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Princess - Reconditioned in 1988 but was "Not Working"

Started by SunriseEarth, September 12, 2018, 08:22:21 PM

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SunriseEarth

I've been wanting to add a red Princess to my collection, and I saw one on eBay that was reconditioned in 1988, but was listed as not working.   But I thought it looked great and figured I'd take a shot at it.   IIRC, the BIN was $50; I offered $20 and the seller accepted. 

It arrived today and, sure enough, didn't work.   There was no dial tone, no ringing, no dialing out.   However, I was able to get the light to work.   This is my first Touch Tone Princess, so the light looked dim to me compared to the rotary dial light.  Anyway, I figured not all hope was lost.

Out of curiosity, I plugged the handset into my 702B Aqua Blue, and it worked just fine, of course.   The handset itself says "AT&T", but the receiver has a 1982 date and the transmitter has a 1958 date.   The dates inside the phone were 1979.   Looking around, everything appeared to be wired correctly.   However, I thought about how the phone was difficult to open, as the screws were tight.  So I wondered what would happen if I loosened L1. 

Sure enough, the phone came back to life!  :D    I'd definitely consider it a good eBay find.
Tony Stokes

TCI Member; ATCA Member #4893


Key2871

So, no dial tone? Does it ring if called?
While the phone is being called do you hear anything in the receiver? Clicking, buzzing... It could be as simple as a bad connection. But with out much more than what you have said, leaves a lot of questions.
KEN

rdelius

I have seen Princess sets have no dial tone because the plungers could not rise high enough because the case was too low and the switch did not travel all the way.

SunriseEarth

#4
Quote from: Key2871 on September 13, 2018, 12:07:32 AM
So, no dial tone? Does it ring if called?
While the phone is being called do you hear anything in the receiver? Clicking, buzzing... It could be as simple as a bad connection. But with out much more than what you have said, leaves a lot of questions.

At first, I got absolutely nothing...just completely dead.   However, once I loosened the screw at L1 on the network and moved the green wire from the line jack a bit, everything started working.   I think someone was just overzealous with the screwdriver at AT&T.
Tony Stokes

TCI Member; ATCA Member #4893

FABphones

Quote from: SunriseEarth on September 12, 2018, 08:22:21 PM
.....Looking around, everything appeared to be wired correctly.   However, I thought about how the phone was difficult to open, as the screws were tight.  So I wondered what would happen if I loosened L1.  Sure enough, the phone came back to life!

;D

Well done for even thinking of that. Smart!
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
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Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
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Key2871

KEN

SunriseEarth

I did find one other issue with this phone: the back of the modular line jack broke off at some point.  It seems like these things are brittle and break A LOT!   So I replaced it and it works like a charm.   Overall, I'm still very happy with this phone!  It really is a beauty.
Tony Stokes

TCI Member; ATCA Member #4893

Key2871

You are correct, those jacks are brittle care must be used in handling the older sets. I have seen many where those jacks have broken, to the point they are useless.
KEN