Strange Problem w/ Landline Phone

[kaneohe]

There is a background sound........like a radio or TV station (even got the name eventually) . I can use the phone ok. It just seems a bit weird to have that
clearly intelligible sound in the background. This is a wired landline phone.
Cause and possible issues if I just live w/ it?

[GravitySucks]

Has it always been this way, or something new? We used to run into this issue near AM radio towers and would have to run a capacitor from the line to ground.
Phone company, or cable co?
Tell your service provider and ask them to fix it.

[GrayHare]

Assuming it's not always been this way, anything change recently? Is this a POTS line? If it's photne service via cable or fiber, the device that splits the TV signal from the phone signal might need better grounding.

[ExFlyBoy5]

An old POTS line...clearly, you are hearing broadcasts from the past...

Cue "Twilight Zone" theme...

[kaneohe]

Thanks for the replies. It has not always been this way......tempted to say a recent change but I guess I can't be absolutely sure. No intentional changes that I'm aware of. This is old style phone line connection by ATT ........learned a new word today.....POTS. Cable TV/internet by Comcast is different line .

[ExFlyBoy5]

Here is some info. Are you using a cordless phone when you hear this?

https://psc.mo.gov/CMSInternetData/C...0telephone.pdf

Google shows that some phones have poor shielding and this can result in the "reception" of the broadcast. Is it ONE phone or all them connected to the landline? If it's one phone, I would guess it's the phone...not the line.

[GrayHare]

You do know your neighbor is wondering why he hears phone conversations on his TV.

But seriously, when POTS lines pick up noise it's usually from other phone lines, but they can also pick up noise from other sources. Have you moved a TV or its cable box recently? The new location might induce a signal in your home's POTS wiring. If you've not moved such items, then intentionally move and/or turn them, a few inches can make a difference, then see if that changes the level of noise on the phone line.

[braumeister]

In my experience as a ham, the majority of these cases are caused by corrosion at some point in the line between the phone and the phone company cable. Corrosion creates a condition where broadcast signals are rectified and injected into the phone line. I agree that you should just get the phone company to come out and find the cause and fix it.

[razztazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe There is a background sound........like a radio or TV station (even got the name eventually) . I can use the phone ok. It just seems a bit weird to have that clearly intelligible sound in the background. This is a wired landline phone. Cause and possible issues if I just live w/ it?

I used to live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building and was able to hear Dr Laura and Rush Limbaugh through the dial tone when I picked up the phone. That station was near my building.

At some point it stopped even tho the station was still there and they were still using the same frequency. I am not an EE so I can't explain the physics but it has happened an additional time or two over the years.

Don't know what effect those radio waves had on me while they were shooting through my apartment and I assume my body, all those years. Maybe the phone components were acting as a crystal set? Why it stopped is actually more of a mystery.

[razztazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister In my experience as a ham, the majority of these cases are caused by corrosion at some point in the line between the phone and the phone company cable. Corrosion creates a condition where broadcast signals are rectified and injected into the phone line. I agree that you should just get the phone company to come out and find the cause and fix it.

You posted while I was typing. This solves the mystery of why it stopped! They finally got around to maintaining the lines

[GravitySucks]

Call ATT.
Sounds like you have a bad line.

[kaneohe]

Appreciate all the ideas/suggestions. The rest of the story.....hopefully the end.......there are 3 phones hooked up at the same place:
1)relatively new corded phone
2)older cordless phone
3)ancient rotary dial phone
Following the suggestions here, seemed like the problem was only on 1) which
suggested as a link said that some newer phones aren't well shielded.

The AT&T tech came out and used his magic fingers. Mysterious sound gone. Unfortunately I did not check the phone immediately before he started so it
is possible that the problem vanished on its own. I did not think to recheck since the problem had existed all morning.

What did he do? He said one of the connecting wires from inside the house was connected to a terminal in the transition box outside the house but had a
short length (1/4") hanging out so he wrapped it around the terminal instead.
Hard to believe that length wasn't hanging out like that for yrs,apparently w/o
a problem but..................I gave him credit for chasing the problem away ...for
how long only time will tell.

I did get a reminder that the box outside is relatively new and that I could
unplug a phone connector there and plug in a wired phone to test the incoming lines.

[easysurfer]

Reminds me of the time my phone reception had this crackling noise which I couldn't pinpoint. So eventually I called the phone company. Ends out issue was I had an extension where the cord wasn't placed in a handset but somehow ended up on the soil of a potted plant. Ooops!