Direct access test unit for central office

Abstract

A direct access test unit for enabling a craftsperson at a telephone facility remote with respect to a central office to test subscriber lines comprises a first access port coupled to an access line circuit, by way of which the remote telephone facility communicates with the telephone office in the course of testing subscriber lines, and a second access port coupled to a test trunk circuit by way of which a subscriber line is to be tested by the test unit. Coupled between the first and second access ports is a processor-controlled subscriber line test/interface arrangement which is responsive to (tone) dial signals, generated by the remote telephone facility, and representative of a command to conduct a test of a selected one of a plurality of subscriber line circuits that are accessible by the test unit from the second access port, including the line circuit to which said remote telephone facility is connected, for accessing the subscriber line circuit via the second access port and conducting tests of the subscriber line circuit by way of the test trunk circuit. Stored within the memory of the processor which controls the operation of the test unit are voice message menus, each in a respectively different language (e.g. English, Spanish) the contents of which are controllably accessed and synthesized for transmission to the craftsperson via the first access port. The voice messages include instructions for guiding the craftsperson in the course of carrying out a test of a selected subscriber line.