This book demystifies the inner workings of the most common, but one of the least understood, pieces of electronic equipment - the telephone. Consumer electronics author, Gene B. Williams, puts into a simple, concise format the procedures for installing new phone lines and diagnosing and fixing a variety of problems with existing phone hookups. In addition to explaining how telephones work, Williams shows how to safely install wiring inside and outside the house, install and modify phone jacks and disassemble and repair telephones and answering machines. Williams also covers the popular, but failure-prone, cordless telephones. Finally, for more accurate troubleshooting, appendices tell readers how to buy and use a volt-ohmmeter and how to build a signal tracer out of a transistor radio.