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From: BALDWIN@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU (Robert W. Baldwin)
Newsgroups: mod.telecom
Subject: strange failure mode on home telephone
Message-ID: <8611030142.AA03203@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Fri, 31-Oct-86 16:29:57 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8611030142.AA03203
Posted: Fri Oct 31 16:29:57 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Nov-86 01:47:52 EST
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Approved: telecom@xx.lcs.mit.edu


	Over the past month I've encountered a strange failure mode on
my home telephone (617-492 in Cambridge MA).  Often I can't break dial
tone with my touch tone phone (its a GTE phone from before the
breakup).  Flashing the switch hook does break dial tone.  The problem
is solved by hanging up and trying again one or more times.  An added
twist that appeared this week is that calls don't complete after I've
dialed them.  I just hear click, click, silence.  Pressing extra
digits does not solve the problem.
	It seems like a large fraction of the tone decoders serving my
line are broken or dying.  Has anyone else in 617-492 had this problem
(replys to me, not the list)?  Does anyone have ideas on what could be
wrong (I wonder whether an auto dialing modem could cope with this)?
Finally, any advice on getting the phone company to fix this?  I've
reported the problem twice in the past month.

		--Bob
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