Experienced AT&T tech explains use of Kick Meter

Описание: Kick Meters (Slide or sidekick) are a tools (similar to an multi-meter) that most LEC technicans carry with them. I had a chance encounter with an AT&T Tech while we were working a trouble. He demonstrated the use of the Kick Meter in isolating trouble on the customer's inside wiring.

I am not a subject expert on this tool. The tech was explaining it to me (I'm guy with the camcorder asking questions).

In this video, he and I are working a customer location where the phones inside are experiencing frequent and disrupting static on calls.

We checked the obvious things like oxidation at the demarc, poor slices (unfortunately, very common) and dead pairs going nowhere. I checked all the wiring inside. Sadly, it was splice after splice and a lot of those line splitters (hate those things!).

I work as a freelance Network and PBX tech. Copper wiring is something I deal with often. But, troubleshooting the Telco plant is not really my forte. However, I thought this video could do everyone some good as it would at least provides some understanding of how the Bell guys go about their jobs of clearing static on the line. Plus, you might get a few ideas for your own future use.

Ultimately, the problem turned out to be one of the non-ksu phones must have been damaged by lightning (very common in Florida), because when it was removed from the network, the static went away.

Anyone who's worked the field for a while doing small busienss systems knows that non-ksu (multi-line phones with no PBX) phones are the most troublesome monster when it comes to noise, static, intermittent connection issues.

Unfortunately, SOHO customers love these types of phones because they're inexpensive. Ironically, they save money on the front end by not buying a real PBX. But, they kind of end up spending the money later to get their phones repaired frequently.