rotary dial phone

[barrett]

Today I finally hooked up the 30 year old rotary dial phone. It is property of New England Telephone System and I cannot sell it, according to the sticker on the bottom. I actually found it on a shelf above the oil tank in the garage when we bought the house 8 years ago.

Looks just like this one, except mine is moss green-
http://www.nopointsforstyle.com/wp-cont ... -phone.jpg

It rings loud enough to wake the dead, and somehow rotary dialed calls still go through in the 21st century. So it's AWESOME!

The only problem is that nobody on the other end of the call can hear me talking. Any help on fixing this?

I HATE the new cordless/cell phones with one speaker hole that you have to align perfectly with your human earhole, and the microphone hole then is about 2 inches from your talking hole. Those old phone handsets have many big holes that align perfectly with your body, and they sound so much better on both ends of the call. There really is a special feeling about making a phone call on an old fashioned handset held close to your head that can't be matched by using a cell phone the size of a matchbook.

[Texas_Ranger]

You know, they now sell cell phone handsets that look just like this

On the talk issue I'd first make sure that all connections are still solid. If there are any plug connections inside the phone unplug them a few times and look for corrosion. If they're black with oxide get some DeOxit and clean them up. Also look for broken wires and other obvious issues.

If you can't find any of that you'd have to dive deeper I guess... but it isn't like those phones have any sophisticated electronics inside.

[rodpaine]

Snip... The only problem is that nobody on the other end of the call can hear me talking. Any help on fixing this?

Take out the mouth piece cartridge and after cleaning its contacts, rap it lightly on its edges while rotating it, to loosen its internal carbon particles. Not sure if its old enough to be of this type without seeing the cartridge, but give it a try. This was a typical fix for this type of mouth piece cartridge, when the called party complained about distorted or low volume voice from such phones calling them.
FWIW,
-Rod

[Texas_Ranger]

Snip... The only problem is that nobody on the other end of the call can hear me talking. Any help on fixing this?

Take out the mouth piece cartridge and after cleaning its contacts, rap it lightly on its edges while rotating it, to loosen its internal carbon particles. Not sure if its old enough to be of this type without seeing the cartridge, but give it a try. This was a typical fix for this type of mouth piece cartridge, when the called party complained about distorted or low volume voice from such phones calling them.

I wanted to suggest that too, but if the other party doesn't hear anything at all, a loose or corroded connection seems much more likely.

[barrett]

It does have the mouthpiece cartridge. I cleaned the contacts, I will try lightly banging it all around, mostly to vent my frustration.
Thanks for the help, I googled the crap out of this problem and never came across that.

[KathyJB]

Did you have to have anything special to hook your phone up? Is there an adapter? I like the idea of having a phone that doesn't need electricity.

[cs]

I know what you mean about those old phones - a satisfying heft, a great ring, a clicking dial - awesome! I have a 1948 Stromberg Carlson:



I love it!

I can recommend PhoneCo: http://www.phonecoinc.com for parts, should you find that you need to replace the cartridge. They can also repair it for you, if needs be. They also have an online catalog of antique phones for sale, though you have to monkey around with the search function to find it on their web site. You know... Just in case you decide you want one in every room!

Chris
http://www.saracenihouse.com

[James]

I have an old black rotary phone that was in my folks house growing up, I remember when it was put in, back in the 60's. One of my sisters was over sometime or other, last year, year before, and had no cell reception here(common problem), needed to make a call and asked where the phone was(as you can tell, NOT a frequent visitor) and I pointed at the the phone on the desk and she looked at me like I was crazy and said you mean that thing still WORKS?
I have an older one, I am guessing from the 40's but need to get it rewired so it will plug into a modern wall recepticle.
I have never had a phone that had to use electricity, don't do cordless phones at all. We had a governors race here years ago that ended in a lawsuit when it was found out that a candidates sons cordless phone was being listened in on by the opposition. Ever since I found out that was possible I have refused to have one in my house. Either use the cell phone(and no reliable reception here at the house) or stand in one place and talk. The kitchen phone is push button tho, because some things you just can't do with a rotary phone. But neither one is cordless.
Mine looks exactly like that Barrett except it is black. I know it dates to sometime in the late 60's, no later than 70.

[catgb56]

I have a early 1950's I Love Lucy black rotary phone (an e-bay purchase) and absolutely love it! Was so surprised to find that I can still use it. Nothing beats the loud ring of those old phones. I have that phone on a gossip bench in the foyer and in the summer time, with the front door open, you can hear that phone ring down the block. Neighbors love it! When I finished re-decorating the kitchen I found (another e-bay find) a red wall dial phone that also has that great loud ring and do love the sound of the dialing.

[downtowndahlgren]

I had the same kind of rotary phone - bought it at a yard sale in a nearby town and it still had the owner's phone number on it! Plugged it in and it worked fine. Only thing I didn't like was lack of caller ID to screen out the telemarketers.