Tip and Ring.... Black and White... Ring and Tip...

[Babybearjs]

I thought I'd share my experience with you all as being an electrician... its hard to follow certain standards... Telephone are one of them... I was trained to follow the basic wiring guide of the solid wire is always "HOT" and the white is always Neutral. so when wiring up phone jacks... I apply the same principle. Red is "Hot" (ring) and green is Neutral (tip). sounds easy, right... then I must be dyslexic because I always seem to get that reversed when laying out a 66 block... I seem to always start with the solid color and then the tracer.... (blue, then white Etc.) is it just me, or do other guys have the same problem? what do you think? it really messes with your head when you get the wiring backwards...   what are you views on this subject? does it matter? 

[nolan613]

To many years working with Black is hot, White is neutral, Green is ground; hot on left & cold on right.
Almost ALWAYS start with the solid color followed ny the tracer out of habit. I'm right & the world is wrong...

[Bob S]

Funny you bring that up I wondered about that my self. Than you work on a car White is hot and Black is Negative. I worked as an Electrician in a Factory AC Black Hot white neut. really messes with your mind. Ring RED Tip Black L1 L2 does it matter on a phone line.

[robert_m]

From a prior Post i made:

Just Quick reference:


CHEAT SHEET FOR TIP/RING TESTING WITH DIGITAL VOLT METER

Historically residential POTS Line phones were all negative with respect to ground.   

This assumes a LOOP-START line -

Line 1
Green (White Blue) = tip (+)
Red (Blue) = ring (-)

Line 2*
Black (White Orange) = tip (+)
Yellow (Orange) = ring (-)

*NOTE: The Yellow / Black wires were used in residential customers that had one line (the normal) and had princess phones (or original trimline phone) to lite the dial,  Original were WE 2012a transformer 6-8vac output, Signature Series were 9vac output and only needed IF you ran keypad as night light, with transformer in remote location.

Remember the tip is the positive (ground) terminal and the ring is negative.

Black (neg) meter lead to the ring wire - Red (Blue)
Red (pos) meter lead to the tip wire – Green (White Blue)

Meter should indicate a negative approx -48vdc on standard POTS** line.
If meter indicates approx +48vdc, the wires are reversed either in cable or jack.

**NOTE: VoIP Lines usually do not provide 48vdc, as seen about 20vdc, and many line powered devices will not properly function if at all. 

[RB]

This is a good topic.
I was a cable installer for 17 years, and have seen most every way to mix up wiring.
As far as color, it is for you to keep up with whats on the other end.
As far as wire, it makes no difference to the circuit what color each wire is.
As long as you are consistant.
The problem comes when the next guy has to interpret your work.

[Key2871]

I couldn't have said it better, I've worked free lance on phones, wiring and blocks. It's amazing even what bell employees did with wiring, how they could screw up a punch block in a multi-line install. Then I go in and try to find the problem, I scratched my head and have to say what the heck, is this?? $#!t. And sometimes there was a tag with initial indicating who worked on it last and a date.
If I had a buck for every wrong wire put on a wrong post or punched to a wrong leg, I would have been far better off now than I am now.
It wasn't all the time, and sometimes it was done right in the beginning, then someone came in and changed the scheme, that only confused the people who had to come in later and figure it out.

And I too worked as a electrician, but when it came to telephone wiring, it was always the standard practice on connecting it up. In fact I got the jobs everytime when it came to doing telephone wiring in the company. Because there was never a problem, unless someone drilled through the wire, or cut it accidently. Even then I would get the call to fix it because I had the tools and repair splices and did them right.

[Jim Stettler]

At work we had an addressable fire alarm system that was wired by an electrician.
Instead of following standard DC practice, he made red - and black + thru-out the system.

We would  notice  that when we  changed out  devices,
However, Habit is a hard habit to break* . You  would always wire the device in reverse.
When a co-worker was replacing the device, the game was to distract him when he was landing the wires, this was even funner after they wired it wrong the first time. My record was 2-1/2 times (in a row) landing the wires wrong on the same  device.
Jim

* speaking of habit:
I have worked on  6' ladders for decades and have noticed an issue when I use 8' ladders.
With an 8' ladder I will step off 1-2 steps early. I have tried to resolve it by watching my feet as I come down. It still happens. You usually comprehend it a slight moment after you do it.
I have seen it happen to other long-time 6' ladder users. An occupational hazard.

[RB]

I have to agree with you Jim.
I have stepped off too early a bunch of times.
You just don't think to COUNT them.
And, of all the dumb things, stepped off the BACK side.
Leaves a VERY nice drag mark on the back of your leg!

[Babybearjs]

Ouch! I too have missed a step or 2 on a ladder or even regular steps. did that one years ago... was standing on a kitchen table installing a fixture, went to step down off onto the chair, missed that completely and wound up on my back on the floor. Ouch! stunned but not out... Thank God I was in my 20's at the time... if that happened today, I'd probably be in the Remember the hospital! so.... the white is positive on the phone system... how interesting... that sure screws with my mind...to try to remember the tip is the positive (ground) terminal and the ring is negative is going to be hard after always knowing that the Solid color wire is always hot.... anyway, thats for the feedback! at least I know that I'm not alone in this issue! and if you think thats bad.... try wiring in Europe! they use 240VAC as standard voltage, and.... the colors are Brown, Blue and Green! hows that for confusion! and at one time they used black and red... and it wasn't DC!

[Key2871]

So what was that guy thinking wiring devices in reverse?
That must have made it a nightmare to keep things straight.
In my life everything has been red positive, black negative.

And have you ever worked pulling wires only to have the other guy leave a spool of wire at the base of the step latter?
Well it happened to me, twice. I fell once on a concrete slab dam near broke my arm, actually had to take a couple days off because of the injury. Was back at work and they guy did it a second time, I looked that time, pulled out my phone and took a picture to show my boss. I never had to work with that guy again..