/rodents, plug broken, etc. I have seen that many times, and it is often overlooked.

Thanks for the helpful tips guys!

First off, let me run through what I DO know:
one of her phones she just bought brand new, a month or two ago, so it has new base cords. it is a corded phone. (I actually checked the base cords on the other phones too.)

The other phone is also a corded, with a cordless "remote" 2nd handset that just sits in a charge only cradle. it is about a year or two old, and she did have it with AT&T, but has tried other phones in it's place still with static and "cutting out" problems.

I will have her plug her phone directly into the cable modem and see if it helps. Obviously if the problem is still there, it's Mediacom's issue. The problem is then getting their techs to realize this! they (mediacom) have come out before and deemed the lines "OK", but if they just did an RF interference sweep, or something similar, they might have missed it.

Thanks for the info so far! I will let you all know what I find out when I have her hook her phone straight to the modem.