Any schematic/info on this one? Rotary AE Styline?

[chconnor]

Hi -- I tried searching the various numbers and haven't found anything yet.

Am I correct that this is an Automatic Electric Styline? (It says GTE Automatic Electric on the base.)

I tried finding schematics and managed to find this and this, but they don't quite make sense to me with what I'm seeing in the phone. I could post more pictures if it would be helpful.

Thanks for any tips!

[chconnor]

It's working fine except for a bad ringer... ringer vibrates a tiny bit but doesn't strike the bell.

The label on the bell says ".15mF" for the cap, but the cap tests at 138nF.

Is this one of those cases where they say mF but mean µF?

The grey wires (grey and grey/red) leading from the transformer are disconnected -- just dangling. If my poking around in the 500 series taught me anything, it's that this feels weird and they should be connected to something. :-)

[TelePlay]

Maybe this diagram?

AE Styline Wiring Diagram

Can you post an image of the bottom of the base?

[chconnor]

Thanks!

And: oops, "this and this" in my original post was supposed to link to the diagrams I found already, and that was one of them. It doesn't seem to line up too well, though. (E.g. the base terminal strip doesn't accord with mine.)

The other I found was this. Also doesn't show much useful info for me (maybe I'm blind) but I did see a note for two wires coming from the transformer showing them not connected and saying "cover and store", so maybe that's a good sign.

Pic of the bottom of the base, bell, as well as better pic of the terminal strip and disconnected grey/grey-red wires:

[poplar1]

Pic of the bottom of the base, bell, as well as better pic of the terminal strip and disconnected grey/grey-red wires:

Those 2 wires are not used. However, it appears to be a 42 HZ ringer, which is not compatible with today's lines. It is designed to respond only to 42 HZ, which was used for "selective ringing" on party lines, so that the other parties on the line would not be disturbed when the call was for another party.

[TelePlay]

However, it appears to be a 42 HZ ringer, which is not compatible with today's lines. It is designed to respond only to 42 HZ, . . .

Good catch. Did you get the 42 Hz from the label number circled in red?

From another image, it does look like a reed clapper, a frequency clapper (blue circle).

If 42 Hz, that is a harmonic of 20 Hz so a slight vibration or movement of the clapper might be the case when receiving 20 Hz ring voltage.

[chconnor]

Shoot, the darn frequency ringer strikes again. Thanks!

So that .15mf meant µF, eh?

[chconnor]

And you said before that it's both the clapper physics and the driver for the clapper that are tuned, so adding weight to the clapper is likely a fool's game, yeah?

I wonder if I can tweak it down to 40Hz and that might pick up enough from the 20 driving it... I already bent the clapper towards the bell to make its job easier. :-)

[chconnor]

Measured the clapper at 50Hz... Indeed the ATA can faintly vibrate it at 25Hz but gives basically nothing at 20Hz. I added some copper to it and only managed to drag it down to like 45Hz, so I'm giving up on that.

[TelePlay]

mF and ųf were used interchangeably years ago.

And you said before that it's both the clapper physics and the driver for the clapper that are tuned, so adding weight to the clapper is likely a fool's game, yeah?

I wonder if I can tweak it down to 40Hz and that might pick up enough from the 20 driving it... I already bent the clapper towards the bell to make its job easier.

Changing the clapper weight, its position on the clapper rod, the capacitor used and the coil are all related in a frequency ringer.

Years ago members posted their attempts to get a greater than 20 Hz frequency ringer to work at 20 Hz. This is one of those that gets into the issue in depth.

https://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13563.msg141875#msg141875

Search the forum for "cut frequency reed" for many posts related to frequency ringers.

The easiest way the get a frequency ringer to work with a 20 Hz ring voltage is to swap it out with a straight line ringer.

Keep in mind that taking any ringer apart for any reason can greatly diminish the ringer's permanent magnetic field quickly.