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Can I do anything about excessive sidetone in WE 500?

Started by bwroga, February 03, 2018, 11:22:20 AM

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bwroga

I bought a WE 500 that has excessive sidetone. When the person on the other end of the line talks, it sounds great. When I talk it sounds too loud and a bit distorted and the person on the other line complains that I am speaking too quietly. Is there anything I can do about this?

I saw on this thread http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1183.0 that someone added a resistor to the handset. If this is a viable option, could someone explain where to add the resistor?

poplar1

It could be a bad network or something wired wrong. Can you show pictures of the inside of the phone, including the network connections?
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

bwroga

Here are some pictures

bwroga

A few more:

poplar1

It appears to be wired correctly. Usually, those 425E networks (unlike the 4228s) never give any problems.

Je donne ma langue au chat. (I give up.)
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

HarrySmith

You already have the resistor in the handset. You might try a different element. You may have a bad cord, check the cord by wiggling it and listening for static or a change in sound. I have a known good handset and cord that I attached alligator clips to the wires. If I suspect an issue I just clip it on to check.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

bwroga

Quote from: HarrySmith on February 03, 2018, 02:29:00 PM
You may have a bad cord, check the cord by wiggling it and listening for static or a change in sound.

I tried wiggling the cord, both where it attaches to the handset and to the base, but didn't hear anything unusal.

jsowers

The piece in the handset across the receiver capsule is called a varistor, and I've seen bad ones before. You might try replacing the entire handset a piece at a time to see what happens. Receiver, transmitter and then the handset cord. Just clipping another handset cord will help with open wires, but not if you have wires that are touching or almost touching inside the jacket. The old cord should be disconnected and another one subbed out to really see if the cord is the problem.

Hopefully you have another G-type handset for parts. One from another 500, a 554 or a Princess would work fine. And we're assuming here that you've used other old phones on your phone line that don't exhibit the same problem. Is it a regular old POTS line from the phone company or is this some kind of cable modem or internet-based phone line?
Jonathan

bwroga

Quote from: jsowers on February 03, 2018, 03:25:57 PM
Hopefully you have another G-type handset for parts. One from another 500, a 554 or a Princess would work fine. And we're assuming here that you've used other old phones on your phone line that don't exhibit the same problem. Is it a regular old POTS line from the phone company or is this some kind of cable modem or internet-based phone line?

Unfortunately I don't have another handset to switch in or another old phone to try on the line  :-[

It is a VOIP line (ooma).

I bought the phone on ebay and am trying to decide if I should just return it. It was advertised as in "perfect working condition", but I guess I can't prove that it is actually the phone that is causing the problem.

AL_as_needed

Quote from: bwroga on February 03, 2018, 03:50:03 PM
Unfortunately I don't have another handset to switch in or another old phone to try on the line  :-[

It is a VOIP line (ooma).

I bought the phone on ebay and am trying to decide if I should just return it. It was advertised as in "perfect working condition", but I guess I can't prove that it is actually the phone that is causing the problem.

There is no WE 500 that CRPF cant get running good as new   ;)

I should have a few extra G1 elements kicking around. If you want I can see what I  have and send a set (receiver/transmitter) out to you.
TWinbrook7

bwroga

Would replacing the transmitter and receiver in the handset be an acceptable alternative to trying a new handset?

dsk

It may look like one of the varistors in the network may have been bad, As you have mentioned, a resistor in the right place may help, If you have on of 200-330 ohms you could experiment with putting it between RR and C or between R and GN. Whatever fits your need is the best. 

dsk

bwroga

Quote from: dsk on February 06, 2018, 04:24:31 PM
It may look like one of the varistors in the network may have been bad, As you have mentioned, a resistor in the right place may help, If you have on of 200-330 ohms you could experiment with putting it between RR and C or between R and GN. Whatever fits your need is the best. 

I tried this but it didn't help.

bwroga

I got another WE500 off of ebay that was listed as refurbished and fully tested. When I talk on the phone, the person on the other end of the line can hear me better than on the first phone I posted about, but the sidetone is still the same.

I'm wondering if maybe it's something I need to get used to? Maybe sidetone on modern cordless phones is much lower than what it used to be?

AL_as_needed

Quote from: bwroga on February 15, 2018, 04:53:16 PM
I got another WE500 off of ebay that was listed as refurbished and fully tested. When I talk on the phone, the person on the other end of the line can hear me better than on the first phone I posted about, but the sidetone is still the same.

I'm wondering if maybe it's something I need to get used to? Maybe sidetone on modern cordless phones is much lower than what it used to be?

How loud is the side-tone you hear on the first phone? It should be just below the volume of your voice spoken into the phone. Some new phones have little to no side-tone at all, which at least for me, makes it rather awkward.

Lastly....two rotary phones is almost the start of a collection  ;)
TWinbrook7