Land line is working again

tdc-tool.jpgOur land line is working again now, after having been out of commission for over two months as we’ve been traveling, but also struggling to get someone to own up to and fix the problem.



Our internet connection is paid for by my wife’s job at DR, and supplied by TDC, both large former-monopolies. The challenge was to explain the problem to my wife in terms she could communicate to DR’s helpdesk in a way that would convince them to request TDC to come and fix the problem.



The first mistake was telling the truth, that we could exchange two cables to make the land line work but not the internet, and that of course we chose to have internet working over phone service. That was too complicated for them to handle: “If it’s your land line that’s broken, then it’s your problem, not ours.” Ok, let’s pretend we flipped the cables and go back. “Hey, guys, now the internet’s broken, fix it!” “Oh, but we have a different VPN solution now.”



In the end, we took a photo of the cable that was broken, took it to the helpdesk at DR, who immediately ordered the TDC guy, and the next morning (that’s today), he was here to fix it.



Of course, he left behind him some funky telco device, and I’m sure we’re going to have a blast trying to return that.

4 comments

robin
 

He he. That's a ... wait for it .. Krone punchdown tool! Nice bonus - I'd hang onto it.
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Lars Pind
 

And what will a Krone punchdown tool do for me?
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robin
 

Ah, glad you asked. It will assist you in making an excellent connection between your wire pairs and the connectors inside your sockets. You can make do with a very small flat-head screwdriver, but the Krone tool will give you a very good result indeed. Not for everyday use, I grant you, but when you need such a tool, it's nice to have, plus you can impress visiting telco engineers.
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Mark Aufflick
 

I remember once trying to take a Krone tool on a plane in my hand luggage. You can see all the hooks, clips and widgets - well they are all metal, wierdly shaped and some are sharp. This was pre 9/11, but it lit up the xray screen like a futuristic torture device. It took me quite a long time to persuade the security guys that it was an innocuous tech tool and no more dangerous than a semi-sharp pencil. I still had to let them check it for me, but at least I got it back! Along with a Krone punchdown block it comes in handy from time to time. I last used it to mock up a PC serial to Apple Newton cable :)
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