Northern Electric w/B1A ringer - wont' ring!

[SuzB]

Hi again- the saga continues - but I do have pics now, so if you're interested have a look - 
Since the existing screw in the K terminal is broken, I was asking before if I could just use the other, 'twin' terminal of the K as there appear to be 2 ports there. I understand this is ok, but I am having serious problems finding the proper screw! Does anyone happen to know what the specifications are? I've brought it into 2 hardware stores with no luck.  And I got our IT guy to give me a few screws that he uses on computers which looked about right, but won't fit - just can't get the thread to catch.
A few posts ago there was a suggestion that I just join the slate condenser wire and the black ringer wire (i.e attach them only to each other, not to any terminal?) - how would I do this?
Hoping this lady rings soon!
SuzB

[HarrySmith]

I misunderstood your question. The other hole next to the K terminal is not threaded to accept a screw. You can use the GND terminal where you have the yellow wire now. The yellow wire is not needed, simply tape it and store it somewhere out of the way. It appears you are missing the screw that holds the condensor in place also.

[SuzB]

IT RINGS!!! Thank you!!! But..... it rings sooooo faintly that I can barely hear it! Any way to crank up the volume??
Oh and I do have the screw for the condenser - I initially mistook it for a screw holding the phone together. But that's all in place now.

[Dan]

In between the two large coils is a spring. There are three little slots where the end of it can slide into. Remember which slot it currently is in and move it to one of the other slots and listen to the volume. It should get louder.

If it doesn't, there is a way to move the bells, but try this first and see how it does....

[Bill]

Did you get the stub of the broken screw out of the K terminal? If so, take the screw out of the GND terminal and see if it will fit into the K terminal. If so, join the slate and black wires there, just as you originally intended.

I'm always nervous about using the GND terminal as a tie point for stuff that was not intended to be there. Depending on how the phone was wired, there may be other (legitimate) stuff connected to GND, in other places inside the phone.

Bill

[SuzB]

Hi Bill-
Sadly no I did not get the screw out of the K terminal. It seems to be truly stuck. But also I noticed that when loosening these screws in general, they don't seem to actually be able to be loosened to the point of coming out - if I keep turning, the screw starts to tighten again. I thought maybe this was part of the design to prevent the screws from coming out and getting lost - that it was possible only to loosen the screw to connect wires, but that it wasn't possible to actually remove the screw.
At any rate, it is working with the slate and black wires connected in the GND terminal. However if you think this is not the best solution given that my K terminal is pretty much toast, I am open to suggestions!

[cihensley@aol.com]

All of the terminals on that board are just tie points. It will work just as well as you have it wired as it would on the K terminal.

Chuck

[LarryInMichigan]

Those screws are generally not supposed to be fully removed from the holes.  If you keep turning them until they come completely out, you may have a difficult time putting them back.

Using the GND terminal for the ringer should be fine here.

Larry

[SuzB]

Hi again....so I am trying to increase the volume on the ringer - it kind of sounds more like a vibration or rattle than an actual ring sound. I tried adjusting the spring in the ringer across all three settings, and not much difference.  A previous post (Dan)  mentioned something about moving the bells? Thoughts?
SuzB

[paul-f]

The screw in the center of one or both gongs is slightly off-center.  You can loosen it and rotate the gong to adjust the spacing between the gongs.  More space should give louder sound.  (And, of course, retighten the screw.)

[Dan]

Thanks Paul, did this help Suz?

[SuzB]

It helped a little. But it still is quite low volume and doesn't have a ring sound - still more of a rattle/vibrating sound. Perhaps this is as good as it ever got with this phone?

[LarryInMichigan]

SuzB,

Those ringers normally have a very robust ring.  If your phone line is not providing enough voltage or current though, the ringer might not ring as loudly as it should.  Also, if the connectors on the ringer wires are dirty or corroded, or they are not making proper contact with the conductors in the wires, the ringing current might be restricted.  Do you have many other ringers connected to your phone line?  Do you have old-fashioned (POTS) phone service, or an IP-based service?

Larry

[SuzB]

Hi - I only have one jack in the apartment and right now the rotary is the only phone hooked up. Is that what you mean by other ringers?  As to what kind of phone service I have- hmm- not sure. It's Bell (Canada). How do I find out? In the meantime I'll check the wires to see about dirt and corrosion. But if it is the voltage of the phone line or something to do with the service itself, then I am guessing that means there's not much I can do?

[Dan]

Suz, did you try and move the spring like I asked about earlier?