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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!mayer
From: mayer@rochester.UUCP (Jim Mayer)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Loud telephone clicks
Message-ID: <7865@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Apr-85 23:33:18 EST
Article-I.D.: rocheste.7865
Posted: Mon Apr  8 23:33:18 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 10-Apr-85 04:34:36 EST
References: <7583@rochester.UUCP> <16338@mgweed.UUCP>
Reply-To: mayer@rochester.UUCP (Jim Mayer)
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 46

In article <16338@mgweed.UUCP> rjk@mgweed.UUCP (Randy King) writes:
>
>A varistor across the earpiece will attenuate spikes and prevent the loud
>clicks.  All AT&T phones have this; either you've been bitten by the
>"ours is cheaper" sale, or your AT&T phone has been severely dropped a few
>times.  Sorry for the stab; I couldn't resist.  But a $4 phone is a $4
>phone!!  Hee hee hee.
>						Randy King
>						AT&T-CP@MG
>						ihnp4!mgweed!rjk
>
Or else AT&T makes $4 telephones and sells them for $50.  Actually, I
have noticed the problem with a brand new AT&T Trimline (I'll be
returning it -- but it does seem well made), an ITT wall model (so much
for dropping), a Northern Telecom wall model, and a Radio Shack basic
rotary (about $30 1980 dollars).  All of the phones that had twist off
ear pieces (ie. all but the AT&T) have some piece of gadgetry across the
earpiece, and at least one (the ITT) is a formerly leased phone.
Furthermore, I used to use the Radio Shack phone in Connecticut and
don't recall any similar problems.  Since I notice the problem at
several different locations I suspect that either Rochester Telephone
(a non Bell company) produces truly horrendous clicks or that I
haven't attended enough rock concerts to ruin my hearing.  A couple of
points:

	o I didn't notice any problem during a recent trip to New
	  Jersey with a 20+ year old rotary and NJ Bell service.  The
	  phone had a dignus across the earpiece also.  Perhaps NJ
	  Bell's switching system doesn't produce the clicks in the
	  first place?
	
	o Some of the people I talked to aren't bothered by the clicks.
	  My hearing might be unusually sensitive in that range, or I
	  might be unusually fussy.
	
	o The folks from Rochester Telephone will be taking a look
	  Saturday.

My thanks to the many people who took the time and effort to send
me their polite, helpful, suggestions.  I'll post the telephone
company's findings when I get them.

-- Jim Mayer					University of Rochester
(arpa) mayer@Rochester.ARPA			Department of Computer Science
(uucp) rochester!mayer				Ray P. Hylan Building
       (via allegra, decvax, or seismo)		Rochester, New York 14627