Recent posts

#31

Telephone Troubleshooting and Repair / Re: 3554 ISSUE

Last post by HowardPgh - Yesterday at 10:45:52 AM

A single ding may mean that the capacitor (A-K) in the ringer circuit may be bad or leaky.
Leaky caps will act like an off hook condition. The real world phone line is different than your phone tester.

#32

Decorator, Reproduction & Novelty Phones / Re: Novelty Franklin Mint Phon...

Last post by HarrySmith - Yesterday at 10:37:12 AM

Hi and welcome to the forum. We will need some pictures to help diagnose your issue. Pictures of the outside. front & back to identify exactly what it is and pictures of the insides showing all wiring connections, back of dial etc. Clear close ups will help. Since you are new you may need help with adding pictures, we have a topic here with all the details:

https://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?board=84.0

#33

Decorator, Reproduction & Novelty Phones / Novelty Franklin Mint Phone

Last post by Spikepaga - Yesterday at 10:03:00 AM

Hello all, I just signed up for this forum because I am having a problem with what I think is a novelty phone. My grandmother recently passed away and I have 3 of her telephones. 2 of them work perfectly fine, but there is one that is labeled "Franklin mint" and it has buttons, I am assuming it's from the 1980's.....It has an awful crackling and static on the line whenever I pick it up. I have replaced cords, plugged in different locations and even in a different home. Same result. It also would not ring for a long time, but suddenly it started ringing.....

Could anybody guide me on how to go about repairing it??

Thanks!!

#34

Old Wanted Listings / Wanted: AE Escutchen lock

Last post by RDPipes - Yesterday at 09:58:20 AM

I'm hoping someone has an Escutcheon lock for an AE dial, it seems I sold of the extras I had without
thinking. Thank you any help in advance.

#35

Telephone Restoration Projects and Techniques / Re: NEED HELP! Painting metal ...

Last post by TelePlay - Yesterday at 08:37:47 AM

One thing not yet mentioned is the presence of silicone anywhere in your entire work area.

Spray silicone lubricants and waterproofing sprays will contaminate a large area around their use.

Liquid silicone lubricants do the same, spread by touch.

Once silicone gets onto a surface, it is near impossible to remove and paint applied over it will exhibit scrape off properties you are seeing.

There is a phosphate cleaner, mentioned somewhere on the forum, which cleans and prepares bare metal for painting, that might remove silicone. I'll look for it later.

=====

Found the reference to the cleaner:

"Ospho 605 Metal Treatment" is used by me and at least one other member to clean and prep (etch) metal prior to painting and powder coating. Works well and helps produce a very nice finish.

I've used it to prep bare, rust free, metal for primer but unsure if it will remove silicone. Silicone sticks to everything forever, it seems.

=====

Then there is this found on another site:

"Silicone fluid is highly soluble in hydrocarbon solvents such as toluene, xylene, ligroin, and mineral spirits as well as in chlorinated hydrocarbons. However, it is insoluble in ethanol, methanol, and water."

https://www.clearcoproducts.com/pdf/library/Solubility1.pdf

#36

Telephone Troubleshooting and Repair / Re: 3554 ISSUE

Last post by RDPipes - Yesterday at 08:30:42 AM

Sounds like the red and green wires have been swapped give you a bell tap but, I doubt that would stop it from working.
Maybe he has a problem with what ever system he has at home. Sounds like Hughes Net, I'm lucky to have my phone working for two days in a row, LOL!

#37

Telephone Restoration Projects and Techniques / Re: NEED HELP! Painting metal ...

Last post by RDPipes - Yesterday at 08:05:46 AM

I realize it takes time to cure completely and get to full hardness, but shouldn't it at least show signs of adhering to the metal by the time it isn't tacky to the touch anymore? Certainly you shouldn't be able to take the paint down to clean, bare metal with just a fingernail, even after 24 hours. At least that's been my past experience, though granted, painting zinc and even brass is new to me. To be clear, I'm not talking about making a dent in the finish with your nail, I'm talking about taking large swathes of paint clean off by barely dragging your nail across it after it's already well dry enough to handle.

I should mention too that when I painted everything initially, it set for around two months before I ever even touched it, then I probably spent another month assembling things, working on it off and on, before I ever noticed the issue. Paint will harden over time sure, but it won't suddenly adhere to the surface. Or am I getting this all wrong. Is what you're all trying to tell me is it won't adhere no matter what I do and will always be susceptible to easy chipping? Is all you are trying to do is create a hard shell of paint over top of the metal with no real adhesion between the two?

Oh, and by the way, those are some beautiful phones RDPipes.

Thank you sir, and as far as the adhesion problem your having, do you sand the primer before painting, this is a must and I don't recommend any finer grit then 220, otherwise you'll be smoothing the surface too much and eliminating anything for the paint to really stick to. High grits are for sanding base coats primarily. And if the primer is not sticking to the metal you may have the same problem. And when you primer a piece it shouldn't sit any longer then 24 hours before painting. And is it humid where you paint, humidity can play a big roll in painting problems, making the paint slow to flash and curing in a timely fashion among other things, I know cause here in east Texas it's a bear to deal with but, doable.
I'm unsure why your lightly scraping the paint with your finger nail to test adhesion, that's certainly something
I wouldn't make a practice of for the obvious reason. Also, the fish eyeing could have been caused because zinc is pretty porous and may have soaked up oils over the years or even from your fingers. I make a habit when handling pieces before painting with a new pair gloves on cause I'm pretty much a grease ball anytime of day, LOL! And I only use fresh lacquer thinner to wipe down the pieces before primer and paint because I find it evaporates quickly and does the best job of decreasing without leaving a residue. Also if you ever had blasted an item before degreasing it that certainly could contaminate the blast media and the cabinet gloves leading to contamination of anything after that.Well, anyway I hope at least some of this will help you out.

#38

Telephone Troubleshooting and Repair / 3554 ISSUE

Last post by HarrySmith - Yesterday at 07:34:31 AM

You may remember I recently did a 3554 wall phone for a friend. I tested on my Panasonic PBX before I gave it to him and it was working great. He tells me it works great when he connects it but 5 or 10 minutes later it does not work and the cordless phone that is on the same line in another room also stops working. I took it home and again hooked it up to my Panasonic PBX. I left it connected for 4 days and it worked fine the whole time. I have a cordless phone and the Panasonic desk phone hooked up also. One thing I did notice is when I hang it up there is a single ding from the ringer, it also happens when I connect or disconnect the line cord. Not sure what that is. Does that "ring a bell" with anyone?

#39

Telephone Restoration Projects and Techniques / Re: Questions About Using Rota...

Last post by ka1axy - Yesterday at 03:53:33 AM

@Larry
I, like you, use Ooma. I opted to put a Panasonic mini-PBX between my Ooma Telo and my rotary phones to deal with the pulse to tone, and ringer current issues. The Telo is great for what it is, but the Grandstream 802 handles multiple "genuine Bell" phones better (though Ooma's ~$6/mo is hard to beat)

#40

Telephone Restoration Projects and Techniques / Re: Questions About Using Rota...

Last post by dsk - Yesterday at 01:00:33 AM

As Larry describes it, it fits my experience too, and even some telco lines has the same characteristics. My guess is that the telco uses similar equipment in their end of the line that we use on voip.  If you coose an VOIP company that allows you to use your own equipment (like Callcentric) you may chose an adapter like Grandstream HT802 that accepts rotary dial, and has a pretty good ringing capacity.  (That is the best adapter I have tested that accepts rotary phones)