Not sure where to start

[entomography]

Hello!
I'm completely new to rotary phones, but this one was so beautiful I couldn't resist. I'm wanting to use it as a home phone, but at the moment all I'm getting is a low electrical hum from the receiver. Any suggestions for where to start would be much appreciated.

[RDPipes]

Your not plugging it into a 120V wall outlet are you?
That would certainly explain the hum.
This is suppose to plug into your VoIP adapter or RJ11
that may be mounted on the wall but, is a phone line. 

[5415551212]

Welcome to the forum, did you buy all this as a package ?
looks like you have a cell2jack acting as the 'phone company' or foreign exchange subscriber (FXS) port, so your wanting to pair the phone with a cellular phone?
Did that come with the phone?
Does the cell2jack work with another known working phone? Does the USB power adapter work with another usb device?
Then it looks like you have a modular to 4-prong adapter that looks slightly home made.
Then a 4-prong cord to the phone.

I would first test that cell2jack with a known working phone and get it paired to my cell phone.
I don't recognize the phone you have, I am sure others on here will, if you know some details like make and model that would be good to know.
Once you know you have a working good FXS port you'll need to start poking around in the phone looking for a broken wire, testing with a miultimeter etc.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Stephen

[RDPipes]

Welcome to the forum, did you buy all this as a package ?
looks like you have a cell2jack acting as the 'phone company' or foreign exchange subscriber (FXS) port, so your wanting to pair the phone with a cellular phone?
Did that come with the phone?
Does the cell2jack work with another known working phone? Does the USB power adapter work with another usb device?
Then it looks like you have a modular to 4-prong adapter that looks slightly home made.
Then a 4-prong cord to the phone.

I would first test that cell2jack with a known working phone and get it paired to my cell phone.
I don't recognize the phone you have, I am sure others on here will, if you know some details like make and model that would be good to know.
Once you know you have a working good FXS port you'll need to start poking around in the phone looking for a broken wire, testing with a miultimeter etc.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Stephen

You mean that thing plugs into a 120V outlet? Well I reckon I'm outta touch, that's what I get for getting old I reckon.

[TelePlay]

You mean that thing plugs into a 120V outlet?

That's a 5 VDC USB wall wart powering the C2J, not 120 VAC straight in.

I would also check the connections inside the 4 prong line cord plug to make sure red and green from the C2J is getting to L1 and L2 in the phone.


And everything 5415551212 suggested above.

[entomography]

Welcome to the forum, did you buy all this as a package ?
looks like you have a cell2jack acting as the 'phone company' or foreign exchange subscriber (FXS) port, so your wanting to pair the phone with a cellular phone?
Did that come with the phone?
Does the cell2jack work with another known working phone? Does the USB power adapter work with another usb device?
Then it looks like you have a modular to 4-prong adapter that looks slightly home made.
Then a 4-prong cord to the phone.

I would first test that cell2jack with a known working phone and get it paired to my cell phone.
I don't recognize the phone you have, I am sure others on here will, if you know some details like make and model that would be good to know.
Once you know you have a working good FXS port you'll need to start poking around in the phone looking for a broken wire, testing with a miultimeter etc.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Stephen

I bought the Cell2Jack separately, but otherwise it all came together.

Yes, I was planning on having it connect to an old iPhone via Bluetooth.

This is my first landline phone, so I haven't tested the Cell2Jack with any others. Should I take hunting down a phone I know works as a first step?

The Cell2Jack tutorial seemed to be connecting the USB to a standard American outlet using an iPhone adapter, so that's what I did. It also has an option to plug a charger into it so it can keep the smartphone charged, but it doesn't seem like it does anything else.

Once I confirm that the issue isn't with the Cell2Jack, how would you recommend I test that the adapter it came with is working properly?

Unfortunately I don't know the make or model, so I'll be very excited if someone here can tell me what it is

Thank you!
Elise

[entomography]

That's a 5 VDC USB wall wart powering the C2J, not 120 VAC straight in.

I would also check the connections inside the 4 prong line cord plug to make sure red and green from the C2J is getting to L1 and L2 in the phone.


And everything 5415551212 suggested above.

How nervous do you think I should be about damaging the 4 prong line cord plug when removing the adapter? It's on attached pretty firmly and I don't want to break anything trying to get it off. Do they tend to be pretty sturdy?

Thank you!
Elise

[TelePlay]

How nervous do you think I should be about damaging the 4 prong line cord plug when removing the adapter? It's on attached pretty firmly and I don't want to break anything trying to get it off. Do they tend to be pretty sturdy?

Take the screw(s) out and put a screw driver in the cord hole to pry the plate with the prongs out of the holder. They do take a bit of effort to get them apart.

2, 3 or 4 wires will be attached to the terminal screws for each prong. What colors of the wires go to which prongs?