Using a UK landline telephone in Germany

I have no clue about these things!

It should work but you'll need an adapter. Just like the roads, British telephonic devices are reversed from mainland European versions. The signal travels down the left wire of your phone instead of the right which is what we have here. You should be able to pick up an adapter pretty cheaply.

woof.

Cool. Thanks! So I just need to buy that wire that goes from the phone to the wall from Germany?!

Actually, it might work. UK ringing voltage is 90v, whereas Germany is 60v, Many UK phones are tolerant enough to recognise the lower voltage and ring in any case, but if it is a device that actually needs to answer the phone such as a fax or answering machine, it might not recognise the call. Making calls should not be a problem. You can either simply change the connecting cable to one with a German TAE plug on it or better get an BT-TAE adapter with a capacitance boost which will simply make it compatible with the German system and solve potential ringing problems too. If it's powered you'll also need a power adapter to fit the German Schuko socket.

Like you must always push off with your right foot whilst riding you bicycle!

Thanks so much - thats brilliant. Just found this: Telephone Adapter (Germany)

Definitely cheaper than buying a new phone.

and re bikes - I never really cycled in London (not quite suicidal yet) only in Germany - so what a shock I had (and almost crashed) when I did and realised they dont have the back-pedal-break here!!

Your UK phone dosent have an RJ11 on both ends, does it?

You can get the correct adaptor from Eventful- communications. they can also set up your phone and internet needs so that its ready when you arrive here!

That's messy and probably won't work. You'd need a TAE-RJ11 adapter AND a RJ-11 to BT adapter and even then you've not solved the ringing problem as these adapters are passive.

me=confused.

What's an RJ11 and how do I know if I have it at both ends?!

I'll have a look at that link...

Thanks!

This is the cable you should have.....

The smaller end is the bit that fits in your phone!

ok - gotcha. Thanks.

Eh? My wife's bike and mine both have a backpedal brake along with the hand brake...?

If you ask at the shop for a bike with a backpedal brake, you can certainly get one. IIRC most so-called "city bikes" have them, along with many mountain bikes.

Cheers,

Fairfax71

RJ11 is a type of connector plug -- a small, squarish, usually clear plastic plug. It looks like this:



The end that goes into your phone is more than likely an RJ11 socket.

German phones, however, nearly always have a different type of connector that goes into the wall. That type of plug is called TAE-F. The socket looks like this:



Note the little "F" immediately to the left of the socket. (This is to differentiate from the TAE-N socket, which is used for other telecoms devices such as fax machines.) The plug looks like this:



So the adapter linked above should be the one that does the trick. However, as someone else noted, it's possible that the voltage on the line in Germany isn't enough to power your phone. IIRC most phones today are made for the global market and thus are compatible with most phone systems, provided you have the right plug, but that's not always the case.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Fairfax71

Fairfax..

I dont think you have understood the issues here!

In General, a UK phone will not ring here in germany, even if you fit the correct TAE cable..

Whats needed is a TAE cable to a BT Master socket.. Then it will ring.

However as usual, there are exceptions to tghis rule, and its Siemens phones that are the Exception... Typically.

confused again. Sorry

maybe dont bother trying to explain anything (my non-technical brain overloads) and just tell me what I need to buy perhaps?