WECO 2500D (3/73) DTMF Problem

[Key2871]

Oh? I wasn't aware he worked on electronic dials.
Well that is good to know.

[HowardPgh]

Was the phone dropped, that might have caused the ferrite core to separate. Try putting it back on and see if the dial works. If the coil inside isn't broken, putting the outer part back on may put it back in tune.

[poorfellow]

All,

Sorry for not updating sooner.

Thank you all for your support, and excellent info.  There are some really thoughtful folks here.

The phone hasn't been dropped yet, but I wouldn't rule it out in the future since it's a working phone.  If I can source a couple of decent 2500s, I'll likely put it away for safe keeping. It's my only TT set, and I've not had much luck with DTMF generators on my 500s with the remote I'm served out of.  Interestingly, when I was living in Brooklyn, NY and was CO-served, the Verizon 5ESS would pick-up the tones from my generator without issue.  It seems like the RT just isn't as sensitive.  I will say this for AT&T (Former BellSouth area): The copper condition is far superior, but Verizon in NYC (NY Telephone/NYNEX) seemed more like the old Bell System in their technology.  They also don't seem to be shying away from POTS and copper in the Northeast, where they still make quite a hefty ransom.

Another thing that's interesting about my current POTS service is that the ring voltage seems to run out of steam at 4 REN 1-equivalent sets.  At that point, only one bell sounds on most sets, with an occasional burst of the second bell.  Very trimeline-like.  My Verizon service could wake the dead on 6 sets.  Has anyone had any luck re-wiring the network or adjusting the ringer to accommodate a REN limitation on a line?  Are the ring voltage boosters any good?

The 2500 continues to work after reassembly.  There's definitely something loose.  I haven't opened it back up, but I may dive-in tonight to permanently attach the cover to the core with a little spot of super glue.  I'm almost certain that's what was causing the issue, and re-assembly happened to put it back into place.

Ken, thank you.  If you find one, I'd likely take it off your hands to have a spare in case this one heads South permanently. 

I'll also look-up Steve, since I might eventually want my sets to have a once-over/refurb for longer life.

Thanks again!

[jsowers]

I didn't mean to infer you dropped the phone, but how do you know it wasn't dropped sometime early in its life before it was installed and that's why it was put back in the box? It would explain a lot. Maybe it really "fell off the truck" as they used to say about phones that got into private hands back in the day?  There's no telling what it's been through since 1973 until you got it.

Keep your eyes open for a reconditioned touchpad or two at a low price or get a cracked 2500 or 2554 and salvage its touchpad.

I wish I had an answer to your REN problem. I'm blessed with enough power to ring 8 phones--3 Princesses, 3 554s and 2 500 sets. One 500 is turned way down, but you can hear the others loud and clear.

[poorfellow]

Oh, I know you weren't implying that I had done it.  I was jokingly saying that, since it's in use, it'll likely be dropped at some point.

I wonder if I can get AT&T (former BellSouth) to up the juice.  These pairs are those "Lightspeed Ready" pairs, which were supposedly conditioned for VDSL2 by clearing any multiples.  It's like the old Bell Dedicated Service, where there shouldn't be any pair appearance beyond my terminal.

Perhaps the VDSL filter is shunting some voltage somehow...  I don't see why an RT wouldn't drive the heck out of WECO phones similar to a #5.

[poorfellow]

Well, I went after my loop with the digital multimeter.

Seeing 32 mA and -36.21 V.  That is some weak voltage.

That works out to be about 1624 ohms resistance, and most RTs want less than or equal to 1500.  Loop length should be around 4300'.

Odd.

[SunriseEarth]

I just picked up a blue 2500D very close to the date of this one, and I was having issues with the touch pad, too.   At first, I wasn't hearing anything when I'd dial a number.   I opened the 4-prong plug and found green and red were swapped, so I swapped those back.   Then I was able to get a tone from the keypad, but it sounded incomplete.   If you dialed 1,4,7, or *, they all sounded pretty much the same.

I think I'm going to email Steve and see if he can help fix this.   I'm not typically a stickler for everything being "original", but I also like the full "operator" spelling and I like that everything else on the phone date-matches.

[SunriseEarth]

FYI, Steve was able to revive my keypad!   He said he was about 80% successful with the old Touch Tone keypads, so the odds were in my favor.  I just got the keypad back yesterday and reinstalled it in my phone.   And I'm very happy it works!