-=> Quoting Dave Garland to Roland Stiner on PHONE LINES<=-
 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.
 Telephone cable should have an almost flat loss curve from 400 to 2800hz.
 On non-loaded cable, ie( without the series inductors used on long
 cable runs) the loss should fall off gradually above that. On loaded
 cable the loss falls off rapidly above 2900hz.
 RS> True/not true?  If true, wouldn't a low noise amp in line do the
 RS> trick?
 The problem is crosstalk.  If you put a transmit amplifier on your end
 you will exceed the FCC regulations for power input to a telephone line.
 A dbm is a measurement where 1 milliwatt dissipated into 600 ohms
 represents 0 dbm.  Input devices should fall into the 0 to -6 dbm
 catagory, excedding that will cause problems to the telephone system
 and result in some very expensive court times and fines.
 If you put a recieve amplifier on your end, you will not only amplify
 the incoming signal but all of the associated line noises, think signal
 to noise ratio.  Amplifiers can be placed on the lines, but they need
 to be placed at points in the line where they can recover and boost the
 signal before it falls into the noise,  The only ones capable of doing
 this are the Telcos, who have the trained people to determine where
 they should be placed, what type amps should be used and then to open
 the cable and place them. The cost to perform this operation is very
 expensive and I have never heard of it being done for a single
 telephone thats used only for dial tone service.
 
 Bob..
--- Blue Wave v2.12 [NR]
---------------