So I was waiting for a 616 to come up on eBay for quite some time but for the last few weeks all that have been up for auction have been parts of 616's or crusty haggard out units.
Sure there has been a steady supply of 308's but I wanted to hold out for a 616 for obvious reasons.
I set an alert and one popped up, it looked like a pretty clean cabinet and it was spared from the ugly bromine yellowing that most of them suffer from.
Anyway The price seemed fair especially since they weren't readily available when I wanted one so I got ready to "Buy it now" when I noticed the power cord was cut off..
darn!
The seller is a re seller of wholesale clean out items so now this could have meant one of two things...
one: The unit was tested and the cord was cut to identify the unit was non functional and set to be dismantled.
two: The person taking down the office felt it was more efficient to cut the power cord than to free it from a bundle of wires that it was bound in.
I liked the story line of option two and since I myself have been guilty of hacking devices free with reckless abandon I felt it was likely enough to take a chance on it.
IIRC he had it listed for ~$60? so I made an offer of $40 and whaddo-ya-know, it was accepted! So I got the 616 for less than the price of a currently listed 308.. albeit, untested...
Well today the unit arrived to my doorstep and I quickly unpacked it, removed the top cover and de-soldered the old cut cord and installed a new flat power cord.
Fully willing to start diagnosing the power supply and/or system boards I figured at the very worst I could part it out and recoup some of my money..
I plugged her in and flipped the switch..
The red LED lit right up and then about 5 seconds later -CLICK!- the day mode LED lit up and the main relay switched the CO ports to PBX mode...
ITS ALIVE!!
Sometimes you can find deals.... If you're willing to take the risk.
My first test call was from my 1C1 to another extension and then I made one to my cell phone and vice versa.
And then I made a call to my office to play with the IVR menu.
I think it's really nifty how the 616 decodes pulse dialing and then transmits the DTMF tone making pulse dialing devices IVR capable.
The next step is to rewire the house. Wish me luck.
That's great news! I had been told by others here that these units are very reliable when I was searching for one. I bought mine on EBay a few years ago "untested". I confirmed with the seller that the front panel lights came on with power-up, and then took the risk (admittedly much less risk than you did... 😀). Mine has worked perfectly ever since. These units are a must-have imho for the phone collector due to the continuing demise of POTS.
Yeah I'm grateful to have gotten it to work.
It was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off.
This exact unit was mentioned by TelePlay in THIS (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=19657.msg201957#msg201957) thread.
These things are pretty robust systems, so it'd have to be blown up or struck by lightning to permanently kill them, my 308 (won on ebay for £4.99) had issues with aged component-securing goop shorting things out, once it was removed, the thing worked perfectly, and there was my KX-T7130E phone in charcoal grey, seller sold it as faulty, nothing wrong with it (probably a PEBCAK* on their part), so I have a nicer looking phone than the usual yellowed-beige ones for programming my 616 or 308... :)
(*Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard)
I've done that before... taking a chance on Ebay.... got a few motherboards that way.... some sellers just want to get rid of their stuff.... now, is this KTU for the "Newer" electronice sets? would it support a 564-65? or were these things made for "Panasonic" Phones only???
These systems work with most 2-wire analogue telephones, so no need for proprietary phones unless you plan on programming them... :)
Good! that way, when I come across one at a good price... I can add it to my collection!
Yes John, it's fun to be able to make the phones in your display function. I prefer the 616, not only because it will do more phones but WE2500 have polarity issues with the 308.
what about an old 6A 1A1 system? that's what I've got!!
Little harder to come by on this side of the pond... ;D
Glad your story has a good ending, Sigmaz. These units give life to a otherwise static display. I have a 308 coupled with a 616, I think I paid around $35 each for them. They stay on 24/7. It really comes alive when someone dials the number, usually by accident. Or my grand kids just messing with me.
I use a magic jack line and pay 5 years at a time, very economical that way.
Enjoy your new toy! You have some wiring to do!
Benny
Took delivery of a KX-T7135w today.
At first I was discouraged because it didn't light up when I connected it to port 11.
Turned out the cord was only 2 conductor.
Lol
Easy fix but I got frustrated before I figured it out.
I thought my eBay luck was running out.
I got this one for $25 to the door, seemed fair enough.
Very good price on the phone Sigmaz.
Mine is a KX-T7030.....I paid $35.00 at the time. I looked long and hard at that time. You got a good deal.
Benny
Thanks guys.. Yeah it's in good shape too.
Programming is a little wonky and I had to hunt for which keys do what ( fwd, rev, select, save) just to set the clock.
I'll see if I can either locate an overlay or map out my own.
If you look for the KX-T7130 manual, there's an image of the programming overlay in there, you don't really need to print it out though, just use the image as a reference as to what buttons to press... :)
OOOHHH!!!!
A 'Secret' Button!!
(http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=19905.0;attach=180648;image)
Quote from: Sigmaz on February 24, 2018, 01:07:11 PM
So I was waiting for a 616 to come up on eBay ... I set an alert and one popped up...
ITS ALIVE!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VkrUG3OrPc
Quote from: Brinybay on February 28, 2018, 01:32:53 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VkrUG3OrPc
You caused me to watch 40 minutes of "Young Frankenstein" out takes!...Funny!
Quote from: Pourme on February 25, 2018, 10:37:41 AM
Enjoy your new toy! You have some wiring to do!
I got a little ambitious today but pooped out shortly after hanging the 1C1.
Maybe when I get back from the road this weekend.
Oh man, I'd by tired too! those thing are heavy!