Far end cant hear any thing - Design Line Country Junction (rotary)

[etamme]

Hi Everyone!  First time poster here.  My girlfriend recently got me a (what I now know to be, thanks to Dennis ) a Design line Country Junction Rotary model.





I have it hooked up to my VoIP server that I run (openser) through my grandstream HT-502 ATA which does pulse detection.

Everything about the phone works 100% except that the far end can not hear anything at all when you speak into the transmitter - no scratching, no faint sound, nothing at all.

If any one can help point me in the right direction to trouble shoot and fix the issue I would very much appreciate it - I have very little experience in repairing analog telephones (ive got a couple but they all work!)

Here is what I have done so far to trouble shoot:

I completely disassembled the handset to check for broken wires and did continuity tests to the modular jack - nothing was broken.

I completely removed the T1 transmitter and took off the terminals, then whacked the heck out of it on the edges and by whacking the back with a plastic mallet.  - after reassembly still the exact same problem.

I found the "technical installation pdf" for the exact model http://www.porticus.org/bell/pdf/503-200-115_july1980_issue2.pdf

and I have just started trying to trace down wiring based on the diagram on page 7 (i think its the right diagram??) of the PDF so far things look good, but I have not traced the whole thing out.  It is a 4228 network, but there are terminals in the PDF pg7 that I dont have .. for instance terminal "F" in the pdf appears to be terminal "A" on my network based on the wires hooked up.

-Eric

[Wallphone]

Hi Eric, Welcome to the Forum. What do you mean when you say "far end"? The person on the other end of the phone call or the far end of the handset where the receiver is? When you blow into the transmitter can you hear anything?
Doug Pav

[etamme]

Yes - sorry the other person on the call hears nothing at all in their receiver.  I also hear nothing in my own receiver when I blow into the transmitter, but I can hear the other person perfectly well.


-Eric

[jsowers]

Eric, do you happen to have a 500 or 554 wall phone or a Princess phone with a standard modular G-type handset around anywhere? You can substitute the handset and the handset cord to make sure it's not something inside the handset or a bad wire in the cord. Maybe you have an aunt or a grandmother with an older phone you could just borrow for a while?

From my experience taking those Country Junction handsets apart, which is no piece of cake, they're very poorly made and the wires to the transmitter are way too tiny and break easily. Also there's not much room to dress the wires and metal all around just waiting to short out those tiny wires and their soldered connection.

Originally these phones had brown cloth cords with modular connectors on each end. There were straight short cloth cords and longer coiled ones.

Good luck tracking down your problem and welcome to the Forum!

[etamme]

I do have a red model 500 at my office that I will bring home to test out.  As I said in my first posting though, I have completely disassembled the handset (took a while to figure out how) and things "looked good" and my continuity tests checked out.

[paul-f]

I found the "technical installation pdf" for the exact model http://www.porticus.org/bell/pdf/503-200-115_july1980_issue2.pdf

and I have just started trying to trace down wiring based on the diagram on page 7 (i think its the right diagram??) of the PDF so far things look good, but I have not traced the whole thing out.  It is a 4228 network, but there are terminals in the PDF pg7 that I dont have .. for instance terminal "F" in the pdf appears to be terminal "A" on my network based on the wires hooked up.

Welcome Eric. 

You're on the right track -- swapping parts where convenient and tracking the wiring with a diagram and continuity tester.

If the date on the BSP is close to the manufacturing date of your set, it should be fairly accurate.  Components were continually changed during a product's lifetime, so you may want to consult the BSP issue before or after to check for differences.

There are a lot of subtle problems to look for while you test. 

Occasionally wires that look perfectly good do not make good electrical contact.  Could be loose screws, spade tips that have become electrically disconnected from the wires or even breaks in the thin tinsel conductors within a wire.  Trust your tester, not your eyes.

Dirty contacts on dials, transmitter or receiver spring contacts or the hookswitch.

Keep in mind that ocasionally networks fail.  I've had to replace 4228 networks in several Design Line sets.  In my experience, they don't seem as reliable as other WE networks.

I'm sure you'll keep us posted as you progress.

[etamme]

Great news!  I brought home the handset and cord from my model 500 at work and tested my country junction with it - it works!

Even better news, I tried the handset from the country junction with the cord from my model 500 and it worked!
So basically I have a bogus/busted coiled handset cable ... which isn't original in the first place.

So I have two questions now...

1)  are there different wirings for the handset cords? 

2) any one know where to source a cloth covered original or repro cord?  I have a crimp tool and can make cable ends if I need to.

Thanks!

[paul-f]

Congratulations!

I'll PM contact info for a seller who often has them.

[jsowers]

Eric, I found a straight modular cloth handset cord for a CJ on eBay and sent you the link in a PM. It ends in a day and a half. I measured the cord on mine and it's the same length, 32" long. The coiled ones were longer, but they're harder to find and stretched out and kinked fairly easily.

I'm glad you narrowed down the problem to that coil cord. It needed to be replaced anyway.

[dsk]

Hi Eric, and welcome.

Could you please try to switch polarity on telephone line?

Sometimes the carbon transmitter element is replaced by a some electronics and this may be polarity sensitive. 

dsk