RS> Got it.  Now let me get this right, there is a post out there which said
 RS> something to the effect that if you live far away from the switching
 RS> station (or whatever it is called) there is a possibility that you will
 RS> not be able to get 56K downloads from an isp due to signal loss.
We're about at my knowledge limit :).  As I understand it (assuming that you 
only have a single A/D conversion between you and the ISP... forget 56K if 
you have >1 conversion) the most common problem is roll-off at the high end.  
 RS> True/not true?  If true, wouldn't a low noise amp in line do the trick?
Dunno.  I believe that sometimes the telco intentionally limits bandwidth in 
order to squeeze more calls into a single channel.  In any case, if the 
signal is lost in the noise when it gets to you, amplifying it on your end 
isn't likely to help much, because you'll amplify the noise too.
This is sometimes discussed in newsgroups like alt.dcom.telecom and (the 
moderated) comp.dcom.telecom.  If you have web or ftp access, you might want 
to check out the Telecom Digest's website & archives.  Or try HS_MODEMS, 
seems like the sort of thing someone over there might know.
 RS> I did some asking around and one person told me he thought the 
dditional
 RS> two wires used the voltages to light the key pad of the first
 RS> "princess" phones.
That may be true.  But Princess phones date from what, the early '60s, and it 
seems to me that the additional wires were present long before then.
Regards,
Dave 
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