WE 500 almost there.

[Dan/Panther]

I finished the wiring on myn WE500, plugged it into the phone jack, I have no Dial tone, but I can dial out, and m,ake a connection, and voice output work. No earpiece sound.
I've checked the wiring and all seems correct.
Might I be overlooking thew obvious ?
I can dial my cell phone, make a connection, and talk to my cell phone, just can't hear back. the earpiece both wires are white, I assume they can go to either post, but am I incorrect in that assumption ?

I'll bet that tube is shot.......


Dan/Panther

[bingster]

I wouldn't worry about the tube.  I'd disconnect it completely , and then make sure the phone is wired according to the 500 C/D diagrams. 

[benhutcherson]

I was going to suggest the same thing as Bingster-wire it as if it's a 500 C/D, completely ignoring the vacuum tube.

I'm not exactly sure what the vacuum tube does(I think it senses a polarity offset in the ringing signal, but I'm not sure), but it won't do anything in regular single-line service. By all means leave it there, but don't connect it.

I'm not sure if the tube would cause the problem you've described, though. The first thing I would suspect is a bad handset cord-if I were you, I'd take a multimeter and check the white wires of the handset cord for continuity.

If the cord is good, I would also check and see if the receiver is open with a multimeter.

[Dennis Markham]

Am I missing something about a tube?  I don't see any reference anywhere about a tube.  Do you have the black 426A tube inside your phone?  If you have one of those tubes inside, disconnect the wires and wire the phone normally.  

The white wires on the handset have no specific order.

A problem that you describe COULD be associated with dial contacts being separated when the dial is at rest.  There is a small white plastic cam piece that is on an angle.  When the dial is at rest the top lobe of that cam pushes one contact point against another allowing a dial tone when the dial is at rest.

That is just a possibility.  I'll attach a couple of "file" photos.

[BDM]

I posted a link with most of the info about 500 series phones. It's a 4 line party line(couldn't think any way better to word it). You don't need, nor should be of any worry. Dan, did you rear & re-read the links I posted for you?

[benhutcherson]

Dennis,
Good point-when I put the dial back together on my '52 the other evening, I managed to get the cam a few degrees off and did the same thing-it would only get a dial tone while dialing.

Even though I've taken bunches of similar dials apart, I think that this was the first time I'd made that mistake, or even paid any attention to that particular aspect of reassembly. I guess it was only by dumb luck that I'd gotten it right before.

[Dan/Panther]

Brian;
Yes, I've read and downloaded all information links given to me.
I really wantr tpo understand and get very aquanited with this equipment.


I still could not get a dial tone, so I disconnected the two white wire from the earpiece, and check to make sure the earpiece was O.K. I hooked it back up, and now I have a good strong dial tone, and my WE500 is on line as we speak.
I replaced the sta-kopn end connectors with samller one, the ones I had must been shorted out, I did however reverse the two white wires, but of course concensous is they can go either way, so I suspect the grounded outr connector as the culprit.
So I don't know if it was removing the 426a tube, reversing the two white wires, or the new comnnectors that did the trick, bottom line it now works.
I now have on line, an Automatic electric, and now my WE 500. Back to The Future.
We went to the swap meet Saturdey, and I purchased two wall jacks for modern connecvtors, when I got the home, they were the same size an the standard, however, the plugs would not insert, as the female receptacle I bought has 6 contacts instead of the standard 4, what did I purchase, ands can I just remove the outer two contacts, as the male plug would then snap into it.

Dan/Panther