Tip and Ring

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:

    “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”
    —Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)

    “I started out very quiet and I beat Mr. Turgenev. Then I trained hard and I beat Mr. de Maupassant. I’ve fought two draws with Mr. Stendhal, and I think I had an edge in the last one. But nobody’s going to get me in any ring with Mr. Tolstoy unless I’m crazy or I keep getting better.”
    —Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)