Answering Maching

[larrykay]

Hello , I am new to the forums and want to say hi to all, I have picked up quite a few pointers here and appreciate all your hard work. I have a Question that someone may answere. I have a WE 202 D1 hooked up to my home phone wiring It has a subset made from a 302 phone bottom, The phone works fine dials out and rings in, I checked all the wiring from your diagrams that you have listed and it appears to be wired properly. When I get an incoming call my answering machine stops working and continues to ring till answered. I have it set to go to leave message on the 5th ring, When I disconnect the 202 the answering maching starts to work again and answrers to leave message. any ideas on this?
Thanks

[Phonesrfun]

The 302 subset should be roughly equivalent to any other phone, such as a 500, and not cause any problems.  It sounds like the 302 subset when connected to the output jack of the answering machine is loading the line down, and effectively "sucking up all the oxygen", so to speak, and not allowing the answering machine to sense the ringing current.  It may be that the answering machine is just poorly designed and built for latter type phones that have the cheap chirpy ringers that don't present as much of a load during the ringing cycle.

You might try it with a regular 500 or 2500.  If those work, then I would test the ringing capacitor in the 302 subset for excessive leakage.

If it also does not work with a 500 or 2500 connected, you can be pretty sure the problem is in the answering machine.

[larrykay]

The answering machine is not directly hooked up to the we202 it is a combo telephone / answering in a different part I o f the house but on the same line as the we202.

[Phonesrfun]

Whether the 202 is connected directly to it or through the house wiring, the issue would still be the same.  Do you have another legacy phone like a 500 or a 2500 to try in place of the 202?

[jsowers]

Also, how many other phones or devices do you have connected to your phone wiring? You may have too many phones plugged in and the 202 sends it over the limit. You may want to unplug every phone and just try the 202 and the answering machine as the only things connected, just to see if it's really the 202.

[Doug Rose]

I agree with Jonathan, when I had a POTS line if I had a certain amount of vintage phones connected (I think It was six) either the phones would not ring or the answering machine would not pick up.

Now I have Comcast Digital hanging off a Panasonic 616. Life is good

Welcome to the Forum....Doug

[larrykay]

No sorry dont have a 500 to test it but tried another 302 subset ringer box and the same thing happens, also have a WE102 hooked up with the 302 subset /ringer still the same.

[larrykay]

Aha to many phones hooked up to the system disconnected all and now it works, thanks for everything and all the sugestions.