ENERGY TIPS

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You should hear nothing.

If you are not paying for a second phone number but get a normal hum, the Y/B pair is improperly connected to the Te1Co circuit. Call a friend or the phone company repair line for a call back at your regular number. If you get a ring, that means the Y/B and R/G lines are connected somewhere between the primary jack and the pole—probably a mistake by an amateur wireman before you. Go back to the interface and disconnect the B/Y station wires from the wiring posts in the interface box. Coil them out of the way. Be sure the stripped, bare wires do not touch each other or any metal part. It is best to tape the ends.

You may have a short in a wiring block or a staple or two missunk in an amateur attempt to fasten the station wire to the woodwork. Overhaul the whole house circuit, find the misconnection if you can and fix it. (Remember: all wires of the same color must be wired to the same posts inside each wiring block, and there must he no errant strands of wire or other conductive material bridging posts or wires.)

It is extremely rare, but if you can call out okay, but get no ring-back at your regular phone number, your Y/B line is miswired at the pole. Unfortunately, the phone company is going to have to sort this one out for you.

Chances are about 99 percent that you'll hear nothing, confirming that the Y/B wires are unconnected and open for use in a secret circuit. Reinstall all four spade lugs from your primary phone to their proper terminals, get a call back to be sure that the primary calls out and will re ceive incoming calls, and replace the cover on the wiring block.

THANKS TO MABELLYou already have an intercom nearly installed.

Now that you understand how the system is wired (not all that complicated, is it?) and have made sure that you won't be transmitting signals you don't intend to beyond the home circuits, the fun can begin.

The Secret Circuit

Anywhere in the house that a phone line runs you have a twin-line electronic interconnect. If you want to extend the secret circuit (and/or extend your existing phone line):

1. Buy some station wire-four-wire phone cable that comes in 50- and 100-foot rolls or bulk for less than 15 cents/foot from a mall store phone department or from Radio Shack-and modular wall jacks for $2 and change apiece.

2. To fasten all four wires at one end of the station wire to any active wiring block, first remove wiring block cover (modular jack).

3. Strip wire ends by cutting shallowly with a very sharp knife (or using a phoneline stripper or stripper/crimping tool) to

a. remove 1 1/2-inches of cable sheath to reveal wires;

b. remove 1/2-inch of insulation from each color-coded wire.

4. Form wires into clockwise open circles using needle-nosed pliers and slip each under the brass screw in the propercolor post.

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