Tip and ring

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1: Sleeve, 2: Ring, 3: Tip, 4: Insulators

Tip and ring are the two conductors or sides of a telephone line. Their names are
derived from the telephone plugs used for connecting telephone calls in manual
switchboards. One side of the line is connected to the metal tip of the plug, and the
second is connected to a metal ring behind the tip, separated and insulated from the tip
by a non-conducting material. When inserted into a jack, the plug's tip conductor
connects first, followed by the ring conductor. In many European countries, tip and ring
are referred to as the A and B wires.

Neither of the tip and ring conductors is permanently connected to earth ground, but
may be connected to ground during signaling operations. Typically, the ring conductor
has a direct current (DC) potential of −48V to −52V with respect to the tip conductor
when the line is in the on-hook (idle) state. Floating both conductors, not referencing
either one to ground, minimizes the pickup of hum from any nearby alternating current
(AC) power wires.

Origin[edit]
The terms tip and ring originated in the early days of telephony when telephone
operators used plugs to connect customer calls. They are named after the parts of the
plug to which the wires were connected. The words are often abbreviated as T and R.

Line voltage[edit]
The telephone company maintains large battery systems that supply DC line voltage for
the operation of analog telephone service at customer locations. The voltage supplied is
a compromise between operational needs for reliable service and safety precautions for
customers and service personnel. The length of the line to a customer telephone
interface presents a resistance across which the central office voltage experiences a
drop and therefore the voltage at the customer site may vary. The nominal battery
(system) voltage is 52.1 V, based on a 24-cell lead-acid battery. [1] The voltage at a
subscriber's network interface is typically 48 V between the ring and tip wires, with tip
near ground and ring at -48 V.

In the middle 20th century, long loops in many rural areas of North America used range
extenders, which operated at 100 or 130 volts to ensure reliable signaling. Some rural
switching systems were designed to apply range extenders internally and thus share a
few extenders among many lines, while for other lines, one extender was applied
externally per line.

To ring the telephone to alert a subscriber to an incoming call, the central office
superimposes a 20 Hz AC signal, at a nominal voltage of 105 volts, over the DC voltage
present on the idle line.[2] Historically several multi-frequency systems have been used,
however, for selective alerting of multiple subscribers connected to a party line, for
which the A.C. voltage may be as high as 150 V.

Polarity[edit]
To provide cathodic protection against corrosion of line wires, the operating potential of
telephone lines is typically negative with respect to ground, and the tip side is generally
close to the ground potential. Thus, all power supplies for telecommunication equipment
are designated to supply a negative voltage.

In the era of the telephone industry when rotary dial instruments were in use, the
polarity when connecting a telephone set to the tip and ring wires was usually important
only for properly ringing a telephone, especially in party line service with selective
ringing, and for correctly identifying the calling customer on certain party lines for toll
calls.
When Touch-Tone service was introduced in the 1960s, the dual-tone multi-frequency
signaling (DTMF) tone generator also required correct polarity as it depended on the
line D.C. voltage for operation. Later Touch-Tone telephones included a diode
bridge that eliminated the polarity sensitivity so that consumer telephone service is
essentially immune to reversal today. However, some special circuits, such as
some direct inward dialing (DID) trunks, T-1 lines, and ground start lines connected to
field side (terminal) equipment, e.g., a corporate private branch exchange (PBX) switch,
correctly operate only with proper tip and ring polarity.

Color code[edit]
In on-premises wiring the first or only pair of inside wiring and jacks are color-coded in
green for the tip conductor, and red for the ring side. A second pair is coded in black for
tip and yellow for ring. A third pair consists of white tip coding and blue ring coding. For
larger cable assemblies more complex schemes, such as the 25-pair color code, are
used.

Some telephone technicians used mnemonic phrases, such as red-right-ring-rear,

or ring-right-red-rough, to remember that the red wire connects to the right-side post in
the wall jack and to the ring on the plug and to the rear lug on main distribution frames.
Sometimes rough or ridge was added for jumper wires with a tactile code.[citation needed]

References[edit]
1. ^ W.D. Reeve, Subscriber Loop Signaling and Transmission Handbook—Analog, IEEE Press
(1992), ISBN 0-87942-274-2, p.138.
2. ^ W.D. Reeve, Subscriber Loop Signaling and Transmission Handbook—Analog, IEEE Press
(1992), ISBN 0-87942-274-2, p.39.

External links[edit]
 How to Wire a Phone Jack
 Telephony Basic Information and Terms
Category:
 Telephony equipment