HELP!!!--We got U-Verse, now my rotaries won't dial out!

[Jim Stettler]

Kid and GPO are right. I am wrong. I guess I should of read the listing. The photo looked like the backside of mine.

That said
Here is 1 on ebay
#380274692226

There are several under Panasonic 616.

Don't worry about manuals. The are available as free downloads from several site.
Jim

[Dennis Markham]

That looks like a nice unit, Jim.  I have the earlier Model 308 Easa-Phone.  It works great.  I can connect 8 lines.  I use it mostly for testing phones to avoid ringing the home line all the time.  Mine looks very much like the 616.

[Jim Stettler]

I was recently given a 308. However when you power it up it keeps toggling between day and night mode. I think it is probably broke, but I will mess with it later.

I use the BK 1045 telephone testers for testing. The plan for the panasonics is playing

I did hook up a 616 in the phone shed. All I have done with it so far is verify all the station ports have dial tone. 
I have 4 pairs between the house and the shed. 1 is for telco in and the other 3 are  between the shed and the phone room. I still need to terminate the underground lines.

The guy that gave me the 308 also had some modern lightning protection so I will put ilightning protection on both ends of all 4 pairs.
I have another 616 that gets hooked up in the phone room.


My extension will be #13 and it will be active in the shed, phone room, garage and probably a phone booth in the yard. (phone room 616)


1 extension will be for working 3 slots payphones. This ext will pass thru a coin line simulator.
My wifes extension will probably be in the bedroom, kitchen, laundry room and glass works.
The other extensions will probably only ring 1 location.
I will also feed some ext. out to line in. Eventually I would like to get extension hooked to all my switchboards.

Jim
There is a good chance that I will get to go thru a storage unit this month. It is filled with phone systems. Several of them looked like they could be panasonics.

I originally mentioned these last May (switchboard thread).  I will let the forum know if I can get my hands on some.

[Doug Rose]

I have a soft Panasonic 616 manual for anyone who want it. ....Doug

[Nick in Manitou]

We have moved back to Colorado and despite my efforts, I couldn't convince myself to go with POTS (because of the poor customer service and high cost from CenturyLink) and we now have VoIP.

It seems to be working well, but now I have to educate myself as to how to get my "old black phones" to ring and dial.

I have read that the Panasonic 616 Easa-phone is one of the ways one should think about going...but I REALLY have no idea what I am reading about.

Way back in October 2010, Jim S. said that one should buy a "hybrid ksu".  When I look online for a "Panasonic 616" I see various things that say "Panasonic 616", but not always, "ksu".  If it says Easa-Phone switching system, is that all I need to worry about?  Are there any cables that are specific to this piece of equipment that I need to make sure that I get?  Any other gotchas?

I just want to make between 1 and 5 old rotary phones dial and ring.  Is there another way I should be considering that might be simpler/cheaper...or is this still the best way to go?

If there is a thread that I have overlooked that lays this out for the beginner, please let me know...I am not trying to be lazy...I am just lost and a bit confused!

Thanks,
Nick

[TelePlay]

Lot of topics here

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?board=62.0


And I always found these two quite helpful

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=7160.0

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=8531.0

[Nick in Manitou]

Thanks, TelePlay!

After reading the link =7160.0 with regard to TwoCVBloke's 616, I an wondering if I need to get a "programming phone" when I get a system or can one do without that if one just wants basic functionality?

I know so little about these that I am hesitant to purchase one, but want to do so if that is the best way to get my old phones dialing and ringing.

I just read the thread at: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=12711.0  It gave me more confidence that I am going in the correct direction, and that I don't need a degree in Telephone Technology in order to make the thing work.

Nick

[Mr. Bones]

Thanks, TelePlay!

After reading the link =7160.0 with regard to TwoCVBloke's 616, I an wondering if I need to get a "programming phone" when I get a system or can one do without that if one just wants basic functionality?

I know so little about these that I am hesitant to purchase one, but want to do so if that is the best way to get my old phones dialing and ringing.

I just read the thread at: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=12711.0  It gave me more confidence that I am going in the correct direction, and that I don't need a degree in Telephone Technology in order to make the thing work.

Nick

Nick,

The Panasonic 616 is plug n play, for basic functions, right out of the box. I had the same apprehensions,and I love having mine, here at home. It definitely solves the pulse dial dilemna; the rest is up to your ATA provided by att/uverse. I still have POTS, by the way, if it makes a difference.

I hope you can work this out okay, my friend. If not, there are many here (like all the others) that are smarter than I am, and can get you up and running.

Glad to hear you're back in CO. Sorry that OH wasn't as advertised. CO is a better place, anyhow.

Keep in touch!

Best regards!

[Nick in Manitou]

Thanks for the feedback folks...I am now actively looking for a 616. We will see how it goes!

[Nick in Manitou]

Well, as a result of the confidence I gained from the responses to my questions here, I made an offer on a unit that was advertised as "Tested" at $77.99 with free shipping.  The photos showed a pretty rough looking unit with a crack in the case and a very yellowed color, but since it said "Tested", I figured that I was not buying it for its looks and offered $60 including shipping.  This morning I checked and the offer had been accepted!

It will be fun to get the phones out of the their boxes and get them ringing...(and dialing)!

Thanks for the responses.  I bet I will be asking some questions in about a week when the unit gets here.

[Doug Rose]

Nick....looks good, I don't even keep the door cover on mine. Easy access on my work bench....Doug

[McHeath]

Hope this works out for you.   I'm too lazy to figure it out so I just keep POTS running.  It's pretty cheap here so I figure why not, that way all the ancient phones are happy. 

[Nick in Manitou]

McHeath,

I am pretty lazy and figured that I would just go back to POTS when we returned to Colorado, but we need to have two lines at the house and CenturyLink wanted $39.95 or so for the first line...and the same for the second line! 

So, I called the local broadband supplier and asked about getting two phone lines and the price was $19.95 for the first line and $9.95 for the second line.  The features are about the same and from what I recall, the long distance features were more expensive on the POTS line.  I really don't think CenturyLink even wants to compete.

So since I am paying about $30 a month for 2 lines of VOIP instead of $80 a month for 2 POTS lines, I figure that it won't take long to make the 616 pay for itself!

Nick

[Nick in Manitou]

In case anyone knows much about these or perhaps wants one... there is a Panasonic TA824 available on Craigslist in Colorado Springs.  I looked in the forum and it seems that these could be used instead of the 616...is that correct?

The fellow is asking $100 for a unit with 3 phones.
https://cosprings.craigslist.org/ele/4810711617.html ( dead link 03-09-21 )
(This unit is only about 20 minutes from my place.)


If nothing else, I have learned a lot about the Panasonic 616 from this thread and figured that perhaps those who know about the TA824 system might chime in with the similarities and differences.

Thanks,
Nick

[unbeldi]

That's really a pretty good deal on the TA-824.
The 824 is a much newer type of system than the 616s or 308s, that we are discussing here often, and are usually much more expensive.
The base configuration is the same as a KX-T30810, 3 CO lines and 8 station ports, but these units can be expanded with extra cards.  The cards are expensive too.
Being newer, the TA824 supports caller id, and many other new features, however many of those can only be used with proprietary telephones, and others with touch-tone phones.
Some of them can also be programmed from a PC with a USB connection.

A port-equivalent KX-T30810 can often be bought for less than $50.

As always, you need to know what you want to achieve...   The operation and installation manuals for all of these are available on line.  Shop wisely according to what you want.