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I am trying to be a good Samaritan here

Started by Dan, August 14, 2009, 10:47:05 PM

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Dan

I know a person who has a princess phone that receives calls, but doesn't dial out. I figured it was a polarity issue, so I had her reverse the red and green wires of the line cord. Now she has touch tone sounds, but it still doesn't dial out. Here are some pics of her phone. It looks like a hardwired 1979. Any suggestions?
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Phonesrfun

Dan:

Normally, your advice should work.  Do you have access to the phone?

The fact that it is making the tones is good, the fact that it won't break dial tone is not good.  The dial could be off frequency, although that really does not happen all that much.  You rarely see that. 

When it makes the tones, does it make both tones for every digit?  A touch tone dial is what is called DTMF, Dual Tone Multi Frequency.  Meaning that for each digit dialed, the phone makes two tones at once.  With the older dials like that one, you can hear a single individual tone by holding down two digits in the same row or column down at the same time.  Pressing a single digit should produce both tones.

A dirty contact switch could be causing it to only be making one tone on one row or column of buttons.  I would check for the sounds of that first.

If that is the case then locate the switch contacts that are along the edge of the perimeter of the dial.  DO NOT use a file or a fingernail file, or an emery board or sandpaper to clean the contacts.  Instead, a normal business card or paper card stock is the best tool.  The coarser the paper grain the better.  While pressing a key that operates that particular switch contact (You know a lot about switch contacts these days)  :) , rub the paper back and forth a few times to clean the contact surfaces of the switches.

Hopefully that will work.

-Bill
-Bill G

Dan

I'll forward the information along to her. Thank you
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright