tip & ring? - ECN Electrical Forums

what's tip & ring, and how does that translate to the green and the red. Also how does that translate to blue and blue with white stripe?

What is the worse case if you reverse the two? And where does the term come from?

This should help you out http://www.lanshack.com/wire_phone_jack.asp

"What is the worse case if you reverse the two?"

Depending on what it is used for....

POTS Plain Old Telephone Service, odds are it will work fine, maybe some distortion.

PBX or KSU may not work, and might wreak havok on the system as a whole, and possible damage. (Can make an office sound like a casino on some systems. Bells and whistles and flashing lights. [Linked Image]

)

Same with many digital signals if sent on the pair...may not work, and might wreak havok on the system as a whole, and possible damage.

There's one point I would criticize in that LanShack link:
[Linked Image from lanshack.com]

Quote

In telephony the terms that represent the conductors that compromise a circuit are known as “tip and ring”. These terms stem from the early days of telephony when operators made telephone connections using ¼” phono plugs similar to those used today for stereo headphones. The old systems also carried a third wire which was a ground. The “Tip” was the tip of the plug and was the positive (+) side of the circuit. The “Ring” was a conductive ring right behind the tip of the plug and was the negative (-) side of the circuit. Right behind the ring was the “Sleeve” which was the ground connection.

The sleeve connection was not just a ground. It was used for supervisory functions on circuits within the central office -- Holding a switching train until the plug was removed, for example.

Oh, and I think they meant to say "comprise the circuit" rather than "compromise the circuit." [Linked Image]

Beammeup....thanks for the info. I never did know what tip and ring originated from.

[This message has been edited by Sandro (edited 01-09-2005).]

One "explanation" of tip & ring which seems to do the rounds every so often these days is that tip came from the abbreviation TP meaning "Talk Path" and ring from the wire which rings the bell.

It's utter nonsense, of course, but it's amazing how some of these myths keep circulating.

hey Beameup thanks for the great link. I've already learned from it.