new member help me with my starlite

[calumet]

Hi there,  I recently found a beautiful blue starlite rotary phone and it has prompted me to get a landline for my daughter- who is obsessed with my cellular phone- which happens to be my work line.  So in an effort to slow things down a bit, landline and rotary phone, no caller ID etc...

I will start off by saying, I don't know anything about phones really except that they are gorgeous and make very satisfying sounds.  The phone I wound up with did not have a cord at all, I bought one at a thrift store, stripped the 4 wires(red yellow, black and green) and looped them around the 4 screws where I assumed they went, thus giving me an end to plug into the jack.  Geez, I was really hoping that was all I needed to do.  No dice, the phone didn't respond to that. 

Is there an order to this connection?  do I need to buy the right part (the one with the 4 wires that have little metal u connectors) instead of just looping around the screws for a better connection?

Also, inside the phone there is a taped black (ground?) that has no home, and a free floating blue wire with a metal u connector on it, also taped, also homeless. 

These 2 wires appear to be factory taped- as in this phone might never have been used... where do they go?  diagram anyone?

The # on the back of my phone is  NC 820151CXX

Lastly, the phone service I have is digital, through charter, I am not sure what this means to my phone and I, but the phone man seemed to think it might work... of course, he thought a tattoo on his face was a good idea as well.... so does anyone have any experience with this compatibility?

Thanks so much for any information you are willing to pass on!

[jsowers]

Could you possibly post a picture or two of the inside of the phone, where all the wires connect? It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it sure would clear up those wires with no connection you have. They may be to the lighted dial, depending on the Starlite you have. And that's another issue entirely.

Normally all you need are red and green on the phone connected to red and green on the phone jack or plug. However, a rotary phone may not dial out on a digital line or a cable modem with ATA connected--it depends on the ATA they use. Since you're not getting dial tone, do you have another single line phone you can try to make sure your service works? Or borrow one from a friend? You may need a touch-tone phone to dial out on your service.

Stripping the wires on the mounting cord isn't a very dependable way to make a connection since the wire is paper-thin tinsel. It may make connection at first and then break when someone tugs on the line. That's the reason for the spade lugs (U connectors) and a strain relief. Sometimes you can find modular plugs with screw terminals on them. That may be your best bet for hooking this phone up permanently, if you get it working.

Loved the line about the tattoo. Welcome to the Forum!

[calumet]

Hello again,

Here are some photos of the guts, perhaps that will help you make sense of what I am sure is an inadequate description  ,  thanks again

[Dennis Markham]

Calumet, I "merged" your two topics so that there is just one---to avoid confusion. 

Welcome to the Forum.

There are some AE enthusiasts here that may be able to spot your trouble better than me.  What you're going to need to do in the mean while is trace your wires.  Make and post a note of what wire is connected where.  For example, the red wire from the line cord is attached to terminal "X".  The black wire from the ringer is attached to terminal "Y", etc.

It's difficult to tell where the wires in the photo are going to or coming from.

[calumet]

Ok, I checked the line and there is a dialtone with a regular touch tone phone.   I don't hear anything when I plug in my phone, I redid the connection with spade lugs, still nothing- no fuzz-nothing.  So I am wondering still where do the mystery blue and black cords connect?  Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this telephone?  I know the pictures are blurry and the nest of wires is hard to navigate.  Everything seems new inside and I am wondering if this phone comes without these two wires hooked up and if there is a standard place I need to connect them.  Thanks again!

[paul-f]

You'll find wiring diagrams for this and many other phones in the TCI Library:

  www.telephonecollectors.info

The Starlite diagram is at:

  http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=1874&Itemid=31

[AE_Collector]

Usually if you have a blue and a black lead floating free in a Starlite they are the leads in the set cord that used to bring 120VAC into the phone to illuminate the dial. Your Starlite must have a replacement dial as it is a non illuminating version of the dial.

You want the set cord (cord with phone plug on it) GREEN lead on terminal 8 and RED lead on terminal 10. That should get you dial tone and the ability to make calls. Next will be to see if it rings on incoming calls.

Terry

[calumet]

Dialtone!  outgoing call success!  But alas, my phone does not ring when called.  Thank you, thank you Terry for the terminal 8/10 magic numbers!

How can I diagnose my absent ringing? 

As always, I will try anything and any input is greatly appreciated.
c

[AE_Collector]

Okay you want the ringer bridged across the line through a capacitor. The ringer has a red and a green lead. One should be on either 8 or 10 of the circuit board and the other on 16. 16 is just a binding post (not connected to anything else on the circuit board) to connect the ringer to the capacitor. The other side of the capacitor should be on either 10 or 8 (opposite line lead to where the other side of the ringer is hooked. The capacitor is a tubular component with very short leads (1.5 inches long) coming out of each end with a spade lug crimped onto each. They are frequently either bright yellow or a dark maroon color.

Terry

[dsk]

Hallo, welcome.
I'm quite new to starlite telephones too, and it seems to be quite many versions, at least 3 different printed boards etc.

My ringer has 4 leads, 2 are factory taped, and should only be used on some party-line solutions. The other 2 is the ends of the winding on coil (red and green). These are not important if they are mixed-up. One should end in together with the telephone line (terminal no 15), the other to one end of the capacitor (terminal 16)(brownish tube in the first picture, white cover on the leads) . The other end of this one should end up in together with the other telephone line (terminal 8 ). That should be all of the ringer circuitry.

dsk

[AE_Collector]

AE did make at least 3 different versions of the printed circuit boards used in their phones through the 1960's to 1980's. Fortunately they kept the terminal numbering standard throughout this era so generally it doesn't matter which PCB you are looking at.

The earliest Starlite with the AC power cord and an aluminum base used a different network set up with a seperate induction coil. Then there was the potted network but fortunately it was never used in the Starlite phone.

Terry

[calumet]

dsk described the exact set up of my phone... which was not ringing, but dialing well.  Unfortunately, I moved a few wires around as per another post I read and although I have put everything back, now my phone is dead.

So, what did I short out?  I moved the ringer lead from 15 to 10 (the other one on 16)... after that move and move back, the phone no longer broke dialtone- so no outgoing calls.  Next I tried moving the ringer lead on 15 over to 8.  Even after I replaced the wires, my phone is completely dead. 

Maybe experimenting isn't a great idea with old electronics, is this phone just a sculpture now?

[AE_Collector]

Don't panic yet. It's almost impossible to wreck it by moving wires around. Ensure that the line cord is on 8 (green) and 10 (red). Then put the ringer red lead on either 10 or 15, doesn't matter. Put ringer green lead with one of the capacitor leads on 16 (not 15). The other capacitor lead goes to 8. Schematics will frequently show that capacitor lead on 9 along with the yellow line cord lead. If done that way the yellow and green set cord lead are connected together at the phone jack so it works outthe same anyway.

If still no dial tone, some other lead has been inadvertently moved. Keep in mind that there are more than one green and red leads in there, you have to ensure that the ones you are moving are connected to the ringer or are set cord leads etc.

Hang in there, we will get it working...

Terry

dsk described the exact set up of my phone... which was not ringing, but dialing well.  Unfortunately, I moved a few wires around as per another post I read and although I have put everything back, now my phone is dead.

So, what did I short out?  I moved the ringer lead from 15 to 10 (the other one on 16)... after that move and move back, the phone no longer broke dialtone- so no outgoing calls.  Next I tried moving the ringer lead on 15 over to 8.  Even after I replaced the wires, my phone is completely dead. 

Maybe experimenting isn't a great idea with old electronics, is this phone just a sculpture now?

[calumet]

Hey there again, thanks for your help.   Unfortunately, what you described IS how the phone is hooked up.  my phone box registers "phone in use" and "phone in cradle"  by means of a little blinking/non blinking light.  So the box is registering the phone, but the phone sounds dead, no fuzz or anything.  This is the same way that I had it hooked up when I could dial out.  I only moved the red ringer and phone leads and I did retrace them to make sure I didn't do something silly.  Everything is just how it was when it was working.  Is there something else I can try to determine the problem?  Perhaps the capacitor is not functioning? ... but then that wouldn't effect the outgoing calls... mmmm
I can certainly see how you could get really into this!

[AE_Collector]

Okay, it sounds as though something is shorting the line when you connect the Starlite to the line. When it is plugged in do you get a busy signal if you call your number from your cell phone or another line?

I'd try disconnecting the ringer circuit inside the Starlite. Just take the ringer red off of 10 or 15 and the other side of the capacitor off of 8. The other side of each still being hooked to 16 doesn't matter as long as you are certain that one of the spade lugs isn't inadvertently touching another screw terminal. The spade lugs need to be "straight" under each screw. If the yare coming off of the side of the screw termianl they are likely shorting against the adjacent screw terminal.

Terry