convert hardwired phone to modular

[Manueljung]

I have an old rotary hardwired phone that I want to convert to modular RJ11. I stripped a base cord out and have the red and green wires to carry voice - that works ok. I cannot get the ringer to work. I get dial tone, can call out, and can even receive calls, as long as I "know" someone is calling. I just cant get the bells to ring. Is this a grounding issue? I've tried the yellow wire, black wire and both, but still can't get it right. Anybody have any ideas?

I'm posting this in the telephony forum as well, jsut to cover the bases.

 

[daronwilson]

Have you followed the wires from the bell coil to the network (the box with the components inside that the wires attach to in the base of the phone)? Many times the bell was disconnected. Also, it could have been set up for party line use which would use some extra components to make it work, those wouldn't be needed for your single line use.

I'll dig around, I used to have a schematic of the different networks showing what needed to be hooked up where. What brand of phone is it?


It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[ANFPS26]

Usually connect the yellow wire to the green wire to get the ringer to work.

Jim

 

[Manueljung]

I'll check that out. I'm not sure of the model. The only markings are on the handset - Bell Systems Western Electric F1. Don't know if that helps, but that seems to be all there is.

 

[ANFPS26]

Connect red to L2, green to L1 and the black ringer wire to L1 also and forget the yellow wire.

Jim

 

[ANFPS26]

The black ringer wire may be connected to the back "G" terminal. If it is move it to the L1 with the green wire.

Jim

 

[ANFPS26]

Here is a schematic:

http://www.montagar.com/~patj/wep425_3.gif

Jim

 

[PeaveyPhones]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just replace it. 2500 set are a dime a dozen.

Richard

 

[ANFPS26]

He never asked for that kind of advice. He is trying to get an antique phone to work. I'd much rather have a Western Electric 500 set than the crappy throw away junk they sell today.

Jim

 

[PeaveyPhones]

ANFPS26, Jim, May I call you Jim?
I did not gather from the original post that the phone was particularly valuable and worth keeping. Combine that with a third part of levity and a final third of me being a bit of a smart ass (well intentioned) ... you get my post to chunk it. I remember when I started in telecom, only 16 or so years ago, taking the time to repair SL1's and 2500 sets. Now a days I just throw em away. It's not worth the time to mess with em.

Richard

 

[skip555]

daron is partialy right about party line ringers the thing is party line phones used bells with diffrent ring cycles 20cycle or straight ring is what is used now so if you have a phone with say a 33 cycle bell it wont ring

pre-deregulation the phone company used to charge a monthly fee per phone and one way they checked up on you was to call your number and see how many ringers were on the line so as Daron also pointed out the bells were often disconnected so the telco wouldnt know about illeagal extensions

post here if you get it to ring otherwise I'll dig one out of the wharehouse and see how its wired next week

 

[ANFPS26]

I worked for Western Electric for 32 years, so I'm very biased.

Jim

 

[TouchToneTommy]

If it has an F1 handset, it is probably a Western Electric 302, produced from the 40's and up. They used a 3 conductor mounting cord, and at the 42A block at the wall, for straight line ringing, the Yellow wire was put on the same terminal as the Green wire. For 2-party split ringing, it would go to Ground, and the other side to either L1 or L2. For frequency ringing, which was unusual for Western Electric but not unheard of, a ringer that would only respond to a certain frequency was installed in place of the straight line ringer.

Bottom line, open up the phone, find the ringer lead that is connected to the Yellow line cord lead, and move it to the same terminal as the Green line cord lead.

 

[ANFPS26]

I agree. Most of the multi-frequency ringing party lines were with independant companies. I never ran across a Bell company that used it. Automatic Electric used it some.
I actually installed a 5ESS Switch with multi-frquency party lines for an independant company one time. The only time I ever came across it. They had Automatic Electric phones in the field.
However his phone is wired, the schematic I provided should show him how to wire it for a private line. TouchToneTommy, your advice is correct.

Jim

 

[TouchToneTommy]

302 schematics found here:

http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/pdf/c38.551.pdf

This one shows a dial type with a 2-conductor mounting cord:

http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/images/302bw_cw_dw_schematic_640width.gif

This one is for a non-dial with a three conductor line cord. You can see the difference in the ringer hookup between them:

http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/images/302ew_schematic_640width.gif

And one more:

http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/images/302fw_gw_hw_schematic_640width.gif

And just spend some time looking over the entire site, starting here:

http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/

 

[Manueljung]

Moved the Red ringer lead to the lead with the Green line wire and it worked! Thanks for all the help - thanks TTT!