Tip And Ring
Tip and ring are the standard industry terms of the two wires or sides of a telephone line. They originate from the early days of telephone service when concentric plugs were used that had one wire connected to the plug tip and another to a ring on the shaft. When inserted into a socket, a telephone connector would first connect the grounded circuit side on the tip, followed by the active battery potential on the ring. In the UK, tip and ring are referred to as the 'A' (earth) and 'B' (battery) wires.
Tip has a potential of 0 volts with respect to ground, while the battery side carries a DC potential of −48V when in the on-hook (idle) state (nominally −50 volts in the UK).
Read more about Tip And Ring: Origin, Line Voltage, Polarity, Color Code
Famous quotes containing the words tip and/or ring:
“A painter like Picasso, who runs through many periods and phases, ends up by saying all those things which are on the tip of the tongue of the age to say, and finally sterilizes the originality of his contemporaries and juniors.”
—Norbert Wiener (18941964)
“But whatever happens, wherever the scene is laid, somebody, somewhere, will quietly set outsomebody has already set out, somebody still rather far away is buying a ticket, is boarding a bus, a ship, a plane, has landed, is walking toward a million photographers, and presently he will ring at my doora bigger, more respectable, more competent Gradus.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (18991977)