Phone Line

[Phend]

Hello.
Has anyone tried or have used an old phone line and connector in an effect build.?
Four wires.

[antonis]

Both the above connectors AND wires are STRICTLY INAPPROPRIATE for peadal builds..
(wires simply can't be soldered and jacks don't work with wires other than these..)

[duck_arse]

Bob Log III.

[MikeA]

If you use any of the voice path (speaker, mic, etc) the passband is around 400 Hz to 4.4 kHz with a peak around 1 kHz.  Unless you want that 'over a phone line' effect, best to use the shell for cosmetic purposes and install your own electronics. Ringer operates on AC and is tuned to one of several frequencies that vary from country to country (20 to 66 Hz range, with 20 or 30 Hz typical.)  4-wire transmit and receive paths at the handset mic and speaker are combined into a 2-wire bidirectional signal before the wall cord. In most of the world, the circuit operates on nominal +48V DC on the tip and ground on the ring, coming in from the switching office (RJ11 red & green pair, the black/yellow are used for a second line.)  This model has most of the guts except the ringer in the handset.

[Mark Hammer]

Both the above connectors AND wires are STRICTLY INAPPROPRIATE for peadal builds..
(wires simply can't be soldered and jacks don't work with wires other than these..)

Confirmed.  When our pet rabbit chewed through one of those cables, I tried to repair it and splice the severed wires together.  Simply could not do it.

[MikeA]

RJ11 and handset cords are terminated with a compression/punchdown tool, stripping and crimping the wires into the plug in one action.  As antonis and Mark say, impossible to solder.

[Phend]

Thanks all,
Your comments will allow me to Avoid using phone line, and not ending up with a big mess.
I suppose DSL 6 wire is the same problem.

[MikeA]

If you're talking about CAT6 wiring, the standard is for transmission rates rather than physical properties, so it comes in a variety of gauges, both solid and shielded.  You can get solid 23 gauge, stranded 28 gauge, etc, and some are quite similar to the usual pedal hookup wire and can be soldered.  The RJ45 connectors are usually crimped on like RJ11, but that's a manufacturing convenience. 

<edit>Also, thinking about your original phone wire idea, the wiring inside your walls (station wire) from the wall jack to the point of entry outside, is usually unshielded 4-conductor solid copper, around 22-24 gauge, and is sold as pedal hookup wire.  It solders very well.  Usually has a beige outer jacket.

[antonis]

Αlso, thinking about your original phone wire idea, the wiring inside your walls (station wire) from the wall jack to the point of entry outside, is usually unshielded 4-conductor solid copper, around 24 gauge, and is sold as pedal hookup wire.  It solders very well.  Usually has a beige outer jacket.

I think it breaks up more easily than respective gauge solid electrical wires..
( a couple of times bending and straightening and you have a cracked wire..)

[MikeA]

Αlso, thinking about your original phone wire idea, the wiring inside your walls (station wire) from the wall jack to the point of entry outside, is usually unshielded 4-conductor solid copper, around 24 gauge, and is sold as pedal hookup wire.  It solders very well.  Usually has a beige outer jacket.

I think it breaks up more easily than respective gauge solid electrical wires..
( a couple of times bending and straightening and you have a cracked wire..)

Agreed! More brittle and less ductile than you would look for in hookup wire.

[Phend]

Hum,
I have lots of phone extension wire, you know, never throw anything away.
Need a new jack, but take a look at this.
The wire is stranded copper.
I would remove the jack.

[MikeA]

If that outer sheath is easily removable, stranded copper should be easy to work with.

[duck_arse]

different country, but I've always found there is some kind of magik thread in the stranded phone type wires, most likely to aid flex/strength. it also renders the wire unsolderable.

[Phend]

I tested and this particular phone extension soldered just fine.
You and buy the plain jack on Amazon, some for attaching to a board.
Anyway I am going to try a different approach.
So this topic can go into the journals of ideas and maybe someday get used.

[PRR]

....magik thread in the stranded phone type wires, most likely to aid flex/strength. it also renders the wire unsolderable.

Yes, in the "tinsel" in the curly-cord to the hand-piece. (Also many hi-fi headphones.)

Phend is looking at a wall-jack which has short leads from jack to screw-lugs. I'm not 100% sure what Ma Bell used, but the cheap generics used plain wire. It's only going to be opened and bent a dozen times, why buy high-flex?