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Heemaf 1955 dial bounce noise: flywheel

Started by cloyd, May 03, 2016, 03:18:34 PM

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cloyd

Hi everyone,

I have this phone that I picked up for a song at a flea market.  It works and looks great.  The only problem is that when the dial returns to zero, it has a squishy, noisy bounce at zero instead of a distinct stop.  Any ideas how to adjust the dial to eliminate it?

Thank you,

Tina

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- 1885

unbeldi

#1
Quote from: cloyd on May 03, 2016, 03:18:34 PM
Hi everyone,

I have this phone that I picked up for a song at a flea market.  It works and looks great.  The only problem is that when the dial returns to zero, it has a squishy, noisy bounce at zero instead of a distinct stop.  Any ideas how to adjust the dial to eliminate it?

Thank you,

Tina

Tina, it is a feature, not a defect !

I am serious.   Your dial is probably one of the later versions of the 1960s.
The dial has a kind of flywheel as part of the governor which does not come to sudden stop, but keeps winding down for a second or so.
It is actually a very nice dial.  Mine is very reliable and after decades has kept its speed perfectly, at 9.5 PPS, much unlike the Western Electric dials of same age which always slow down considerably.


Let's see a picture of your set!
The Heemaf 1955 is one of my all-time favorite designs.






Matilo Telephones

Oh right, it has the newer type transparant dial. It was designed by Krone, Berlin. It has a unique feature where the contacts are made and broken by 2 small metal balls.

It indeed does have a flywheel that makes the noise after the finger wheel has come to a stop. It kind of wheezes.

By the way, I have a field trial test specimen of this dial. See here: http://www.matilo.eu/heemaf-1955/schoonheid-zit-van-binnen/?lang=en

I'd like to see pics too. It is one of my favorites too. :-)
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

cloyd

#3
OK you two, here are loads of pictures.

It does have a crack in the front corner that I think I can fix alright, if I review the techniques given under bakelite repair beforehand.  Should it have some sort of dial card in the center of the finger wheel?  What else can you tell me about this phone?  Is that a phone extension number on the card under the handset?
Thank you for your interest
Tina Loyd
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- 1885

cloyd

#4
More pics.  The numbers printed inside of the caps have different fonts.  Are they from different time periods?
Tina
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- 1885

cloyd

#5
This is the finger stop that I think is bent.  Is it?

And, for the reference of others, the flywheel.

Tina
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- 1885

Matilo Telephones

Ow, that is a nasty crack in the corner. Pity!

Otherwise in good condition. Couple of details: the dail has been replaced at one point. The phone is from sept 1959 (9 59), the dial is form 65. But it is identical to the original dial except for the round piece plastic with numbers on it. It is made by DFG in Germany.
The original one was made by Heemaf themselves and had a bakelite part with porcelain number ring.

Also the receiver cap has been replaced. It does not have Heemaf markings.

The number under the handset is the subscriber number. It is really old. From the 60s or earlier. They can even be 3 digit numbers in that period.

The finger stop should be straight, yes. It is also bent a little bit inward and seems to touch the finger wheel. And that may be the cause of your dial problem. It is a common problem with this dial. The fingerstop tends to get bent.
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

cloyd

Quote from: Matilo Telephones on May 04, 2016, 05:47:29 PM
Otherwise in good condition. Couple of details: the dial has been replaced at one point. The phone is from sept 1959 (9 59), the dial is form 65. But it is identical to the original dial except for the round piece plastic with numbers on it. It is made by DFG in Germany.
The original one was made by Heemaf themselves and had a bakelite part with porcelain number ring.

When you say that "the dial was replaced and it is identical to the original except for the round piece of plastic with numbers on it" are you referring to the finger wheel?  Please explain why so many pictures of these phones have the same black finger wheel with the bolt head in the middle.  BTW, I think it helps make the phone cool.  I don't doubt you at all, it is just one more piece of history that I am missing!   ::)

Where could I find the correct receiver cap?

Tina
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- 1885

Matilo Telephones

Here is what I mean, see picture. On the right is an Heemaf dial, on the left a DFG dial. Please note that the Heemaf dial has a seperate porcelain number ring and the DFG does not.

The mechanism and fingerwheel etc are identical on both models. PLease not the bent finger stop on the left one. :-)

I have such a cap, if you like. But the model cap on yours seems to be correct. Only the markings on the inside are different.
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

cloyd

I have to hand it to you Arwin, you have an eagle eye!  I looked again at the photos I posted and I don't see enough of the dial to be able to tell which type it is.   :P  Do many Heemaf 1955's have a dial made by the DFG?  If so, why would that be? 

I wish I knew the history of my particular phone.  You mentioned that the "Made in Holland" sticker on the bottom means that it was imported into the U.S.  Why would anyone go to the expense of importing phones when the market was already robust with phones?

If the receiver cap that I have is appropriate for my phone, I think I will keep it and call it another "feature!"  "And the receiver caps don't even match!"

Tina
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- 1885

unbeldi

The telephone companies in Europe operated very differently than the Bell System in the US.

Over there, it was usually the case that the local postal and telecommunication agency, in the Netherlands it was the PTT, developed specifications for their telephone network and then solicited bids or invited companies to make equipment according to those specs.  Often, or most commonly, this involved multiple companies, making the same equipment types. This resulted in perfectly interchangeable parts, and the sets were refurbished by the telephone operator, with parts in stock. They usually were not returned to the manufacturer.   This is the reason for having different handsets, dials, even ringers, condensers, ..., in the sets.

For example, the Heemaf 1955 is often found with Ericsson handsets.  The transmitter and receiver capsules are standard across the various handset types.

Quite a different operating model than the monopolistic Bell System.

unbeldi

Quote from: cloyd on May 05, 2016, 02:18:36 PM
Why would anyone go to the expense of importing phones when the market was already robust with phones?

Well, this was the whole reason for breaking up the Bell System, because people wanted the freedom from the monopoly, and make money themselves.  The telecom business has always grown, with the exception of perhaps two or three time periods, so there was never saturation.  In fact the Bell System was running behind in satisfying demand for a good portion of their existence.


poplar1

Quote from: unbeldi on May 05, 2016, 04:28:26 PM
Well, this was the whole reason for breaking up the Bell System, because people wanted the freedom from the monopoly, and make money themselves.  The telecom business has always grown, with the exception of perhaps two or three time periods, so there was never saturation.  In fact the Bell System was running behind in satisfying demand for a good portion of their existence.



These surplus  phones were purchased by the boatload and sold to retail customers by Radio Shack and others, long before the Bell System breakup (1/1/84). However, not only the Bell operating companies, but in fact most phone companies, did not allow customers to purchase and connect their own phones until the 1970s, and even then, they had to be on the FCC registered list, if not "grandfathered" equipment. Not sure that these models were ever on the Part 68 FCC list.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

unbeldi

Quote from: poplar1 on May 05, 2016, 04:42:11 PM
These surplus  phones were purchased by the boatload and sold to retail customers by Radio Shack and others, long before the Bell System breakup (1/1/84).
Well, true, but they surely tried decades before that, so the process to liberalization was long underway.  I remember buying phones from Radio Shack years before 1984 and nobody asked me what I connected to my phone line.

rdelius

Radio Shack imported large quantities of these Dutch sets in the Mid 70s .They were not legal to connect to your telephone line unless you used an interface you rented from them.Instructions were given with the set and 4 prong plugs were available at Radio Shack also.No problem if you had your own intercom system or private PBX or PABX though.
Radio Shack also sold a "Deluxe" colored 2 tone 706? set from England.Cheepest sets were mixed part refurbs most likely from TE&M.New NE 500 sets were imported also.People forget what a Monopoly Bell was and most likely most larger independents also.Lines were pinged to determine how many ringers were on the line and compared to your records of what you were renting from them.That is why many sets have ringers disconnected .