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A real phone at last, a Northern Telecom 2500...

Started by twocvbloke, February 16, 2012, 04:04:26 PM

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david@london



re:    owain's finding telephone treasure at 6am on bin day.............. i was on my way into work in wardour street in london in approx 1980-1, and there were 2 or 3 BOXES of bakelite phones sitting under a lamp-post, waiting for the rubbish lorry.... always regret not pocketing at least 1!


re:    2cv's hoovers.  have you got an upright type with the headlight and bumper and big brown dustbag attached with a spring?  my mum's one is still in her loft i think..................  who was it it who is meant to have tried to sell a vacuum cleaner to aldous huxley , saying "i assure you sir, this thing really sucks" ? ....oh yes, captain beefheart.

twocvbloke

Quote from: david@london on February 20, 2012, 06:35:24 AMre:    2cv's hoovers.  have you got an upright type with the headlight and bumper and big brown dustbag attached with a spring?  my mum's one is still in her loft i think..................  who was it it who is meant to have tried to sell a vacuum cleaner to aldous huxley , saying "i assure you sir, this thing really sucks" ? ....oh yes, captain beefheart.

Out of my 15.5 cleaners, I only have two Hoovers (a pair of Juniors!)... :D

(I'm a bit pedantic about calling vacuum cleaners as just that, cos to me a Hoover could be a toaster, a kettle, a washer, a hairdryer and all that cos the Hoover brand had a lot of products under their belt!! :D )

I haven't got a vacuum that fits that description, sounds like an old Hoover 612 though, could be wrong though as it could describe a lot of vintage vacuum cleaners... :D

Though most of my vacuums do have bumpers and headlights, though only four have bags that have spring hangers... :)

twocvbloke

It arrived just now!!!  ;D

I love the dial mechanism, it's all mechanical, none of that rubber thing with conductive pads on a PCB like modern phones!!! ;D

An interesting note is that the dial card says "Emergency; Key 999", rather than 911 as I would have expected, at a rough guess, I'm guessing it came from Ireland, cos I read somewhere that they used Canadian phones over on the emerald isle, could be wrong though... ???

Anyway, it's a 1978 model, matching dates all round, the ringer had one of it's wires on the G terminal so shuftied that over to one of the Line terminals, and she rings, dials and works perfectly... ;D

Just needs a clean up and a cable, and the handset cable sorting out to get that reversed loop out, and it'll be perfect... ;D

twocvbloke

ooookay, maybe I shouldn't have said "dials", cos, er, it won't break dial tone when I try to dial, the tones play and all (and can be heard on my linesman phone's receiver), but, erm, no dial..... ???

Got my spare scrappy GPO 746 cable stuck inside it for now (got a nice long black cable for it on the way, going to do what my friend over in Texas did with his 500 and have a modular socket inside the phone and connect the cable up to that), and plugged it in, rings okay (bias spring I guess), and answers perfectly (though the microphone seems quiet, I'll have to give that a tapping later), but dialling, nope, won't break dial tone.... :(

It is actually pretty loud listening to the tones through the cordless, so, I'm wondering if it's transmitting to high a volume for the exchange, distorting the DTMF tones so that the exchange can't understand them....  :-\

Ah well, it's another project, I love projects me... :D

twocvbloke

#19
Well, dialling issues aside, here's some pictures... :)

First is just after cleaning it up, second is the dial card and it's 999 number, and lastly, the 2500 parked next to the 500...  ;D

Going to go start a repair thread now for the dial... :D

DavePEI

Quote from: twocvbloke on February 20, 2012, 11:55:46 AM
Well, dialling issues aside, here's some pictures... :)

First is just after cleaning it up, second is the dial card and it's 999 number, and lastly, the 2500 parked next to the 500...  ;D

Going to go start a repair thread now for the dial... :D

Which has the dial problem, the 500 or 2500? If it is the 2500, try reversing your ring and tip connections.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

twocvbloke

Quote from: DavePEI on February 20, 2012, 12:19:07 PM
Which has the dial problem, the 500 or 2500? If it is the 2500, try reversing your ring and tip connections.

Dave

The 2500, I've not tried reversing connections yet actually, but, I've wired it up as it should be (even with using GPO colours, GPO to US is  Red=Green, White=Red), I'll have to try tomorrow, waking up at 3am has knocked me for six now, and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open... :-\

That and I just had a beer too which has made me more sleepy.... :D

gpo706

Wiring issues aside, if you get a replacement 700 series line cord, you can tuck the grommet behind the mousehole so it pokes out and fits nice and snug.
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

twocvbloke

I just dug out a spare black 2 metre RJ11-BT cable and wired in an RJ11 socket inside the phone, just makes it easier to swap cables about, especially as I have one of them long "Super fast mega broadband speed booster!!!" cables on the way cos it's long & thick so looks more like the older style hardwired cables... ;D

This thing infact, gotta love being a cheapskate!!!  :D

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370583911813

RJ11 end hides inside the phone tethered down by that hooky thing the wires go through, cable pokes out the mousehole, and it has a long cable to make it more portable than our cordless... :D

twocvbloke

I was just fiddling with the phone, and got wondering about it's possible origins (aside from being made in Canada), and if it was used in Ireland from new (seeing how they didn't want to adopt the GPO's system or phones at the time from what little I know), then, something had to be done to make it more Irish looking... ;D

If anyone can get the reference, I'll owe you a virtual one... :D

(The handset used is that one from the ProTelX phone, which is sitting in a corner unloved... :D )

Tom B

Tom

twocvbloke

hehe, I just knew a brit would get it first.... :D