[Asterisk-Users] Will Echo problems EVER be solved, I'm scared

[Rich Adamson]

> > Then, on a "commercial" turn up (back when I did these, it was Western 
> > Union and/or MCI), the tech at the other end would again dialup the 
> > milliwatt, report the value measured over the loop and the pad(s) 
> > re-adjusted to match the values for the loss in a document provided.
> 
> That is the device called that would measure the milliwatt db loss when 
> plugged into an analog port and dialed into a milliwatt line?

Take a look at 
 http://www.repaircalibration.com/triplett-triplett-telco-testers.html

The model 2 is fine for simply measuring line loss, noise, etc.

The model 5 is the same but with a tone generator as well. (Handy 
for sending a tone from one ATA and measuring the received tone
on another ATA.)

There are other companies besides Triplett that make equivalent units.
The model numbers (eg, 2, 5) has its roots in the old Western Electric
specifications, and several manufactureres stuck with those.

Google terms: "transmission test set", "subscriber loop test set"
(450,000 hits).

A simple analog Voltmeter will also work in some cases for measuring
telephony audio tones. If you can find one with a scale marked in db,
try it. Don't forget to place a 600 ohm resistor across tip & ring
as the cable pair _must_ be terminated (lot left wide open) to obtain
accurate values. (Use an old pots telephone to dial the CO milliwatt,
add the 600 ohm resister after you reached to milliwatt, hang up the
pots telephone, and measure the loss.)

Another approach is to have the telco come out on a "low volume"
trouble ticket and ask the technician what values he read to the
milliwatt generator. ;)