Well, while technically possible (dependent on battery type). The phone company is going to notice that it seems your phone line is Off Hook. They will investigate eventually and ..... they are not going to be very happy and neither are you when they pull your landline. Yes there is 56 VDC here but the amperage is way low. MilliAmps where as if we are talking big batteries, you need AMPS! Why not just get a small solar cell / battery charger then you can size it to your needs and not have to worry about anyone coming into investigate your 'Preps' to me it's not worth the OpSec risk. YMMV
oh boy No cell recption here, even with a YOGI. Stuck with dial (F) up. Too cheap to have power (grid) in and not enough batts/pannels to do the 'sat thing. Years ago, many many, it was going to cost me $20000 to get a land line here, lotta cell time with my 'bag phone', had to drive 3/4 mile for the reception on a GOOD day.
For me, there is good reason. I'm a long way from a fire house, and knowing that I'm linked to coordinates in the 911 service is better assurance of having emergency services know where I am without a long winded explanation of how to get here is worth it. Additionally, if the power goes out, the phone seldom follows based on the last power outages of significant duration. (And there's no reliable cell service up here.) Plus, no cable for TV or internet, the choice is DSL or satellite. Based on my TV service, satellite is also unreliable in storms.
Landline 'phone utility companies, usually have their own power supply, independant of the electrical power grid. They usually have UPS and sometimes their own emergency generation capabilities as backups at their exhanges. YMMV.
Remote Site Comms has always been an issue for folks who live far out in the bush. There are many ways to deal with these issues, by the application of a bit of technology. For Multi-band CellPhones, there are External Antennas, and Bidirectional Amplifiers, that can extend the coverage area of a CellSite significantly. One can build a Remote Site Setup on top of the nearest Hill, that can see, and receive signals from the local CellSite, and then install the Cellphone, Amp, and External Antenna there, and by adding a few more bits of technology, make a wired Phone Connection to the Living Location, up to 5000 ft down the hill. One can also do what TnAndy has done, with OTS "Off the Shelf" Hardware, for an IP type Digital Remote Site, that now brings in a Very Fast, and High Bandwidth, Internet connection, to his valley. Then run a VoIP system (Like Skype) over that, to have Phone Service back to the Regular Telco Network. There are DSL Wired Modems that can communicate up to 12K ft over a Single Pair of wires, that have enough Bandwidth, (1.5Mbs - T1 Service) to be used for both Phone AND Internet. I have a couple of links on my Network that use these, and run on a standard Cat 5 Ethernet wire Pair 3000ft stung up and trees, through the woods. These links have been in operation for 3 years and no trouble, so far. It just takes some design, application of technology, and correct thinking, to put these kinds of systems in-place. ..... YMMV....
Service life of cat5 ethernet cable? Cat 5 ethernet cable must have better UV resistance than I thought. It would be interesting to know what kind a of a service life it has, exposed to the elements. Probably not robust enough for a bear to swing on, or a carribu to get tangled up in I suppose?
That is why we put it 15 ft up in the trees, to keep it out of the critters way. Been there 3 years and it still functions just like the day we installed it.... ..... YMMV.....
That's a long way.. Just curious. What type of repeater are you using (Brand Name please) and what speed are you getting. Or is speed a moot point. I understand that with a repeater you can go out to 6k meters, but usually the degradation (noise) of the signal is upwards of 50 to 75 percent depending on the surrounding environment. curious minds want to know... Gafarmboy
My most recent experience was the blizzard of 2000 in SE NC. The only thing that worked was the hard line phone. OTOH, 3' of snow, down trees etc so who were we going to call?
No Repeater, just DSL Modems on each end.... These are good for 12K Feet over a single pair. Goggle Tut Systems MXL-2300.... You could easilly put a couple of these back to back in a Repeater type fashion, and go out to 24K Feet.... Tut was bought out by Motorola a few years back and they have basically Dropped all the production. I buy the stuff off of eBay for pennies on the Dollar. I am building up a setup for a Remote Site Internet that will allow some folks to install a SAT based Internet Dish on shore, and then bring the Phone, and Internet, out 1000Ft to an anchored barge, offshore. I wrote a Blog on this technology called "Communications Do-Dads"... ..... YMMV....
