

FOREIGN PHONE SOCKETS

When I asked for advice on connecting modems to phone sockets around the world I got a lot of useful advice here on CIS. I've collated it here, but can't personally vouch for the accuracy of all that follows. The people who were so helpful to me on CIS will very probably help you too if
you run into difficulty. Their IDs are reproduced along with their advice.

Key Contact: TeleAdapt

Manufactures/distributes all manner of adaptors, acoustic couplers, road warrior kits, and books. Very helpful staff.
Tel	+1 (408) 370-5105
	+44 (081) 421 4444
Fax	+1 (408) 370-5110
	+44 (081) 421 5308

Best of luck in your travels,

Matthew Goldsbrough
CIS 73241,2533
08-Jul-94

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From: Dennis Lefebvre 71660,1273

You will need to purchase individual adapters for each country, there's no "universal" adapter because, unlike electricity, there's no common standard in Europe.  I have easily, and inexpensively, found RJ11-to-local converters in London, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. Mind you, using an "unapproved" modem is illegal in most countries, the adapters are sold not for the convenience of travellers, but because imported phones, answering machines, &tc often ship with RJ11 cords. It is possible to buy some in the US, or mail order from a UK firm (I'll look for the CIS UID if you like) that has a very complete assortment, but they are much more expensive than buying locally, which I found to be a pleasant diversion.  However, if you are travelling on business and won't have time to shop, or cannot risk being offline, it would probably pay to buy in advance.
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From: Dennis Lefebvre 71660,1273

Via CIS:MAIL I am sending you a file describing the phone connectors used in various contries [IT FOLLOWS]. The author, Gordon Brown 100111,2713, can supply any of the described adapters via mail from the UK. I have not purchased anything from him, although I may before my next trip, so this is not an endorsement. I bought the Dutch one in an Amsterdam department store; the Belgian one at Tandy; and the French one at a Paris shop that sold telephones, knives, guns and other "security" products.
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From:  Gordon Brown 100111,2713

WORLD TELEPHONE PLUG GUIDE

The following is a guide to the telephone plugs used worldwide. To
generalise, all developed countries of the world have their own specific
type, which have been adopted by other countries.

The American plug - the US RJ11 - is the nearest to a "standard" that exists
and has been adopted in about 40 countries worldwide - notably, outside of
the USA & Canada, Greece, Spain and Ireland.

Those countries shown to use the US RJ11 system, are known to use it in at
least their major hotels, if not throughout the country. - e.g. in Romania,
the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest uses the RJ11, but older phones are
hardwired.

It is our recommendation that an international traveller should always
travel with the following items in addition to the national Telephone plug
of the country - supplied by TeleAdapt as TeleDaptors.

The US RJ11 telephone plug suitably prepared for connection to the users
modem.

A pair of "crocodile/alligator" clips - "TeleClips"
A telephone line tester "TeleTester"

These items are provided by TeleAdapt in the TeleToolkit.

If travelling to countries where metering impulses are present: A Tax
impulse filter - "TeleFilter"

Travellers are cautioned that the US RJ11 is also used by modem and
telephone manufacturers as a convenient quick disconnect at the
telephone base/modem body. Although this is identical and physically
compatible to the US RJ11 telephone plug, electrical mismatches may occur
if the normal telephone cable is removed from the modem and a locally
bought cable used, resulting in "NO DIALTONE" messages. It is TeleAdapt's
policy always to provide adaptors that convert after the working cable,
providing a known interface.

Country                 TeleDaptor Advised

ABU DHABI               British and US RJ11
AFGHANISTAN             Russian?
AJMAN                   British
ALBANIA                 Greek/Russian?
ALGERIA                 French
ARGENTINA               Argentinean (2 types)
AUSTRALIA               Australian
AUSTRIA                 Austrian - TeleFilter
AZORES                  Portuguese
BAHRAIN                 British
BANGLADESH              British old & US RJ11
BELGIUM                 Belgian - TeleFilter
BELIZE                  British & US RJ11
BENIN                   French & S.African?
BOTSWANA                British
BRAZIL                  US, Brazilian & French
BULGARIA                Russian
BURUNDI                 S. African?
CAMEROON                French/S. African
CENT. AFRICAN REPUB     S. African
CHAD                    French
C.I.S.                  Russian
CONGO                   French
COOK ISLANDS            Australian
CUBA                    Russian?
CYPRUS                  British & US RJ11
CZECHOSLOVAKIA          Czechoslovakian - TeleFilter
DENMARK                 Danish
DJIBOUTI                French
EGYPT                   Turkish, French & US RJ11
ETHIOPIA                Italian
FAEROE ISLES            Danish
FALKLAND ISLES          British
FIJI                    Australian
FINLAND                 Finnish/Norwegian (2 types)
FRANCE                  French
FRENCH GUIANA           French
FRENCH POLYNESIA        French
GABON                   French
GAMBIA                  British old/new
GERMANY                 German (2 types) - TeleFilter
GHANA                   British old/new
GIBRALTAR               British
GREECE                  US RJ11 & Greek
GREENLAND               Danish
GUADELOUPE              French
HONG KONG               US RJ11 & British
HUNGARY                 Hungarian
INDIA                   British Old
INDONESIA               Australian
IRAN                    US RJ11 & Turkish
ISRAEL                  Israeli - 2 types
ITALY                   Italian
JAPAN                   US RJ11 & Japanese
JORDAN                  US RJ11 & British
KENYA                   British old & new, US RJ11
KOREA (SOUTH)           US RJ11 & US old 4 pin
KUWAIT                  US RJ11 & British
LEEWARD ISLANDS         US RJ11 & French/Dutch
LESOTHO                 US RJ11, British & S. African
LIECHTENSTEIN           German & Swiss
LUXEMBOURG              German (old)
MACAO                   US RJ11 & Portuguese
MALAWI                  Danish & British/US RJ11 
MALAYSIA                British & US RJ11
MALI                    French
MALTA                   British
MARTINIQUE              French
MONACO                  French
MONGOLIA                Russian?
MOROCCO                 French
MOZAMBIQUE              US RJ11 & Portuguese
NAMIBIA                 South African
NETHERLANDS             Dutch
NEW CALEDONIA           Australian
NEW ZEALAND             British
NIGER                   French
NIGERIA                 British (Old) & German (Old)
NORFOLK ISLAND          Australian
NORWAY                  Finnish/Norwegian (2 types)
OMAN                    British & US RJ11
PAKISTAN                US RJ11 & British (old)
PALAU                   Australian?
PAPUA NEW GUINEA        Australian
POLAND                  Polish/Russian
PORTUGAL                US RJ11 & Portuguese
QATAR                   US RJ11 & British
REUNION                 French/Australian?
RUSSIA                  Russian
RWANDA                  French
SAMOA                   Australian
SAN MARINO              Italian
SAUDI ARABIA            British & US RJ11
SENEGAL                 French/South African
SINGAPORE               US RJ11 & British
SOLOMON ISLES           Australian?
SOUTH AFRICA            South African
ST.MARTIN               French
ST.PIERRE/MIQULON       French
SPAIN                   US RJ11 - TeleFilter
SURINAM                 Dutch
SWAZILAND               British
SWEDEN                  Swedish (2 types)
SWITZERLAND             Swiss (2 types) - TeleFilter
SYRIA                   US RJ11 & Turkish
TANZANIA                British
TOGO                    French
TONGA                   Australian?
TUNISIA                 French
TURKEY                  Turkish
UK                      British
VENEZUELA               Venezuelan
YUGOSLAVIA              Yugoslavian
ZAIRE                   Belgian/S. African?
ZAMBIA                  British
ZIMBABWE                British/S. African


US RJ11 Countries

Antigua & Barbuda
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Bermuda
Bolivia
Borneo
Burma
Cambodia
Canada
Cayman Isles
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Diego Garcia
Dominica
Dominican Rep.
Dubai
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bisseau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Jamaica
Jordan
Laos
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
Malaysia
Maldive Islands
Mexico
Monserrat
Nicaragua
Oman
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Romania
Seychelles
Singapore
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent
Taiwan
Thailand
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos
UAE
Uruguay
Vietnam
Virgin Isles
Yemen

V3.0

This guide is copyright to TeleAdapt. It is compiled from many
information sources and is subject to update at any time.
Feedback is welcome to changes and anomalies discovered. E&.O.E.

This information has been provided by Gordon Brown - 100111,2713. It comes
from LIB 0 - General Interest, of the Travel Forum on CompuServe.

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From: Robert Starling 72440,2501

I have an "Emergency Jumper Cable" so to speak that I made for cases where the phone lines and connectors are not friendly.  It is two small alligator clips with insulating covers connected to a six foot length of phone line that has an RJ-11 on the other end. You can usually dismantle the phone or wall jack to find an open lead.

Another option I've used is crude and requires a little tinkering but it works...particularly if the wall jack is behind a 300 pound dresser and the phone is like a vault.  Insert two straight pins parallel into the "offending" phone line until you find the red/green individually. Then you can use the alligator clips to the head of each pin.

Also, you can unscrew the mouthpiece and connect the alligator clips directly to the leads/contacts of the mouthpiece. The old fashion way is an acoustic coupler.

If you travel a lot, a good book to read is The Complete Laptop Computer Guide by David H. Rothman and published by St. Martin's Press.  There are in-depth chapters on foreign phone connections and traveling in and out of countries where a computer is viewed as more of a threat than a gun. Several good sources listed as well.

I used to correspond with David on MCI Mail.  His MCI address is 1065024. He may even be on CIS.  He would most likely be up to date on the latest information.

Also, a fair warning is in order when tinkering with foreign phones.  Do it at your own risk.
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From: Michael Reichmann 76703,2007

I'm a bit behind the others in addressing the question of international telephone jack adaptors, but here are some comments based on years of travelling abroad with various portable PCs.

There is a company called Teleadapt, (408/370-5105) who sell adaptors for virtually every telephone plug in the world. These are available as individual units or as kits, based on geographic region. They can be quite expensive.

A bigger issue (2 actually) that I have found is that in many hotels around the world the phone are hard wired or the wall attachement point is inaccessable behind a bureau etc.  Even more problematic is that many hotels abroad (not too many in the US) have digital PABXs and phone sets and thus an analogue device such as a modem simply won't work.

The best solution that I have found is a device called the TeleSwitch, also sold as the CP+ Telecoupler II, and possibly by other names.

It looks a lot like an old fashioned acoustic coupler, but it doesn't replace your existing modem, it works with it. Simply attach the earmuffs to the telephone handset (its very! adaptable) and then plug your modem into the TeleSwitch.  (The company Teleadapt whos number appears above also sells them).

The advantage of this approach is that you can dial the number from the handset, just like a voice call, including going through USA Direct, and then as soon as you hear the remote connection put the muffs on the handset at hit connect on your software.

I used this approach to send and receive faxes and data from London, Paris Amsterdam, Tokyo etc all within the past few months.  Works like a charm and usually is able to support 9600 bps if the lines are clean.
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