Radio Shack Phone Tester

[paul-f]

You can get a Panasonic 616 for half the price, with much more funtionality...Doug

But it's different functionality.  It's really best to have both.  

It also helps to have a multi-line telephone line simulator hooked to several of the CO line ports on the 616 for demonstrations.

[stopthemachine]

I decided against the phone tester for $105 with free shipping.  I think I did the right thing.  I had made two lower offers before that one, and he didn't go for it so I didn't feel like bartering down again. 

There will be others!  Thanks again--everyone helped me to make my decision.

If anyone comes by a resonably priced one, please let me know. 

Dan 

[Jim Stettler]

Caution on buying a RS tester. Many of these were used in the store and they have a lot of wear.

I use a BK Precision 1045. These do all the same tests. I wouldn't pay more than $100.00 delivered. New they sell for over $600.

The telephone testers are a real fast way to test phones. A 616 is a funner way to test phones.

I  have sent  the 1045 ring signal into the 616 to trigger all the extensions to ring.
Jim

[gpo706]

I like the look of that bit of kit, nice functionality.

But I doubt they were ever sold in the UK, so "ce'st la vie".

The Pana 616 is the machine for me.

[DavePEI]

Hi Pholks:

I just wanted to tell you about what happened to mine a number of years back when I first got it. I did win it on eBay for a pretty reasonable amount, and the seller sent it Priority Post International.

After a few weeks, it still hadn't arrived. Finally, it did come, in a box with "Opened for customs inspection" tape, holding it closed. Inside, the back cover was off and umpteen screws were floating around the box.

Now, if you have ever seen one of these with the cover off, it is amazingly sparse, only a 4x8 pcb and a transformer, and some ribbon cable connecting the front panel. I put it back together, and it has continued to work well.

My only thought is some overzealous customs inspector x-rayed it looking for contraband and noticed the large amount of blank space inside it. He pulled it off the line, and removed the cover. P'd because he didn't find anything and wouldn't get a bonus that day, he threw it back in the box disassembled. At least that is how I figure it happened - couldn't have happened any other way.

Anyway, if you send one of these across the border, be prepared for similar to happen. Thankfully in this case, it was only a matter of screwing the transformer back down again, and re-installing the umpteen screws they had removed.

It was all caused by RS making it for use in the store, with a very large front panel - much larger than really required.

Since then, I have also gotten a BK tester, but both work well. I just wanted to share this experience which now, after time has buffered it a bit, I find quite amusing.

Poor guy thought he had a big find, and went home with no bonus!

Dave

[twocvbloke]

With regard to the Panasonic 616 ringing, I have a cheaper cheating method, not my own idea as I got it on another forum...

All I have done is take a short 2-wire RJ11 patch lead (in my case a damaged modem cable with a ferrite thing in the modem end), plugged it into Ext. 36 (or 26 for US models), and connected the patch to CO6, all you do is dial 36, wait for the system to start ringing, and replace the handset and it will continue to ring with an external ring cadence until you pick up a phone on any extension...

It's just a simple loop-back, the extension puts out ringing voltage at the right frequency, the CO port sees that as a ringing line and rings the extensions and the process starts over again in a continuous loop...

The only issue I've noticed is the 616 rings all extensions in a sequential group, so 21, 25, 29 & 33 are Group 1, 22 etc. Group 2, 23 Group 3 and 24 Group 4, so if you have different phones on those groups, the ringers being mixed together can sound somewhat weird and unpleasant...

Anyway, a picture, the label on the ferrite thing just says "Loopback Demo"....

[poplar1]

The extensions ring in groups of four because that divides the load on the ring generator.

[gpo706]

The extensions ring in groups of four because that divides the load on the ring generator.

Yes and quite a cacophony it is too, unless you have assigned ringing through the programming phone!