Will A Uk Landline Phone Work In Thailand?

[ferguston]

Does anybody know if a UK house-landline phone will work in Thailand?

I know the connection lead is different but I assume this can be changed.

Are there any other alterations?

The phones I've seen for sale in Thailand are pretty naff looking so I was thinking of bringing over a BT designed phone (actually made in Thailand!)

[Crossy]

Does anybody know if a UK house-landline phone will work in Thailand?

I know the connection lead is different but I assume this can be changed.

Are there any other alterations?

The phones I've seen for sale in Thailand are pretty naff looking so I was thinking of bringing over a BT designed phone (actually made in Thailand!)

OK, it's like this

A Cheapo (unapproved or Red Triangle) UK phone will probably be 2 wire and will work just fine here

A Quality (Green Spot approved) phone will most likely be 3 wire (UK standard) and will work fine EXCEPT that it may not ring on incoming calls.

The reason is this, in the bad old days (dial phones, bells) you used to get 'tinkling' of an extension phone bell when you dialled on another phone. BT (Post Office Telephones back then) came up with a solution that uses a third 'ringing' wire (actually designated as "AT" or Anti-Tinkle). This signal is local to the building (only 2 wires come from the exchange) and is created by a resistor (470k) and capacitor (1.8uF) that live in the Master socket (one master per installation).

I'm pretty sure that the UK spec has been opened up to allow 2 wire phones to get approval (it's been 15+ years since I did any phone work) but there's no really easy way to tell what you have as the BT phone lead invariably has 4 wires even if only 2 are used.

Bring your phone(s), they may well work fine with just a lead change, bring a master socket (from B&Q) just in case

EDIT BTW, forgot to say to Thaivisa

Edited August 5, 2006 by Crossy

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Does anybody know if a UK house-landline phone will work in Thailand?

I know the connection lead is different but I assume this can be changed.

Are there any other alterations?

The phones I've seen for sale in Thailand are pretty naff looking so I was thinking of bringing over a BT designed phone (actually made in Thailand!)

If you are prepared to spend over 500 baht you can get decent looking phones...

[udon]

Bring your BT phone/s, I wish I had.

[libya 115]

I brought a good, modern phone from the U.K. and it didn't work. I think the voltages here are different, this is a speaker phone without batteries and I think the voltage drain is too great. Maybe U.K. phones without a speaker might work.

[udon]

I brought a good, modern phone from the U.K. and it didn't work. I think the voltages here are different, this is a speaker phone without batteries and I think the voltage drain is too great. Maybe U.K. phones without a speaker might work.

Libya,

Where did you find that photo of George?

[Crossy]

I brought a good, modern phone from the U.K. and it didn't work. I think the voltages here are different, this is a speaker phone without batteries and I think the voltage drain is too great. Maybe U.K. phones without a speaker might work.

Do you still have it?

It may just be that the UK uses the outer two wires of the cable, ROTW uses the inner two . A bit of judicious cutting and twisting may get things working.

Voltages on phone lines are pretty much universal (about the only thing that is in this world).

EDIT You may still need to use a master socket to persuade it to ring on incoming calls.

Edited August 6, 2006 by Crossy

[markuk]

i have a UK phone , works just fine, just remember that it uses the smaller connector and not the BT type

Edited August 6, 2006 by markuk

[libya 115]

Slightly O.T. but is it possible to buy an adapter that changes a big fat BT (UK) plug to the tiny Thailand size plug? Or will I have to get to work with solder and cutting tools?

[udon]

Try http://www.kropla.com/phones.htm for more info.

[markuk]

Slightly O.T. but is it possible to buy an adapter that changes a big fat BT (UK) plug to the tiny Thailand size plug? Or will I have to get to work with solder and cutting tools?

in most cases just get a new cable, the same type that comes with most modems.

[Crossy]

Slightly O.T. but is it possible to buy an adapter that changes a big fat BT (UK) plug to the tiny Thailand size plug? Or will I have to get to work with solder and cutting tools?

in most cases just get a new cable, the same type that comes with most modems.

But do be aware that sometimes, particularly with UK designed phones, a simple cable transplant won't work

A quick and dirty check (assuming you have a multimeter). Unplug the line cord from your phone, you'll end up with an RJ-11 plug in your hand. Check for continuity between the inner two pins of the RJ-11 and the outer two of the BT plug, if you have continuity there then a simple cable transplant will be OK.