Quote from: Newportnobby on August 22, 2023, 10:58:20 AMI've had a mail from BT to say landlines are being phased out over the next months and I will need to plug my home phone into my router to receive the digital version of the landline.
They say the price will reman the same and I say "Why?"
Having paid a monthly landline fee all these years and as I'm paying them for my broadband anyway I would have thought no landline = a saving for me  

It's not that landlines are physically being phased out, we'll still have (and need) the physical connection to the exchange.

What is changing is the way that voice transmission happens.

Currently, a microphone in your phone's handset sends electric impulses down the line to the exchange, where their route is set, via other exchanges, to send them to a small loudspeaker in the handset of the phone you're calling so that they can be heard.

The switching arrangement in the exchanges, along with the rest of the voice network, is well past its sell-by date and highly inefficient for modern times so it's being phased out in favour of internet technology.

What will happen post-switchover is that your phone's microphone will only send its impulses as far as your broadband router which will digitise them and send them, via internet routing protocols, to the broadband router of the person you're calling. That will extract the voice data from the rest of the data that it's receiving and convert it back to voice electrical impulses, sending those to the loudspeaker in their phone handset so they can hear what you're saying.

The major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

Quote from: chrism on August 22, 2023, 01:26:03 PMCurrently, a microphone in your phone's handset sends electric impulses down the line to the exchange, where their route is set, via other exchanges, to send them to a small loudspeaker in the handset of the phone you're calling so that they can be heard.

What will happen post-switchover is that your phone's microphone will only send its impulses as far as your broadband router which will digitise them and send them, via internet routing protocols, to the broadband router of the person you're calling. That will extract the voice data from the rest of the data that it's receiving and convert it back to voice electrical impulses, sending those to the loudspeaker in their phone handset so they can hear what you're saying.

And if the person I'm calling doesn't have broadband??
Not everyone has it/wants it (ooh - suit you, Sir)

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

My cordless sets don't work without power, anyway

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 22, 2023, 01:42:49 PM

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

Plug a real phone into the master socket with an adapter as a backup ( until the 50v  power goes down for good!)
My cordless sets don't work without power, anyway

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 22, 2023, 01:41:08 PM

Quote from: chrism on August 22, 2023, 01:26:03 PMCurrently, a microphone in your phone's handset sends electric impulses down the line to the exchange, where their route is set, via other exchanges, to send them to a small loudspeaker in the handset of the phone you're calling so that they can be heard.

What will happen post-switchover is that your phone's microphone will only send its impulses as far as your broadband router which will digitise them and send them, via internet routing protocols, to the broadband router of the person you're calling. That will extract the voice data from the rest of the data that it's receiving and convert it back to voice electrical impulses, sending those to the loudspeaker in their phone handset so they can hear what you're saying.

And if the person I'm calling doesn't have broadband??
Not everyone has it/wants it (ooh - suit you, Sir)

They will be supplied with an adapter to go between the wall socket and the phone - they may have to ask for one rather than it being supplied automatically.

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

You won't be able to charge your car either, or power your heat pump. We're heading towards a single point of failure...

Quote from: Michael Shillabeer on August 22, 2023, 02:19:47 PM

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

You won't be able to charge your car either, or power your heat pump. We're heading towards a single point of failure...

None of which I will ever have, but I'm already at a single point of failure. If my leccy fails, everything fails

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 22, 2023, 02:26:35 PM

Quote from: Michael Shillabeer on August 22, 2023, 02:19:47 PM

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

You won't be able to charge your car either, or power your heat pump. We're heading towards a single point of failure...

None of which I will ever have, but I'm already at a single point of failure. If my leccy fails, everything fails

As are most people .....
Oh, but I've got gas central heating, not electric - fine, what makes the pump work?   

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

My parents, being classed as vulnerable, have been supplied with a VOIP ( voice over internet protocol) phone, that has a built in battery and will keep working even if the mains goes off.
This is what is supplied if the user doesn't have broadband as well. Though without the battery backup unless you ask for it.

As it is my parents have internet as well and the phone Tees off the cable before the router.

My last workplace had changed to VOIP phones some years ago, 99% of the time you notice no difference.



We still have a multi fuel stove, more than once when the power goes off in the winter we've settled down in the living room to sleep on the sofa and reclining chair for the night, after an evening meal cooked on the top of the stove , because the gas central heating has failed. Considering having a gas hob next time.
PS we're on tank gas, not mains..

Quote from: chrism on August 22, 2023, 02:33:43 PM

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 22, 2023, 02:26:35 PM

Quote from: Michael Shillabeer on August 22, 2023, 02:19:47 PM

Quote from: Railwaygun on August 22, 2023, 01:38:11 PMThe major problem is that old POTs use the 50v current from the exchange . This means that they should still work during a power cut.

Your internet connection runs off 240v, so when the lights go off, so will the phone!

You won't be able to charge your car either, or power your heat pump. We're heading towards a single point of failure...

None of which I will ever have, but I'm already at a single point of failure. If my leccy fails, everything fails

As are most people .....
Oh, but I've got gas central heating, not electric - fine, what makes the pump work?   

The central heating won't work in a power cut, but the gas fire will still provide heating when that is all you've got in an extended failure. In our case, we could set up lighting from 12V batteries and cooking on a camping cooker fueled from a gas cylinder.

Living where I do, we are prone to power cuts, in fact we had one as we were going to bed last night, although the power was back on before 3am. We have Calor gas central heating, but, as has been pointed out, electricity is still needed. If it is cold, we have a coal fire and I have numerous rechargeable lights, (must put them back on charge!) and a portable gas ring. I also have a small petrol generator which is brought into use if the power is going to be off for a long time, so I can keep the fridge and freezer going.

Ah well, some people do choose to live out in the sticks 

I thought while I was out for a paper this morning I'd get some 'essentials' for the layout.
7mm drill bit needed to fit switches into a mimic panel, and a top up of 2.5mm x 12mm screws which I use to temporarily secure track.
Screwfix - 7mm drill bit, yes - screws, no
B & Q - 7mm drill bit, yes - screws, no
Wickes - 7mm drill bit, no - screws, yes

So my carbon footprint was Newsagent > Wickes > Screwfix

Edit:- before some joker says it, the Newsagents had neither drill bit nor screws

Quote from: Newportnobby on August 26, 2023, 10:00:21 AMI thought while I was out for a paper this morning I'd get some 'essentials' for the layout.
7mm drill bit needed to fit switches into a mimic panel, and a top up of 2.5mm x 12mm screws which I use to temporarily secure track.
Screwfix - 7mm drill bit, yes - screws, no
B & Q - 7mm drill bit, yes - screws, no
Wickes - 7mm drill bit, no - screws, yes

So my carbon footprint was Newsagent > Wickes > Screwfix

Edit:- before some joker says it, the Newsagents had neither drill bit nor screws

But did you get a paper!