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new member help me with my starlite

Started by calumet, February 14, 2011, 03:27:32 PM

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dsk

It is a great number of wires to mix up, if you calm down, and look at the wiring diagram. e.g. this: http://tinyurl.com/18r
You may zoom in on the part witch gives the info you need.
Look at each terminal, one by one. Double-check and be sure it not touch any neighbors.
If something look strange, you have to find out if the cable goes to the right unit, e.g. Handset, dial,.... It is quite easy to put a wire on the neighbor terminal, so if you have misplaced one, it is not far from the right one.
Probably is the most of the terminals just as is when you got it.

Don't worry, we shall solve it at this forum. ;)
dsk

calumet

Ok great!  when I removed the red ringer lead from 15 and the capacitor from 8, I was again able to dial out successfully!  So am I to infer that something within the ringer is both not functioning and shorting?  Where to next detectives?

AE_Collector

#17
I suppose that a shorted capacitor would have to be my guess. I don't do many phone repair/restorations and can't recall finding a shorted capacitor (other than another current thread on the forum where a phone had a shorted capacitor) before but that's what it sounds like to me. Any other guesses or possibiliies?

What's the best way to check for a shorted capacitor? Should it show a fairly low resistance on an ohm meter?

Even if the ringer coil were shorted down to a fairly low resistance, if it is in series with a good capacitor it wouldn't short the line, right?

Terry

dsk

#18
Quote from: ae_collector on February 18, 2011, 11:23:08 PM
I suppose that a shorted capacitor would have to be my guess. I don't do many phone repair/restorations and can't recall finding a shorted capacitor (other than another current thread on the forum where a phone had a shorted capacitor) before but that's what it sounds like to me. Any other guesses or possibiliies?

What's the best way to check for a shorted capacitor? Should it show a fairly low resistance on an ohm meter?

Even if the ringer coil were shorted down to a fairly low resistance, if it is in series with a good capacitor it wouldn't short the line, right?

Terry

Sounds reasonable. Shorted capacitors happends, but not often. If you have no meter, putt the capacitor in series with the telephone and listen for dial tone. If you get dial tone it is shorted. Not a good test, but it gives a hint. A shorted ringer will not give this error.

dsk

AE_Collector

Quote from: d_s_k on February 19, 2011, 02:15:24 AM
Sounds reasonable. Shorted capacitors happends, but not often. If you have no meter, putt the capacitor in series with the telephone and listen for dial tone. If you get dial tone it is shorted. Not a good test, but it gives a hint. A shorted ringer will not give this error.

dsk

Good point d_s_k. Calumet can prove the capcitor by disconnecting it completely and then disconnect either the green or the red line cord lead and putting one side of the capictor onto the terminal (8 or 10) that the line cord lead was just removed from. Then connect the removed line cord lead to the other lead of the capcitor somehow. Tape them tightly together or if you want to get fancy use the termninal 16 as a binding post after removing the other ringer lead from it. If you are able to get dial tone then as d_s_k says, your capacitor is shorted. A trip to Radio Shack if you are in the USA will fix that.

Terry

calumet

Great tip, thanks!  the capacitor does not act merely as a conductor.  The phone has no dialtone when I use it in line with the phone lead.  There is a dead line/slight fuzz difference between connected and disconnected however... is that good?  But I am still unable to get my phone to ring.  Are we to assume the capacitor is not the culprit at least for now or is it still a likely candidate?

Is there any way to test test the ringer itself? without an ohm meter... possibly?

And about those lose wires?  they are a black and a blue from the ringer.  These are for a light up dial that my phone is not equipped with and are not related to the absent ringing yes?


AE_Collector

I meant to comment about the two spare ringer leads in my last post. They should be unconnected and insulated from each other as well. I didn't realise that you were refering to spare ringer leads whern I commented awhile ago about black & blue being for the illumination on some Starlite dials. By coincidence some Starlite phones have a 4th (black) and 5th (blue) conductor in the set cord that is for the dial illumination. Maybe see if you can find the circuit board number on your network board. Should be something like WA-1154. If your ringer just wouldn't ring I'd suspect it was the ringer itself. Those single gong ringers are very temperamental. However for some reason connecting the ringer/capacitor across the line is shorting the line out which doesn't make sense to me since it looks as though your capacitor is working properly.

Terry

dsk

Quote from: calumet on February 19, 2011, 05:28:40 PM
Great tip, thanks!  the capacitor does not act merely as a conductor.  The phone has no dialtone when I use it in line with the phone lead.  There is a dead line/slight fuzz difference between connected and disconnected however... is that good?  But I am still unable to get my phone to ring.  Are we to assume the capacitor is not the culprit at least for now or is it still a likely candidate?

Is there any way to test test the ringer itself? without an ohm meter... possibly?

And about those lose wires?  they are a black and a blue from the ringer.  These are for a light up dial that my phone is not equipped with and are not related to the absent ringing yes?


It looks like the capacitor are OK. when it is working, it will not let the direct current through , and you will not get the dial tone. Still it will let some "sound" through , and you will hear a little noise, or be able to listen at someone else using the same line.

My ringer has 4 wires, 2 are factory taped and insulated, 2 are for connected to the circuit board. (as described before)

How to check the ringer coil? Do you have any kind of instrument to meter some kind of electricity, a test lamp for 120V? Screwdriver with built in test lamp etc. ?

Another thing to look at, is if the mechanical parts moves easy, and returns back by a spring.

My Starlite experience is limited to my own, and it seems like these not are of the most reliable, but a ringer is just a coil making magnetism, a magnet to and a yoke moving in one or another direction depending of the direction of the magnetism.

When we have tested the electric circuit of the ringer, an the worst has happend, the coil is not complete, we try to find out which of the four parts defect, and just use the 3 others.  You will be impressed about how well it works.

We are fare away from giving up!   :)

dsk

calumet

I have not been able to test the ringer yet, but I will say this...
I have been experiencing on again off again success with dialtone and dialing out.  One time it works and then nothing, and then I plug in the phone retighten the connection and then dialtone.  4 seconds late, no dialtone...  I tried calling out without the (audible) dialtone and it still works!  so, I am thinking I have a bad connection somewhere in the handset too? 

The # on my circuit board is WA 1154A ISS  if that helps.

I don't think this taints the test I did on the capacitor, the dialtone was audible before and after, and I did hear a live line, just not a dialtone during the test.

Thanks!

Dennis Markham

I think you're right in thinking a problem in the handset.  If not the cord, it's possible the receiver element is not making good contact.   The dial tone is there, you're just not hearing it (if it's dialing out with no audible tone).

HarrySmith

You can test the ringer by itself. I have a modular cord I have attached 2 alligator clips to that I use for a quick hook up to check a phone before I start working on it. I have also used this cord to check a ringer. I just clip the cord on to the ringer leads, plug it in and call from my cell phone. This is also useful to adjust ringers as I just did on the SC 1534 I am working on.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

AE_Collector

Open up the receiver cap and see that the yellow and black leads are screwed onto the receiver capsule properly. Check the ends of the handset cord inside the phone as well but you've probably done that already. COuld be a bad handset cord but start with the connections on both ends. As long as the spades are not loose under the screws, you don't need to cinch them down.

Terry

calumet

ok, when I call out on my phone with no audible dialtone, I can be heard, but cannot hear the other line.  Both the black and yellow wires seem well connected to the earpiece, and I notice nothing amiss on the circuit board.
 

AE_Collector

#28
Quote from: calumet on February 21, 2011, 02:37:08 PM
ok, when I call out on my phone with no audible dialtone, I can be heard, but cannot hear the other line.  Both the black and yellow wires seem well connected to the earpiece, and I notice nothing amiss on the circuit board.
 

Sounds like time to start over! Buy a hideous Starlite on ebaY for $1.99 and put your nice case and handset onto it replacing the receiver capsule as well. In some aspects I am kidding as there are several different variations out there that could casue you more grief if you got the wrong one. You need more AE phones so you get some parts to swap around. This Starlite is your only old phone so far isn't it? Where are you located roughly?

Terry

dsk

I don't like to give up.
It is several possible thing to cause errors. Try to remove the read lead from 15 and tape it. Then the red from 4 and tape it.  If that causes normal speach, but noise when dialling or going on/off hook We know were the problem is located.

Next
The Black lead And the green lead from 23 goes both to to the handset. An internal short between these two  inside the handset will "repair" a broken black lead.
If this doesent help try to remove the receiver and connect it to the terminals 23 and 4. If it works steady so, you probably have a broken yellow lead. Then we have to use the 3 others to do the job.
 

dsk