Telephone line causing radio interference?

[Greg G.]

We were having some problems with our telephone landline and once CenturyLink came out and fixed it, I discovered that my old Majestic Radio now has much better reception.  Before the landline started giving us problems, the radio had poor reception, I could only get one local station, and even then the reception had a lot of static and not worth listening too.  I attributed it to simply a bad location and lack of a good antenna.  Now I can get many stations with decent enough clarity (for an old radio) to make it worth listening to.  I don't know much about radio interference, or if it had something to do with the landline.  The phone tech guy said he had to replace a worn line, which one I don't know, we were busy with other things at the time and were just happy that they finally came out to fix it (don't get me started about CenturyLink's customer service).

So I was wondering if any radio types out there can either confirm or refute my suspicions about the bad landline having something to do with radio reception.  Oh, and I also noticed that the 5302 I recently got started ringing better.  Before the ring was weak and broken up, now it's a nice loud, steady ring.

[Phonesrfun]

I think its purely coincidental on the radio part.  The better ringing on the 5302 could be entirely due to the fix.

[Jack Ryan]

Thinking outside the quad, does the radio use the telephone line as an antenna?

Jack

[NorthernElectric]

1st of all, I'm no expert.  But is your CenturyLink service is a POTS line or a digital service delivered via your TV cable?  If it is cable and by 'worn line' that means the shielding was compromised by abrasion, then it might be possible that the cable was emitting RFI (radio frequency interference) that could possibly interfere with the Majestic.  See http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/CATV_Interference. 

[Phonesrfun]

CenturyLink is the legacy baby Bell Telco in the Pacific Northwest, and is POTS.

In the Northwest, what used to be Pacific Telephone became Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company I believe in 1961, serving Oregon, Washington and Northern Idaho.  At divestiture, it became US West.  Then Qwest, and finally in 2011 CenturyLink merged with Qwest.  All very confusing.  Makes your head spin to try to track the baby Bells and all their grandchildren!

[NorthernElectric]

Thanks Bill.  It also dawned on me afterwards that my idea wouldn't explain why the ringer performance improved on the 5302.

[Greg G.]

Thinking outside the quad, does the radio use the telephone line as an antenna?

Jack

No.  I just have about a 12 ft length of  station  wire for an antenna.

[Greg G.]

It wasn't just the 5302 that improved, the cordless phone could only squeak out one or two short blips then stop. I tested it  on a  neighbor's line  and it worked fine. It works fine now  (like it was before).

So I wonder what changed to make the radio reception better?

[Phonesrfun]

Maybe just the proximity of a working phone line to the antenna acting as kind of an antenna extender. AM or FM?

[Greg G.]

Maybe just the proximity of a working phone line to the antenna acting as kind of an antenna extender. AM or FM?

The Majestic is a late 20s radio, AM.

[NorthernElectric]

Maybe just the proximity of a working phone line to the antenna acting as kind of an antenna extender.

Is this the one?  Do you still have those phones on top of it?  Are either of them connected?

[Dan/Panther]

I collect and restore vintage radios similar to the one posted.
I had Verizon, and I called the service number to complain about the same issue. Static interference to my radios. They sent the tech out, and first thing he says, ( He's a real cocky butt ). "Phones can't interfere with radios". So I took my handy am transistor radio out to the offending area, walked around with the tech, no problem with static. So I walk over by the junction box. The radio sounded like a metal detector. 
He started his testing while I went back in side my "PHONE ROOM".
When he was done He came into the house to report. I was like I said in my "PHONE ROOM". He walked in and looked around, and kind of sheepishly said, " I see you are familiar with phones.". I gave him a tour of many phones he had never even seen before.
The static is gone, and has not came back since.

D/P

[Phonesrfun]

Aliens.  They're playing with our minds.   

[Mr. Bones]

I collect and restore vintage radios similar to the one posted.
I had Verizon, and I called the service number to complain about the same issue. Static interference to my radios. They sent the tech out, and first thing he says, ( He's a real cocky butt ). "Phones can't interfere with radios".

RF caused by, or manifesting itself on a telephony device? Pah! Balderdash, Piffle, and Poppycock!

What a superstitious, paranoid theory!

According to a BSP posted today, by slimjim, regarding a WE 211, even the WE Engineers were still perpetuating this utter nonsense well into recent times, perhaps even today.

I'm quite sure that they were, and may still be spending most of their time in the labs, chanting mumbo-jumbo, and shaking chicken bones at things, and observing the test results.

No wonder so many people are misinformed, and cling to such archaic, outmoded beliefs! Sheesh!

Bill G brought forth a much more enlightened, probable, and refreshing take on the matter. Let us agree to follow that theory for the next several hundred years, at a minimum. Thing of the things we can accomplish with electricity, then!

Just to be safe, though, I, for one, am not going to take the aluminium foil out of all my ball caps, not just yet....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference

He walked in and looked around, and kind of sheepishly said, " I see you are familiar with phones.". I gave him a tour of many phones he had never even seen before.
The static is gone, and has not came back since.D/P

Super Glad you got to show him the Phone Room! I bet it was like an episode of Scared Straight for him, D/P!

Too bad you hadn't time to set up video for YouTube posterity!

Best regards!

(Career Electrician since <1967... I may be way wrong here.)

[TelePlay]

And the filter carried through to the 300 series phones. This is for a 304C/5304C. Same filter.

Question is, does the filter prevent the radio from interfering with the phone or the phone from interfering with the radio?