[Incorrigible]

Yes Goodgirlinred, there is a Geek Squad.  (http://www.geeksquad.com).

Lightening would be a problem but I haven't seen an external phone line connection box on a house since I left the city I grew up that had lots of 100 year old homes.

You should be able to detect if your phone line has static just by picking it up where it is.  The modem is very sensitive to static on phone lines.  I would call the local phone company if I had continual static on the line.

 

[Goodgirlinred]

I don't have any static on my line. I told him I did not think houses had those things and he said all houses and trailers had them or you wouldn't have a phone. I don't see a phone line coming to my house. I thought phone lines were underground. He said they are not underground or I would have run over it with my lawnmower because it would be on the ground to connect with the house. I have run over a lot of things with my dearly departed lawnmower, but I never ran over a phone line.

[jurroppi1]

you can call the local telco and ask them to put a diagnostic box on your line because you have poor phone line quality, or ask them to test it for you. Generally speaking when you have phone line issues they will install a box there that they use for diagnostics.

This may cost you some money if they find nothing wrong, which in many cases they don't find anything wrong - even though there is something wrong. This all depends on how your local telco deals with this type of stuff.

[Romish_Papist]

Geek Squad kills me. I applied for a job with them but they claimed I was not qualified. Funny, but just after that the US Navy picked me up to be one of their Advanced Systems Administrators, we've got responsibility for 3,000+ machines on this site alone.