Phone System Tools

• Despite the growing trend toward making mobile phones people's primary phones, most businesses and homes still have land-line phone systems. These systems are wired into a telephone network. Telephone technicians use specific tools to set up and repair land-line telephone systems.

Test Set

• All phone line systems that are being serviced must first be tested to see how they are working and to troubleshoot problems. Many testers can monitor a phone line without disrupting existing phone traffic. They are built of heavy, weather-resistant plastic, allowing technicians to use them in any weather conditions. Such testers should have overcurrent protection, so electrical or power surges through the line can't shock or endanger the technician.

Crimp Tool

• A crimp tool is a heavy, metal handheld tool that can bend and cut telephone wires to the proper length for a job. These crimp tools usually can be adjusted to clip, crimp and cut different sizes of wires used to hook up phone lines. Crimp tools are light enough to be carried on a phone technician's tool belt so he can easily access it at any time.

Punch-down Tools

• Punch-down tools insert telephone wires into punch-down blocks that distribute signals to different phones in the phone system These punch-down tools are plastic on one end with a metal point on the other. These punch-down tools also can be used to terminate access to a particular phone line in the system. That way, when the specific phone or jack no longer is in use, the system is not disrupted by turning it off.