News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

ringer too quiet and cannot hear pulses when dialing WE 500

Started by kc0mmy, November 27, 2012, 04:20:02 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

kc0mmy

Hello all,

Let me start by saying that this forum has been a valuable resource for me already as I've been able to successfully troubleshoot several things with a Western Electric 500 and 554 phone, both of which I have in my home and have been able to repair. 

I have a couple of questions regarding a WE 500 telephone.  They're minor, so they don't necessarily have to be fixed, but I'm curious as to how they can be fixed.

I'll start with the "ringer."  I noticed that the ringer doesn't ring very loud.  It's loud enough for me to hear in a small room, but not down the hall.  I opened up the case thinking that something was obstructing the instrument that strikes the gongs.  It seemed fine.  I also noticed that if I turned the ringer setting to "loud" (the gongs being moved farther apart) it didn't make any noise, though I could hear the instrument that strikes the gongs moving back and forth.  Once I moved the phone to the quietest setting (the gongs being moved close together), the gongs were struck, the higher pitched one more so than the lower pitched one.  I can live with this because it's just in a small computer room, so it doesn't necessarily need to be fixed.  HOWEVER, if I were to fix it, what's the best way to do that?

I also noticed that when I used the phone to dial out, I cannot hear the pulses in the earpiece.  Yes, the dialing breaks the dial tone, and I can dial a correct number; I just can't hear the pulses.  I initially thought that this was due to the wiring of the handset.  With the help of one of the color diagrams on this site, I made sure all of the appropriate wires were connected to the network (Green being hooked to RR, blue behing hooked to F, et cetera).  All checked out fine there.  I can hear the person on the other end of the line, and the other person can hear me, so that's fine.  Again, something I can live with, but if I were to fix this, how would I go about troubleshooting it?

I have TWO other phones (another WE 500, and a WE 554) that I can hear the pulses when I dial out out and ring nice and loud, so I imagine it's the phone. 

The phone that's having the problem is a Western Electric 500.  The date is February of 1961.  It has a metal rotary dial, and there is a plastic cover I can see through to see the cams, contacts, et cetera. 

Any help is greatly appreciated.  Let me know if you need more information. 

Thanks! 

-Andre

Phonesrfun

#1
Welcome to the forum, we're glad you are here.

You are NOT supposed to hear dial pulses in your own receiver!  If you have other phones that have that problem, then the other phones need work.

Dial pulses in the receiver are a hazzard to your hearing health, and besides, they are extremely annoying.  Even the earliest of phones have the technology to supress the dial pulses.  In the case of a 500, the two white wires of the dial are designed to shunt [short out] the two white wires of the receiver, so that the receiver is shorted out at any time the dial finger wheel is off-normal, or not at rest.

The ringer may be a frequency ringer, or may have its bias spring set in the wrong notch.  Can you get a close-up photo of the ringer?

-Bill G

kc0mmy

Phonesrfun:

I didn't realize that you WEREN'T supposed to hear pulses in the receiver.  It's been years since I've used a rotary phone (they were in the house when I was a kid), and I guess I just assumed you were supposed to be able to hear the pulses because I can hear the touch tones in the receiver when you dial.

Why am I NOT supposed to hear the pulses, and how do I fix that in the other two phones?  Is that a simple wiring issue?

I'll see if I can get a close-up shot of the ringer later this evening or tomorrow. 

Thanks again for your help and quick response!

-Andre

Phonesrfun

As to why not hear pulses, I revised my post while you were posting.  As to the other phones, it is likely a wiring issue or the shunt springs on the other dials are not working.  I would check the wiring first.

A photo of the ringer will aid in which step to take next.
-Bill G

Mr. Bones

Bill,
Thanks for the info, much appreciated, sir!

I, too, grew up with rotaries that had a very audible pulse when you dialed out. Small town, but not party line by the early '60s. Only had to dial 5 digits, or tap the switchhook a few times to get the local operator,  though...many people in surrounding areas were still on magnetos, I recall seeing many of them in action in my youth.

The '69 beige WE 500 I bought last week had the exact sound in the earpiece I have always associated with dialing a rotary, and gave me the nostalgic warm fuzzies, but it went silent when I moved one wire to enable the ringer.

The phone now functions flawlessly, and is nice to know I didn't do something wrong, but somehow I miss the noise as the dial returns to rest. Sigh.

Best wishes to all!
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

kc0mmy

Makes sense that hearing the pulses would not be good for hearing health.  I guess I never put two and two together there.  Like the previous person who posted, I grew up in a rural town so for some reason I heard the pulses.  I can't recall if I heard the pulses when we moved to a larger city, but by that time the slimline phones had come out.

Here are the pictures.  If they need to be in a higher resolution, let me know and I'll repost them. 

Thanks again for your help!

-Andre

twocvbloke

The little wire spring on the G-shaped copper piece (the bias tension spring, I think) on the ringer, move that over to the right and it'll ring louder... :)

Phonesrfun

I would agree with twocvbloke and try moving the biasing spring over, it should ring louder. 

Not to beat a dead horse, but whether you hear the dial pulses or not is entirely a function of how the phone is working, and not a function of whether you are in a rural area or in the city.

If you need help getting your other phones to supress the pulses, just let us know.
-Bill G

kc0mmy

Thanks everyone for your help!  I haven't tried it yet, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the piece that was mentioned would be tie fix.  But not being sure what the piece was, I didn't want to fiddle with it and make matters worse.  I'll give it a shot tomorrow. 

I'll take a look at the other two phones at some point and see if THEIR wiring is correct so that the pulses are supressed.  I'm hoping it's a very simple fix.  Would I look at the hanset wiring for that on the network block?  I'll keep you posted. 

Thanks again!

-Andre

kc0mmy

Moving the biasing spring over worked like a charm!  Funny thing is, I was perusing a couple of old phone websites earlier today and this exact fix was mentioned.  If only I would have seen that 48 hours ago!

Thanks for all the help!

-Andre