Phone doesn't ring on VoIP

[hodgsodc]

I have recenlty switched my telephone service with iDNET from analogue to VoIP. Since I wanted to retain my analogue phone with bell ringer, I chose to Cisco ATA 191 route. The result is only partially satisfactory. I can make ourgoing calls but not incoming as the bell does not ring. In fact if I pick up the receiver at the right time, I can hear an incoming call. I understand from others on the internet that the problem is probably that the ringer voltage generated by the ATA191 in too small. However the ATA191 is programmable, so I would like to be able to programme it myself or have iDNET do it for me. So far "Support" has not been able to offer any solution.
Can anyone please shed light on this problem?

David

[Simon]

Hi David, and

I'm no expert on these matters but I'm sure someone will be able to help soon.

[nowster]

Older phones need an ATA adapter lead with a ring capacitor.

For example:
https://www.voipfone.co.uk/hardware/accessories/rj11-to-bt-adapter
https://soho66.co.uk/7369/all/1/RJ11---BT-Adapter-%28with-Ring-Capacitor%29.aspx

[hodgsodc]

Thank you for that tip and sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I would like to believe it would do the trick. Since writing that post my router failed so now I have a Tp-Link router with its own ATA. Do you think your suggestion would still work? If it is the solution to my problem, how come iDNET support has never mentioned it? I must have spoken to every one of their advisors on this topic. Others on the internet suggest the answer is to increase the ringer voltage. I would really like to understand this problem.

[nowster]

My suggestion: they're not expensive. Just try it!

Increasing the ringer voltage won't help if that voltage isn't appearing on the connector pin that the phone's expecting. The capacitor does that.

UK phone wiring has the bell wire separate to reduce tinkling in older phones which had mechanical bells, when there were multiple extensions on the same line. If the bell was connected directly to the line sometimes it would very lightly ring (tinkle) in sympathy with the sound on the line.

Having it on a separate wire, connected via a capacitor in the master socket, meant that any extension in use could short out the bell wire when its handset was off the hook. This prevented the tinkling.

Wiring diagram

Older GPO wiring, before the now familiar BT 431A plugs, was even more complex. For example, here's the wiring diagram for a simple house extension system with three phones: http://www.samhallas.co.uk/repository/n_diagrams/4000/N4502.pdf  In addition, pre-BT phones had their bells wired in series, with low impedance ringing coils; BT plug phones have their bells wired in parallel, with high impedance ringers, hence the tinkling problem and the separate bell wire.