Western Electric 1983 I believe. I'm really excited to enjoy this one. Landline is getting hooked up Sunday and I'll be on the lookout for more phones.
Welcome to the forum, Dave! You may have a condition called "Phineitis". Very common in these parts. We can help you cope with it here. ;)
Benny
;) I believe you are correct in that diagnoses. I'm currently looking for the cheapest way to add a landline so that I can hear them ring. Cancelled my appointment for Sunday to explore other options if there are any.
I use a home internet-based phone service from Callcentric that costs only $3.90 a month and offers 120 minutes of outgoing calls and a pay per minute service for incoming calls. I have a Grandstream HT-502 gateway that allows me to make calls with a rotary phone. The downside is that all phones must be connected to the gateway, so it requires some wiring work if you want them spread around the house.
Quote from: Zombie Dave on March 08, 2018, 10:58:27 AM
;) I believe you are correct in that diagnoses. I'm currently looking for the cheapest way to add a landline so that I can hear them ring. Cancelled my appointment for Sunday to explore other options if there are any.
x link is a bluetooth gateway to your smart phone. It supports rotary and will let you make and receive calls on your old phone.
Here is an link from amazon. You can get some better deals on ebay.
https://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-Technologies-BT-Bluetooth-Gateway/dp/B00135XU7Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1520558072
Jim S.
All good information. Thank you for replying. That xlink might be the way I go down the road. Ended up with plugging it in to the back of a modem that I picked up at our cable store (Cox).
I actually was able to hear it ring! Sadly, I couldn't hear anything. No dial tone, voice... etc. Fiddling around with the different jacks ( I'm not sure what the correct term is. ), found the one where the handset goes into the phone to be the problem. I was able to hear after moving it a little. It's broken and lose.
I'll be learning how to replace that and where to get replacement parts.
Is the handset connector in the phone broken, or is the little plastic tab broken off of the connector on the end of the handset cord?
Larry
welcome to the forum.... what part of the country are you in?? with landlines you have basically 2 easy options.... the local phone company, or cable.... cell service too but I don't know much about that...
An ivory handset cord shouldn't be hard to find at your local Home Depot or mom and pop hardware store. You're lucky it's ivory. The other colors you won't find anywhere but an online retailer or auction site.
If you would rather restore your current handset cord, you may be able to find a crimper that has different inserts and clear modular plugs for handset and line cords. The plugs are different, with the handset cord plugs being smaller. Look for crimpers in those hardware stores or if you have an electronics retailer nearby, that would be a great place to try. Online you may be able to find some pretty good deals. Here is one on eBay that's just $6.49 including the shipping. As long as you're not going to use it a lot, it's fine to get a cheap one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232669959090
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on March 09, 2018, 10:04:03 AM
Is the handset connector in the phone broken, or is the little plastic tab broken off of the connector on the end of the handset cord?
Larry
The jacks ( I believe that's what they're called ) 616D and 623D both need replaced as they have tabs broken off and are loose as well as the one in the handset.
After messing with the phone for a better part of the morning, I've figured out that by putting a little downward pressure on the clear finger dial, between the number 7 and 8 it'll work! By " work " I mean I can now hear the dial tone. I'm baffled. Lol
Quote from: jsowers on March 09, 2018, 01:30:50 PM
An ivory handset cord shouldn't be hard to find at your local Home Depot or mom and pop hardware store. You're lucky it's ivory. The other colors you won't find anywhere but an online retailer or auction site.
If you would rather restore your current handset cord, you may be able to find a crimper that has different inserts and clear modular plugs for handset and line cords. The plugs are different, with the handset cord plugs being smaller. Look for crimpers in those hardware stores or if you have an electronics retailer nearby, that would be a great place to try. Online you may be able to find some pretty good deals. Here is one on eBay that's just $6.49 including the shipping. As long as you're not going to use it a lot, it's fine to get a cheap one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232669959090
I'll have to get that just to have.
Quote from: Zombie Dave on March 09, 2018, 04:20:06 PM
The jacks ( I believe that's what they're called ) 616D and 623D both need replaced as they have tabs broken off and are loose as well as the one in the handset.
After messing with the phone for a better part of the morning, I've figured out that by putting a little downward pressure on the clear finger dial, between the number 7 and 8 it'll work! By " work " I mean I can now hear the dial tone. I'm baffled. Lol
There must be something going on with the back of the dial. Have you cleaned and checked the contacts in the switch pileup? A picture of the back of the dial may help identify something amiss.
Quote from: HarrySmith on March 15, 2018, 03:03:26 PM
There must be something going on with the back of the dial. Have you cleaned and checked the contacts in the switch pileup? A picture of the back of the dial may help identify something amiss.
I've removed the dial mechanism and pulled off the plastic cover.
I haven't read up on how to clean the connection points on the switch pileup, if that's what I think you're talking about.
Yes, you can clean them by passing a piece of stiff paper between them, like a business card. It looks a little gunked up, may need a good cleaning. There are topics here about cleaning dials. I always send my problem dials to Steve Hilsz. He will clean & calibrate any dial for $6.00. Always does excellent work!
Quote from: HarrySmith on March 15, 2018, 03:20:21 PM
Yes, you can clean them by passing a piece of stiff paper between them, like a business card. It looks a little gunked up, may need a good cleaning. There are topics here about cleaning dials. I always send my problem dials to Steve Hilsz. He will clean & calibrate any dial for $6.00. Always does excellent work!
I've been on Facebook far too long. I keep wanting to like posts. I took a screenshot of his name for future use. :)
Your problem is with the shunt contacts on the dial. The contact at the end of the part with the red arrow pointing (in the attached picture) to it should touch the contact next to it only when the dial is not at its rest position. There appears to be a bend near the arrow head which is causing the contacts to touch when they should not.
Larry
BTW, I have seen modular handset cords at the local dollar stores. The simplest way to clean the dial contacts is with a piece of brown paper, such as from a grocery bag. Contact cleaner spray can also help.
Larry
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on March 15, 2018, 03:58:47 PM
Your problem is with the shunt contacts on the dial. The contact at the end of the part with the red arrow pointing (in the attached picture) to it should touch the contact next to it only when the dial is not at its rest position. There appears to be a bend near the arrow head which is causing the contacts to touch when they should not.
Larry
Ok. Before I attempt to gently straighten that, is that something I can do or should I send off?
I received my new modular jacks and already broke one tip off of my 616D and my 623D has a black wire my old one didn't have. Lol
I've looked at the wiring diagram for the WE with the 425B network, but really didn't see the modular jack wiring... or at least what matched mine.
I would suggest straightening the bent contact and seeing how the dial works before sending it anywhere.
Don't worry about the black and yellow leads from the 623D connector. You don't need one. Just cover the metal spade lugs and hide them somewhere.
Larry
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on March 15, 2018, 04:54:43 PM
I would suggest straightening the bent contact and seeing how the dial works before sending it anywhere.
Don't worry about the black and yellow leads from the 623D connector. You don't need one. Just cover the metal spade lugs and hide them somewhere.
Larry
Thank You!
So far so good! I can hear! Called and received calls. Now the only issue is when I dial, I can hear it in the handset. I'll save that for another day though.
When the dial is away from its rest position, the two contacts should touch each other. You should be able to bend them just the right amount to make them open and close appropriately.
Larry
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on March 15, 2018, 07:24:20 PM
When the dial is away from its rest position, the two contacts should touch each other. You should be able to bend them just the right amount to make them open and close appropriately.
Larry
Ok, I'll make that tomorrows project. Sounds like just a little adjustment is needed.
Thank you so much for your help.
To all:
That little bend in the spring contact is supposed to be there. WE put it there to make sure the contact has good tension to contact the thicker member of the switch set.
It the contacts are not opening up when the dial is at rest then there is a timing issue with the dial position.
Also you might check if the index pin on the bottom of the switch assy is seated properly.
should if the shaft rocks back and forth. It might have a worn out main shaft