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Clapper adjustment for 553A hotel phone.

Started by Greg G., January 07, 2010, 03:08:31 PM

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Greg G.

I thought it wasn't working at all, but looking at it closely it barely wiggles on an incoming call.  Can this be adjusted somehow, or do I need a another ringer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMr1V399tNk
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

bingster

They can be adjusted to a certain degree, but I don't think that one has enough adjustment in it to make it work.  Given it's lack of movement, it's most likely a frequency ringer as has been discussed, and you'll need a straight line ringer to make it operate loudly.
= DARRIN =



LarryInMichigan

I have never seen this particular ringer in person, but from the picture, it appears that it is a frequency ringer, and the clapper is attached with a metal strip which is designed to respond to a certain frequency.  I would suggest trying to loosen the screw which holds the metal strip to the ringer assembly and seeing if the clapper is then able to move more.  If it is, it may be possible to sick something, like a small washer, between the clamps which hold the clapper to give it more flexibility.  The annotated picture may help to make this a bit more clear.


Phonesrfun

I, for one, have had very little luck with frequency ringers, unless their resonant frequency just happens to be 20 Hz.  Then, and only then have I ever gotten one to work very well.  Other gimmicks like adjusting the clapper or adding or subtracting capacitance may make some difference, but for the most part, it is an effor in futility.  In fact, I have had such marginal (at best) results that I won't even try it any more

A straight line ringer will work on a very wide range of frequencies and is not clampped to any set resonant frequency.  

A frequency ringer, on the other hand, uses a combination of the coil inductance, the capacitor value, the clapper weight and the metal vibrating spring to achieve a very sharp resonant frequency.  Changing the capacitor or the clapper adjustment is only changing two of the four variables.  The coil inductance and the spring cannot be changed.  The spring is probably one of the most critical.  

Picture plucking a hacksaw blade with your finger on the edge of a table.  It will vibrate at what ever frequency it vibrates at based on its length and the thickness of the metal and the metal composition.  If you move the blade so less is hanging over the table and pluck it, the blade will vibrate at a higher frequency.  The "pivot" on a frequency ringer is not a pivot as is found in a straight line ringer.  Rather it is exactly like a hacksaw blade and has an inherent built in resonant frequency, which cannot be changed.

So, that is why people have such little luck in adjusting frequency ringers.
-Bill G

stub

Brinybay,
            Sorry, it's time to get a straight line ringer.     stub
Kenneth Stubblefield

Greg G.

#5
Quote from: Dennis Markham on January 07, 2010, 08:17:11 PM
Greg, will this one work?

http://tinyurl.com/yfoa233

Dennis

I dunno, will it?  I know nothing of electronics, what's a .47 capacitor do?  The seller said the phone had a frequency ringer, so I was planning on replacing it.  Thanks for the link, got it on my watch list!
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

bingster

You don't need the capacitor, since your phone already has it's capacitor in place (it's the long metal box under the connecting block).  A 302 ringer will work perfectly until you can find one of the proper age (assuming you want to go that route).
= DARRIN =



Phonesrfun

I have dealt with adele0283 many times.  She is top notch.

-Bill
-Bill G

Dennis Markham

Bill, I agree.  Adele has helped me on many occasions.  If you don't see it for sale, just shoot her an e-mail and she'll find it.  Her father collected phones for many years (and maybe still does).  His name is Paul Vaverchak.  I believe he lives in Pennsylvania.

bingster

There's a pair of straight line WE ringers for ten smackers on ebay right now:

300384771649

Good price, and they were often used to replace old ringers in these subsets.
= DARRIN =



Greg G.

#10
Quote from: bingster on January 08, 2010, 02:27:56 AM
There's a pair of straight line WE ringers for ten smackers on ebay right now:

300384771649

Good price, and they were often used to replace old ringers in these subsets.

How do I know they're not frequency ringers?  The only physical clue is the size of the clapper.  Does size matter? (smirk).  ;)  The bells on these are mounted differently.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Greg G.

Quote from: Phonesrfun on January 07, 2010, 10:44:13 PM
I have dealt with adele0283 many times.  She is top notch.

-Bill

She's checking with the supplier to find out if it's a frequency ringer, or at least a 20mhz frequency ringer.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

bingster

#12
Quote from: Brinybay on January 08, 2010, 03:26:33 AMHow do I know they're not frequency ringers?  The only physical clue is the size of the clapper.  Does size matter? (smirk).  ;)  The bells on these are mounted differently.

Hmmm... good point.  I'm not sure how you'd tell by looks, other than the fact that the clapper is the standard tiny one.  The two ringer types do mount differently, so you'd probably have to jury rig something.  You do often see these steel boxes with 302 bells in them, and Bell mounted them by placing a metal or thin wood strip across the back of the box, and then to that they mounted the ringer.  Some also had an angled piece of metal attached to the bottom of the box to which the 302-style ringer was mounted.
= DARRIN =



Phonesrfun

The best way to tell on the older (Non C4 ringers) is whether the clapper arm is attached to a flat reed spring thing resembling a hacksaw blade, or attached to a rocker with a pivot.  The rocker/pivot is the straight line ringer and the tuned reed spring is the frequency ringer.

Note that this is generally the case in the older types, but there are some that even to a trained eye are hard to tell.  I am at work at the moment, and I do not have access to my camera to take some "8 x 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one describing the...." [differences]. 

Maybe someone else can, or I can later this evening.

Trivia:  Anyone recognize the movie quote in what I just posted?  (Showing my age).

-Bill Geurts
-Bill G

Dennis Markham

Bill, You can get anything you want........at Alice's Restaurant.  Maybe they have some straight line ringers there too!