# Telephone cord voltage (use for power)



## Book

I just tested the voltage of the cord (that contains two copper wires) that connects my telephone to the telephone jack in the wall, and it appears to be around 50Volts DC. Do you know if it could be possible to draw power from that cord without getting charged?


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## blues_harp28

Hi question. why would you want to do that? 
Nothing comes free.


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## telecom69

Your right it IS 50 volts but if you use it,it will be clocking up on your meter in the exchange just as if you were making a phone call,so yes you will be charged ....


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## cwwozniak

If you are in the USA, the voltage will drop as you start to draw current from the phone line. If you draw too much current (> 20 mA), the central office will detect that voltage drop as an off-hook condition, drop the voltage even more and put a dial tone on the line.

*WARNINGS: *The voltages on a phone line can cause a shock and the AC ringing voltage does cause voltage peaks much higher than 50 volts you measured. Injecting any DC or AC signals of your own the your phone, shorting of the lines to each other or to ground may cause disruption of you phone service and that of others as well as pose possible safety hazards to telephone company personal. You don't want to do anything to get the phone company mad at you.

Having said that, here is some information from an old EDN magazine article on phone line powered equipment.

*Off-hook phone line supplies 150 mW*
http://www.edn.com/archives/1994/090194/18di2.htm


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## JohnWill

The A/C ringing voltage is around 90VAC, so you'll need to prepare for that when you're powering something from the line. 

FWIW, lots of phone connected equipment draws power from the line, so it's certainly possible.


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## Book

> FWIW, lots of phone connected equipment draws power from the line, so it's certainly possible.


 Yeah, I miss my old telephone device which operated without batteries, drawing power from the line. And I really thought maybe I had made a mistake with the 50Volts DC measurement, cause I find it's quite high.. And I frequently touch the male jack without reallt considering that (but I've never been shocked).

And since some telephone devices can be powered through the line, I should be able to power something small without even being noticed.


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## JohnWill

Book said:


> I should be able to power something small without even being noticed.


[WEBQUOTE="http://www.sandman.com/telco.html"]The Phone Company always has a steady source of DC power available. Huge banks of storage batteries backed up by generators, supplying from 23 to 80ma of power on every phone line... for you to use whenever you want![/WEBQUOTE]I can't say much for the products on the site, most of them are pretty silly.


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## cwwozniak

JohnWill said:


> most of them are pretty silly.


LMAO with that product line  Quickly recharge a car battery. 

I do have to wonder if the one product of a more "adult nature" speeds up and slows down during the ringing of an incoming call.


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## JohnWill

I was amused about recharging your car battery. I figure that would take about 6 months, and that's if the self-discharge didn't out pace the charge! 

No comment about the other product.


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## Book

> I can't say much for the products on the site, most of them are pretty silly.


 I'm not sure how much you can trust this "company" or their products.


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## cwwozniak

Book said:


> I'm not sure how much you can trust this "company" or their products.


I am trying to decide if the guy is just having a lot of fun selling a few real items mixed in with a lot of questionable products or if the whole thing is a fake.

I Googled the phone number and the address is about 6 miles from work. May take a different route home from work one evening.


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## valis

i like the idea of a Chernobyl Electrical Institute.....has a nice ring to it....

now, drizzelenik, or whowever you spell it; that's just wrong....


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## Book

> mixed in with a lot of questionable products


LOL man WTF!! This is the sickest official **** I've ever seen! The taseler that shoots 6 barbed spikes of 40.000Volts at your children!


Original site said:


> Isn't your child worth $99.95?


Or:


> The Taseler™ for KIDS! is molded of sturdy plastic
> parts in great looking primary colors that your children
> will enjoy!


This has got to be fake...


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## TheOutcaste

JohnWill said:


> I was amused about recharging your car battery. I figure that would take about 6 months, and that's if the self-discharge didn't out pace the charge!
> 
> No comment about the other product.


I think they left out one important step needed for a quick charge, and that is you have to have someone call your number and let it ring. That way you get the full 90VAC ring voltage instead of just the normal 48VDC line voltage.

That should shave a month or two off the charge time


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