AE Monophone won't ring

[Lefebvre]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this site and vintage rotary phones.  I purchased an AE Monophone rotary phone and everything works on the phone except the ringer.  I'm hoping someone can help me determine if it's wiring issue, or if it's a party line phone.  I've attached photos and hope someone can determine what's gong on.

Thanks,

Mike

[JorgeAmely]

Hello sir:

That is one nice AE phone. However, it is equipped with a frequency line ringer. Judging by the size of the clapper, it must be a 40 Hz or higher ringer. There are some members in the forum with AE parts books that can tell you what frequency it is by the part number of the coil.

Do you know what is that little white box in the upper right hand corner of the picture, inside the phone?

[Wallphone]

If you open up that piece of paper in the 2nd pic and can still read it, it should tell you what Freq. the ringer is. Something like 42~.
Doug Pav

[LarryInMichigan]

In the pictures, it looks to me like 50~, meaning a 50 Hz (cycle) ringer.

Larry

[stub]

Mike ,
         Welcome to the forum!!!! Nice AE- 40. Larry is right about it being a 50~ ringer. Here is a picture of a SL ( straight line )ringer and a pic of a 20 ~ frequency ringer . For your phone to ring you will have to have a SL ringer ( bottom ringer in pic) or a 20~ ringer( top ringer in pic) as the phone ringer voltage is 90volts AC at  20~ Hz.  Hope this helps.      stub

[AE_Collector]

Do you know what is that little white box in the upper right hand corner of the picture, inside the phone?

Jorge:

Looks like a very small modular jack with modern wires from it to the L1 & L2 screw terminals of the phone. Then a double ended modualar cord is plugged into the jack. A modular conversion without the dreaded Notching Tool!

Not sure how they got the modular plug through the cord exit hole in the 40 though. Either they crimped it on inside the phone or maybe worse, drilled out the cord exit hole?

<edit> A second look at the picture answered my question. They didn't. The moduar cord doesn't go through the hole but I assume it just gets clamped between the bakelite case and the rubber base ring when the base plate is screwed onto the phone.

Terry

[Lefebvre]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the information - I thought it might not be an SL ringer, but didn't have anything to compare it to - I'm new to phones and can't tell the difference by looking at pictures.  I'm sure I'll be able to figure that out after I get a few more phones.  Terry is correct about the small modular jack - it's not drilled out but goes between the bakelite case and rubber base ring of the plate.  I tried to read the folded paper in the second picture, but there's too many holes in it and I'm not able to read it.

So my next question is - where to get an SL ringer, and what can I expect to pay for one?  I'd really like to get the ringer for this phone so I can hear that sound again.

Mike

[GG]

Try this: loosen the screws that hold the gongs to the ringer chassis, and rotate the gongs inward as far as they go (they're mounted off-center for adjustment).  Then use masking tape to tape down the hookswitch buttons, and call your landline from a cellphone or another landline.  While the phone is ringing, the clapper should be able to vibrate enough to ring the bells quietly this way, but you can adjust them further to get the sound as loud as possible depending on how much the clapper vibrates.  Then put the whole thing back together and take the tape off the hookswitch buttons.

About that mod cord: leaving it trapped between the baseplate and the rubber gasket may eventually lead to problems (such as the line cord being pinched until it stops working, or the rubber gasket breaking.  What I'd suggest is getting a replacement cord.  Search Ebay under "telephones" for "cords," or go directly to oldphoneworks.com, and you'll find a wide variety of new cloth cords with your choice of modular plugs or oldschool spade terminals.   

They might also have old AE straight-line ringers for sale, but call them up or email them to let them know you want one for an AE 41 specifically, so they'll send one that will fit on the screw-holes in the base. 

[Lefebvre]

Thanks for the info - I'll give that a try later today.  What is the difference between an AE40 and AE41?  I'm new to phones and I'm just curious how you can tell.  I was thinking of ordering a cord replacement for aesthetic reasons - would the handset cord have been cloth too?

Thanks,

Mike