I've had ViaTalk VoIP service for a little over a year and have been generally content with it. I've had one on-going problem that I've not been able to fix. Every once in awhile my phone will not ring when a call comes in. The call goes to the ViaTalk mail box instead of ringing my phone and being picked up by us or my answering machine. It's happened to me several times when calling my house and, until the ViaTalk voice mail picks up, you'd never know that the phone is not ringing on the other end... it sounds completely normal.

After many conversations with the folks at ViaTalk they've told me that the problem is most likely the 66 block I have in my basement. I put this in when we first moved into the house (well before I had VoIP) to fix a whole mess of wires all twisted together. I had DSL back then and it never had a problem with 66 block but now ViaTalk is pointing to it as the cause of the problem. I have a cord from the phone jack on the back of the router that goes right to the 66 block. I'm not running my computer network through the 66 block, just the phone lines.

Has anyone experienced this problem before and/or can anyone offer alternatives?
Someone suggested using a 110 block but I've never wired one of those up so I wouldn't know where to start.

Thanks,
-Jeff

66 blocks have and still are being used for voice. They are not suitable for networks.

The very first place I would start is to find the REN that the VoIP box will support. The second thing I would do is to find the REN of each of the phone devices in the house.

What is REN? REN is the Ringer Equilivelency Number.. The old 500 style phone has a REN of 1. You NID may have a 1/2 ringer installed in it. If it does and hasn't been disconnected from the house, count that as 0.5.

The VoIP REN that it supports must be greater than the REN of the devices. Remember to count separate bells as well. Standard phone lines support a REN of 5.

This is where I would start.

See this: PAP2T REN capability problem [Archive] - VoIP Forums, Internet Phone Service Forums, & Web Hosting Forums

Have all of the filters been removed (Maximum is 5) or were you/are you using a single splitter for DSL or preferably no splitters at all in your case.

Is the DSL modem, the only thing on the telephone line? How is this wired? Quad cable? Cat 5? Haw far away is the modem from the NID? Have the other jacks been disconnected from the DSL modem circuit?

Thanks for the starting point. I'm not using DSL anymore I switched to cable so the filters have all been removed and are not an issue. The wiring to the phones is all original wiring from the 60's when the house was built so it's probably all quad. I also disconnected the line from the NID so that won't need to be counted. I'm not using the standard device supplied by ViaTalk. Back when I first started complaining about the problem they told me that I had to purchase a new Linksys phone router from them and that would most likely solve the problem. I bought the router, it didn't fix the problem and they wouldn't take it back. It irked me a bit but not enough to cancel the service. The newer Linksys/Cisco phone routers support a REN of 5. I'll have to look up my specific model tonight after work. I have a cordless phone system with 3 or 4 handsets... do I count the REN for each one or for just the base unit?

Thanks.

FYI: That site rocks! Lots of great VoIP info on that site other than just that posting.

Just count the REN for the Base unit. I've had trouble with every Linksys product that I have purchased. They are not recommended in my book. They are also blacklisted by dyndns.org.

There is a test that can be done to check the line quality. I think it basically measures the ring current. With ring current and voltage, you can determine the resistance of the bell circuit.

A DC measurement tells you nothing.

Personally I've never been a big Linksys fan myself and this is the first router by them that I've owned, albeit not by choice. 3-4 weeks ago my Netgear died after 6 years of loyal service and since then this has been the router that hangs off my cable modem. From time to time I'll notice that my DNS looks ups will start taking longer and longer. I reboot the router and the problem goes away. It's just a hassle.

My cordless phone has a REN of .08, I have one other phone/alarm clock that was made by Zenith in 1999, I can't find the REN for that but I only have the two phones hooked up.

I just thought about something else too... I have two DVR's. One I don't have a phone line plugged into but the other I do... it can't connect on the phone calls because of the VoIP but it's still connected... think I'll unplug that one.

Do you think the 66 block could be to blame as ViaTalk suggests or is it something else?

The DVR could be trying to use the line. What about getting a line in use indicator and placing it somewhere while watching TV etc. VoIP plays havoc on modems. Speed must be limited to 9600 baud, I think, for it to work.

I have another idea. Go to Radio shack and get a telco jack so you can wire line 1 to a DVM. I'll call this Gismo #1

Go to radio shack and get parts to make Gismo #2. Shorts tip and ring of line #1 of the RJ11/RJ14 plug.

Then unplug EVERYTHING.

Place Gismo #1 in place of the VoIp thingy and select the highest range of the DVM. See if there is any parallel resistance paths.

Now select the lowest resistance range.

Place Gismo #2 at each of the phone outlets and read the resistance of the shorted line at each of the locations.

Wiggle wires, especially the cords.

There could be a bad connection at the 66 block, but it's not because it's wired with a 66 block. This is like saying a wirenutted connection is worse than a DIN terminal connection.

Also repunch connections on block.