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How do I change a frequency ringer to straight line ringer?

Started by Will520, August 11, 2010, 12:56:59 AM

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Will520

How can this be done and what type of modification process do I need to go through? Do I need to buy an entirely new ringer? Any help on this would be great.  The telephone is a 1948 North Electric Galion.
Thanks,
Will

Kenny C

The easiest  thing to do would probably be to buy a new ringer because the frequency ringer will not be as strong as a straight line.
In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010

bingster

As Kenny mentions, a new ringer is pretty much the only way to go with this.  Frequency ringers rarely work on a standard telephone system, and when they do, they're usually weak.  Frequency ringers are very often found on phones made by the independents, so you're not at all alone in this particular problem.
= DARRIN =



Phonesrfun

Welcome to the forum, Will.  I agree that there really is no way to convert a frequency ringer.  There have been numerous suggestions, and they all fall extremely short of any kind of success.  Mechanically and electrically, they are a totally different animal than a straight line ringer.  They are exactly tuned like a tuning fork to a specific frequency.  At that one specific frequency, they will come to life, and they are designed to be very, very selective to respond to only the design frequency.  They have a tuned reed that resembles a short piece of a hacksaw blade that with the weight of the clapper will vibrate only when excited with the correct frequency.

A Straight Line ringer has a mechanical pivot instead of the tuned reed.  That mechanical pivot is totally free to flap back and forth, and will respond to a very wide range of frequencies.

-Bill G

wds

I have a Kellogg ringer box, that had a frequency ringer which didn't work.  I took a hacksaw, cut the reed slightly on each side, and now the ringer works perfectly.  I figured I had nothing to lose since it didn't work anyway, so this little experiment saved me time and money.  Might be worth a try........
Dave

Will520

So if I wanted to try and modify it before buying a new ringer, which part do I cut? is the reed the hammer that hits the bell?

And if that doesn't work, what's the best way to get a straight line ringer that will fit my telephone? Would I have to buy a junk phone and take the straight line out of it? or is there a place where I can just buy the ringer?

Thanks for all the help,
Will

Dennis Markham

Will, welcome to the Forum!

I can't help you with modifying the ringer as I have no experience with that.    Oldphoneworks does list a ringer for sale but show that they're currently out of stock.  I have purchased one of them from them in the past when they were available.  They're hard to come by.  If you find another Galion phone marked on the bottom with SL that is for Straight Line.  But then if you remove the ringer from that phone you're left with another phone with no ringer.  Sometimes you can find a junker with a good ringer.

They also show a plate that will mount inside the Galion phone and then a Western Electric ringer from a 302 will mount on the plate.  The 302 ringers are much easier to find...and cheaper.  Here's the link to the page showing the out of stock ringer and the parts they sell to modify your phone.

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/_search.php?page=1&q=galion+ringer

Phonesrfun

Quote from: Will520 on August 11, 2010, 11:46:01 AM
So if I wanted to try and modify it before buying a new ringer, which part do I cut? is the reed the hammer that hits the bell?


No, that hammer is actually called the clapper, and is at the other end from the reed.  The clapper is at the far end of a thin metal shaft that vibrates to ring the bells.  At the base of that shaft, it connects to the frame and coils of the ringer.  Right where it attaches is a thin, flat piece of spring metal that is tuned to the frequency.  That is called the reed.

If I were not at work, I could take a photo and point it out.  Maybe someone else can do that.

Dave (WDS2185), I would be interested in seeing a photo of your hack-saw job.  That method makes much more sense than others I have seen.
-Bill G

wds

Kind of hard to get close enough with my camera to take a good picture, but here it is.  If you look at what the arrow is pointing to, you will see a small cut in the reed.  I cut on both sides just to be even, trying not to change the pivot of the clapper arm.  Also, just below the yellow wire, you will see new bolts - I had to remove the rivets so I could completely disassemble the ringer to be able to get the hacksaw blade in there to cut the reed.  Since I didn't have the tools to properly attach new rivets, I just used bolts and lock nuts.  I cut the reed enough to release some of the tension, then tested the ringer to see if the clapper was moving enough to give me a loud ring.  The ringer on your Galion phone may not be large enough to "operate" on, but since it's toast anyway, take it apart and have some fun with it.  Best way to find out how something works is to take it apart!
Dave