I bought an AE50 but it will not ring

[dlclarkii]

New member, picked up this AE50 for $100    The owner said the ringer worked but I cannot make it ring.    I am able to make and receive calls so the phone works but I'm dumbfounded on this one.  I tried diverting the ground to L2 and nothing.  I have a multi-meter.   The incoming voltage is 47 VDC.   Green is on L1, red is on L2.  Yellow and black not connected.  The ground terminal between L1 and L2 has no wires at all.  My guess, not enough voltage to ring.  So what do I need to do?  

I've used this post as a guide:  http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=9303.0

But I'm not sure what this member actually did?

Success!!!

Rdelius:

I have solved my problem as you posted your note. Thank you for this information. It did look strange to have that black coil.

I tried bypassing the left (black) ringer coil on the ringer and I got a ting on the bell. I then tried using the 1.0 uf capacitor with only the right ringer coil and I got a working ringer; nice and loud. I soldered the new capacitor across the original capacitor and also new wiring on the coils. I connected all the original wires and it tested complete. It appears I had 3 problems; low voltage to the network, a possible low value or bad capacitor and a defective left ringer coil. I have 1.9k ohms on the right ringer coil now.
Thank you all who helped to solve my problems and get me going in the right direction. I am glad I found such talent and skill within this great forum.

Regards:
John Kovach

Can anyone tell me what the MOhawk on the dial plate means?  And the age, I'm guessing it's late 1930s based on the solder connections?  My first phone.  

Thank you, David

[LarryInMichigan]

Your phone has a party line ringer which appears to be marked 66.6 cy.  It will not ring on a standard phone line. The value of the ringer capacitor (condenser), the weight of the clapper, and the thickness of the metal reed to which the clapper arm is attached are all designed so that the ringer will only ring at a specific frequency ringer voltage.  You can replace it with a "straight line" ringer or try to adapt it to ring.  Cutting notches into the sides of the reed can make it more flexible.

The "MOhawk 5-4424" is the phone number.  "MOhawk" is 66, so the number would have been 665-4424.

The AE50 was one of the most stylish art deco phones made.  It is a collectors' favorite.  I have two of them.

Larry

[dlclarkii]

Wow, thank you!      Bummer 

So will this work?  Are they the 20Hz? 

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/automatic-electric-ringer-assembly.html

Along with a condenser?

Any idea on age? 

Thanks again 

[Jack Ryan]

Interestingly, the ringer pictured is also a frequency ringer.

Generally the ringer and the capacitor are a pair and need to be changed together. There should be lots of AE 40s around with broken cases that are cheap. As long as it contains a straight line ringer it should be OK for the AE 50.

Nice phone

Jack

[Jack Ryan]

There seems to be two threads dealing with the same issue...

The ringer in this topic http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=9303.0
is a straight line ringer. The problem there is different and does not apply to your tuned ringer.

Jack

[TelePlay]

The two similar topics have been merged into this one.

[LarryInMichigan]

A good source for parts is Steve Hilsz: phonesurplus.com/.  He may have the ringer and condenser.  He should also be able to tell you if you need to replace the condenser.  These phones were made from the 1940s into the mid 1950s.  Since this one has cloth covered wires, it would be from before the switch to rubber which was some time in the 1950s.  AE did not stamp date codes on these phones.

Larry

[poplar1]

If it is a 0.08 MF capacitor as indicated on the ringer coil, then you will definitely need to replace or add value to about 0.7 to 1.0 for a straight line ringer.

[dlclarkii]

Great and thank you for the responses! 

[Contempra]

Welcome to this forum dlclarkii.. However, the piec you need is out of stock or back order I don,t know.. Probably a member here has the piece for your phone . Have a great day.

Here is a link for a repairman phone and his name is Dennis...on Youtube :  http://www.youtube.com/user/A1TELEPHONE?feature=g-high-u

[dlclarkii]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot  

So I mounted the phone on the wall today and it now rings!  

The only change I made was the phone had an 8' phone chord on it and I cut it to about 12" because I devised a way to mount it to my modular wall jack  

I can't explain how or why but this was my face when it rang

I must have either jarred something inside the phone while mounting it or did something to the wires coming out of the wall into the modular jack.  I can't explain it but I'm uber happy now.

If everyone is telling me this phone will not ring because of the party line components, how is this possible?  I'm shocked.

[TelePlay]

The only change I made was the phone had an 8' phone chord on it and I cut it to about 12" because I devised a way to mount it to my modular wall jack.

Or the line cord you removed has a problem. 

[dlclarkii]

I don't know if the chord was to long that there was enough voltage drop to not ring it?  IDK

[G-Man]

The length of the cord would not have anything to do with it not working. Most likely you changed the connections when you reattached the wires to the proper terminals.

Has the ringer been previously modified for use on 20~ ringing?

What type of telephone service is it connected to?

•   Traditional copper wires from the central office of a telephone company?
•   VoIP such as provided by Vonage
•   Provided by your cable provider?

If connected to a modem, is it programmed for 60~ or 66.6~ ringing.

[TelePlay]

I don't know if the chord was to long that there was enough voltage drop to not ring it?  IDK

I wasn't thinking length, I was thinking broken or loose conductors or something like that including what G-Man said, loose or improper connections in the phone or the wall. Try the line cord you removed on another phone or do a continuity test of the conductors and let us know if it fails.