Nothing In Particular

[Nick]

I know how a UPS works Nick, I’ve installed enough in my time. But it’s not about you it’s about people identified as vulnerable and, ok, ‘a battery back up’ is what is recommended by Ofcom for those in such a situation even if it only provides 1 hour minimum as they can still call relatives to at least make them aware there is a power cut. But, yes, it’s not been thought through properly.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2 ... phone.html

Yep, but leaving the 48v on the line and making it keep enough working would solve a lot of the issues. I guess they could also have a automatic ring list against the number to inform remote carers of the problem.

[jack]

I know how a UPS works Nick, I’ve installed enough in my time. But it’s not about you it’s about people identified as vulnerable and, ok, ‘a battery back up’ is what is recommended by Ofcom for those in such a situation even if it only provides 1 hour minimum as they can still call relatives to at least make them aware there is a power cut. But, yes, it’s not been thought through properly.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2 ... phone.html

Obviously I'm fully aware that you know all about UPS systems - it was a general point as UPSs had been mentioned - they are not a panacea as some may think.

The reason it became important to us is that we had my aged and very vulnerable FiL living with us who had an emergency button. We had an absolute nightmare keeping the analogue line whilst getting FTTP (for the business).

He's not with us any more, so I guess we'll move to VoIP in the near future.

However, we're involved with a lot of the oldies in the village, several of whom have these emergency buttons, not to mention those with tremors and severe arthritis who use large buttoned analogue phones as a necessity.

As I said, there are many reasons to dislike the way Digital Voice is being forced on customers.

[jack]

Yep, but leaving the 48v on the line and making it keep enough working would solve a lot of the issues. I guess they could also have a automatic ring list against the number to inform remote carers of the problem.

Ring list/call tree is a plan, however in this community some of those numbers may still be in the affected area. e.g. the last power cut we had impacted 476 houses for several hours.

The 48V could work with FTTC but not FTTP unless you're on BT Business when you can get FTTP with a Cu pair.

[pre65]

Would old/vulnerable people who have broadband (and by implication a computer of some sort) not be savvy enough to also have a mobile phone ?

My mobile is a Doro (old gits phone) and has an emergency button that can be programmed to ring a number/or numbers in case of emergency.

[Nick]

I know folk who have broadband but no computer. Also this is not talking about just those with broadband, its replacing the analogue land line with a digital one. You can also add ip on top of that, but its not required from the contract.

[Neal]

Thanks for clearing that up Nick (the other one!)

[shane]

Of course its more of a issue with FTTP, but that's normally an optional extra service anyway.

Not so. Openreach now stipulate that where FTTP is available customers are not given the option to retain a copper line when renewing contracts or changing suppliers except in very exceptional circumstances (medical alarms are one such). This takes a huge amount of persuasion by service providers, and in each case OR always act like they’ve never come across anything like it before and they’re doing you a huge favour. My last two years at EE were pretty much all about arguing with OR about this sort of thing.

[jack]

Of course its more of a issue with FTTP, but that's normally an optional extra service anyway.

Not so. Openreach now stipulate that where FTTP is available customers are not given the option to retain a copper line when renewing contracts or changing suppliers except in very exceptional circumstances (medical alarms are one such). This takes a huge amount of persuasion by service providers, and in each case OR always act like they’ve never come across anything like it before and they’re doing you a huge favour. My last two years at EE were pretty much all about arguing with OR about this sort of thing.

+1

Exactly our experience - that's why we ended up with BT Business as for some reason, it's not a problem for them !

[shane]

There do seem to be different rules for business, which I never had access to since EE don’t do business broadband. Your setup with a combined copper and fibre line was the first I knew that such a thing existed!

[jack]

There do seem to be different rules for business, which I never had access to since EE don’t do business broadband. Your setup with a combined copper and fibre line was the first I knew that such a thing existed!

At the time they told me that it was a cable made especially for OpenReach for exactly this purpose. It's an overhead cable too as we are on poles (3) from the road. The annoying thing of course is that OpenReach also install BT Residential but due to the madness of GDPR barriers inside BT, Residential and Business don't share any data and OpenReach just do whatever they're told to.

We were warned that analogue will be switched off in the village in around 2026, so it's just a stopgap.

The "final solution" will be either Digit Voice (only if we can avoid the currently mandatory BT SmartHub) or some other VoIP provider.

[shane]

OpenReach just do whatever they're told to.

That’ll be the day…

[chris661]

Unrelated news: I've bought a car. The Polo (2003, 137k miles on the clock) was a hand-me-down that I inherited by carrying on getting it MOT'd and serviced. Unfortunately, it had developed enough problems that passing MOTs was going to get difficult and expensive:

- Burning oil at a rate of 1L per 300 miles-ish
- Subframe had "a year, maybe two" left in it due to rust, at its March 2023 MOT
- A couple of patches of full-thickness bodywork rust
- Driver's side door lock froze in winter. It was rare to get the key in on a frosty morning, and even if I could, it wouldn't turn. Had to unlock at the passenger's side. Repeated WD-40 didn't help.
- Radiator fans not working, so engine temp hit the red a couple of times on hot days in slow-moving traffic
- Smaller cosmetic-ish faults: rear wiper missing, one of the front wiper's big rentention bolt (the one that goes down to the motor) head had been broken off at some point, but the arm was held on fine with some structural rust.
- Suspension & steering would make one of three different noises depending on the angle you hit a bump
- Heater fans getting noisy - likely bearings on their way out.

I wouldn't wish it on a friend, and figured the cheap end of the market would be full of (literal) tyre kickers, so I part-exchanged it against a 2020 Mazda CX30 AWD, in red. It's an upgrade in most respects (to say the least), although parking has become markedly more difficult on account of the size.

The Polo did very well, all things considered, but with the MOT looming and some long-distance driving coming up, I decided it was time.

Chris

PS - In the unlikely event that anyone is buying a 20-year-old Polo, send me a message so we can make sure it's not that one. You don't want it.

[shane]

- Subframe had "a year, maybe two" left due to rust

Eee, ‘eck! When I were your age, laddie, that were the definition of a new subframe!

[pre65]

I was told this, and it's supposed to be true, but ?

Seems the new immigration centre at Wethersfield (in Essex) sent two coach loads of immigrants for a day out at Clacton on sea, and only one coach load came back.

[pre65]

The mouse saga continues.

I found a BIG potato the other day with signs of mouse tooth marks. I got a mouse the other day, but I reset the trap, still with it's original bit of kit cat, and in the morning we had caught another one.

I've heard no more noises in the loft since. But I have reset the trap just in case.