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How Do I Adjust a B1A Ringer to Its Quietest Setting?

Started by rp2813, July 19, 2014, 05:25:06 PM

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rp2813

I searched around for answers but didn't see this subject addressed.

I'd like to quiet down my 5302 for use on my desk in a small office room.  I'm experimenting with a 6/46 302 as a test phone and am using the (847) 765-1008 number for ringbacks.

So far it seems like the best I can get is with tensioner and gongs adjusted as follows.

Viewing the chassis from the side, with gongs nearest you and on the left with coil behind them, here is how it looks:

41B gong on the left, 41A on the right.  Tensioner spring all the way to the right for least striker travel.  The 41B gong is rotated into position as close as possible to the striker, with around 1/16" clearance.  The 41A gong is rotated for the furthest possible clearance from the striker, which provides not even 1/16" clearance.

With this configuration, both gongs get struck, but it's still rather loud.  I'm basing my adjustment on experience with a C4A, where gongs are most silent when positioned close to the striker.

So, am I on the right track?  Is this as good as it gets with a B1A?  Was WECo's assumption that most subscribers only had a single phone and would want to hear it from any point in the house?  Would the adjustment option on the bottom of a 5302 be of additional help in this situation?

I feel like I'm almost there, but that I need to reduce the loudness further.  My office room is next to a guest room, so I'd like to keep things on the quiet side.  That's why I have the 684 subset ringer for the D1 in the guest room disabled.

Any thoughts on how to get a B1A to provide a more localized volume level?

Ralph

tallguy58

My experience is to get both gongs as close to the striker as possible.

I believe a damper was made that slips into the gongs,

Someone must have a photo.
Cheers........Bill

rp2813

Thanks Bill.  I tried making both gongs as close as possible, but the gong on the right actually made contact with the striker in almost all positions except for a limited rotational zone of less than an inch in either direction from where it barely cleared the striker. 

I didn't test it with a ringback, and instead flicked the tab on the striker mechanism at the rear of the coil.  It  made a clunking sound instead of ringing, which wasn't surprising since the later B1As are pretty clunky to start with.
Ralph

unbeldi

When one reads about the design goals and the process for the 500-series in the documents that are available, it is clear that the ringer adjustment feature was an important addition that satisfied customer complaints.  When they reissued 302s as 5302s later, the lack of flexibility was noted, but I seem to recall the note that the vast majority of those who got the 5302s never had the prior joy of using a 500 set and didn't know the ringer control could be even better.


rp2813

I agree that even on a 5302, the range of adjustment is limited compared to that of a 500.  It's just the nature of the B1A design.  Still, I don't think WECo would have gone forward with adding the adjustment mechanism to the 5302 if didn't change things enough to satisfy subscribers.

I think what I need to do is start playing with the 5302 itself since it has the additional adjusting component on the B1A.
Ralph

rp2813

I played with the 5302.  I found that setting the loudness lever to its quietest point positioned the gongs the same way I had them on the 302 I was experimenting with.  I made a more precise rotational adjustment to each gong on the 5302 to get a clear but quiet ring as opposed to a clunk, and tightened them down. 

I now have a tolerable volume and a pleasant ring, although accompanied by the commonplace knocking sound produced by B1As.  I'm confident that this is as good (quiet) as it gets with all but the earliest types of B1As.

Here's a sidebar on a discovery I made during this process:  In my searching for adjustment guidelines I read a few posts about the 5302 production run.  I think mine is a late one.  While the interior components are all 1947 except for the 1952 F1 transmitter capsule, the case is dated 1962.  The G1 handset is also dated 1962. 

I'm surprised WECo was still under orders to produce 5302s when by 1962, 500s were more or less standard issue.   Even here on the west coast where Pacific Telephone existed as something of a forgotten Bell System step-child, they had begun to pull 302s out of operation by 1963.
Ralph

unbeldi

Quote from: rp2813 on July 20, 2014, 04:40:42 PM
Here's a sidebar on a discovery I made during this process:  In my searching for adjustment guidelines I read a few posts about the 5302 production run.  I think mine is a late one.  While the interior components are all 1947 except for the 1952 F1 transmitter capsule, the case is dated 1962.  The G1 handset is also dated 1962. 

I'm surprised WECo was still under orders to produce 5302s when by 1962, 500s were more or less standard issue.   Even here on the west coast where Pacific Telephone existed as something of a forgotten Bell System step-child, they had begun to pull 302s out of operation by 1963.

Well, 'production' isn't the right description perhaps.  Returned and stockpiled 302s were refurbished with new housings not in the factories, but in the refurbishing and distribution centers.  This started in second half of 1955, five years after the first production quantities of 500 sets were installed.  And judging by observed housing dates, this continued well into the 1960s, perhaps 64 or 65. I think Poplar1 has a story to tell about the end.
The assembly date of a 5302 can be approximately read from the date stamp on the housing. It is in yellow ink on the front inside edge. The rest of the components could be anything from 1937 to about 1954, when WE seized production in the main 302 line.

The Bell system was under immense pressure to satisfy the demand for telephone service and could not produce enough 500 sets yet, all the while they had huge supplies of old equipment piling up, because many customers wanted color telephones by now and the only choice was the 500 model. However, not all the color production development processes had been completed.  Ergo, they also made a few colored 5302s.

There are other threads here on the forum that cover the 5302 and its history, e.g., http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3852.0

rp2813

Yes, a more correct term would be "conversion" I guess.

When my family moved in 1960, the new house got a 302.  IIRC, sometime in 1963 there was a storm and our phone service went out.  When the repair tech came, even though the problem was clearly outside, he also pulled the 302 and gave us a brand new 1963 500.

I've always used that as a rough reference point for when the tide had turned in favor of the 500 sets but understandably there are too many variables to factor in, so that is by no means intended as a blanket statement applicable to Ma Bell's entire enterprise.
Ralph

Charles

There was a gong attachment for quieting the ringer. But easier than that you can bend the stroke limiting arm (see attached BSP for ringer adjustment). I have tried it and it helps.

unbeldi

Quote from: Charles on July 23, 2014, 04:45:53 PM
There was a gong attachment for quieting the ringer. But easier than that you can bend the stroke limiting arm (see attached BSP for ringer adjustment). I have tried it and it helps.
You are probably referring to the kind of clamp, type 100B, that I found on this 1952 set.

poplar1

Quote from: Charles on July 23, 2014, 04:45:53 PM
There was a gong attachment for quieting the ringer. But easier than that you can bend the stroke limiting arm (see attached BSP for ringer adjustment). I have tried it and it helps.

Charles, thanks for the link to the BSP. (Section C31.208 Issue 2).

Paragraph 1.05 explains the "A" found after the date on some B1A and B1AL ringers.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

Charles

Here is the BSP again. The original one I uploaded had problems. Section 3.02 has the instructions for bending the stroke limiting arm.

unbeldi

Quote from: poplar1 on July 23, 2014, 06:43:32 PM
...
Paragraph 1.05 explains the "A" found after the date on some B1A and B1AL ringers.

I don't know how many times I have read that paragraph 1.05, but the reason for the paragraph and the adjustment never dawned on me until now.



rp2813

Charles, thanks very much for the BSP link.  I ended up pulling the 5302 from my desk because it was still too loud and clunky, but with the BSP information I may be able to improve on what I've already managed to accomplish.  It will be an interesting procedure to try out.

Meanwhile, my 9/51 500T is providing the kinder gentler ringing action I prefer at my desk.
Ralph