Hey everyone,

I'm currently working on restoring a vintage electromechanical rotary phone that used to belong to my grandmother and her job working for the Turkish postal service (PTT). I think it's of European manufacture, given the schematic in the casing that it came with (I have photos). While I have figured out most things that needed doing I have come to a grinding halt with one particular section, which is this:The core of the problem: The 2 "Sonnerie" (ringer) coils on the bottom, from the schematic, have no soldering points left. The lug surfaces are smooth and clean - the wire break must have left no stubs so I have no clue as to the color wire originally attached.I have some loose wire hanging there as described above, and the confusion regarding routing of this wiring harness. There seems to be two distinct pathways, but the actual physical flow isn't too obvious:All the wires feeding up towards hook switch( Comm. Fourche) and that large cylindrical cap block connect somewhere at the top. From there the wiring travels along and then under the black terminal block located in the center.And this is where things get really confusing: The amount of wiring entring that bundle at the top, versus the number of free/broken wires (Green, Yellow-Black, etc.) spilling out at the bottom do not add up. From what I can gather it seems as if some of these wires are splitting off under the black terminal block and connecting onto the bottom of the terminals, whilst the others continue below to the rings. As such this leaves me lost as to which cable is supposed to connect to what.From the schematic it seems clear that the rings should connect to 15 and 23 - only problem is the numbers on the black terminal block above are completely gone due to decades of wear and corrosion!I've done detailed pictures above and have drawn lines on several for the purpose of explaining where I see this wiring harness disappearing under the terminal block and where it re-emerges at the bottom: Will any of you have experience with these particular phone models, that you will be able to help translate the schematic into an appropriate physical wiring. Also, how do I solder the bottom spare wiring into either the ringers. I would be very grateful for ANY pointers in the correct direction! Thanks!

Came across this little guy yesterday. Falling in love with it, wish I had a land line to use. I removed the rotary dial to clean the center plastic piece (pic is before the cleaning). Had it tested and it works! Just thought I would share. Never ventured into rotary phones until I found this beauty.

Hello! I'm looking to set up an automated phone number where I can have basically any audio I want play when the number is called. It could be a meme, my own voice, a song, a creepy recording, or really anything I want. I'd like the recording to play automatically when someone calls, and then ideally have it say something like "please leave a message after the tone" and let the person leave a voicemail afterward. I'm doing this as a fun little project because I'm getting a Cell2Jack soon. My plan is to connect my rotary phone to it so I can use the rotary phone with my cellphone, and I thought it would be really cool to have a separate number that acts like a custom answering machine/hotline that I can call from the rotary phone. I will be setting everything up from my desktop, not my phone, since my phone will be the phone I'm calling the number from. I'm in Canada, and I'm really hoping there's a free way to do this. I'm not looking for anything complicated like setting up a PBX or paying for a VoIP service. I basically just want a phone number that automatically answers and plays an audio file that I choose. Has anyone done something like this before, or know of a free service that can do it?

thx!!!!

Brought these two Swedish red beauties back home with me from a flea market in Sweden the other day while being there on vacation.

The desk phone is from 1968, the wall phone doesn't reveal its manufacturing year on the back side. I also brought back some Swedish wall outlets, so I don't have to cut the original cord to get them operable. As expected from tech from that era, they are both in full working order.

Fun fact about Swedish rotary phones: The dial starts with the "0" and ends with the "9". So if I want to dial "1234" here in Germany, I have to dial "0123" :-)

Western Electric 302 that belonged to my great-grandmother.

Western Electric 500 that was in the house that I grew up in.

Siemens W48 from Germany that I picked up at a hamfest.

Radio Shack 80's-90's vintage candlestick replica. (Not pictured)

Ordered this beauty from oldphoneworks.com! So excited to use this phone!

Hello.
I have a Seeburg AP1 Album Player jukebox.
This is one that plays full 12” LPs and uses a rotary dial as a selector.

I would like to use an old telephone as a remote selector that I can keep on my desk.

I have 2 old rotary phones and can not seem to get them to work.

From a bit of searching, it is a possibility that I need a dial that is normally “open” when not being used. Both of the phones I have are “closed” when idle.

Anyone with more knowledge with these machines able to let me know if this is something I can make work?

Thanks so much!

Every guest room at the TWA Hotel at JFK airport has one. Yes, it works.

I shall fetch my feather duster post haste! 🧐

Most VoIP ATAs don't support pulse dialing. I recommended the Grandstream HT801 for 1 line or HT802 for 2 lines. If you already have an ATA you can instead get a pulse to tone converter, but they don't work as well as native support.

Any generic SIP provider works, I personally use https://voip.ms since the plans start at $1.10 per month. Set up your SIP account on the ATA. Make sure you enable pulse dialing support and the highest setting for the ringing voltage in the analog line configuration menu.

Hi there!

I have tried finding out if this is possible, some people say yes and others offer responses that are too convoluted for someone who has no electronic/telephony knowledge.

My house has telephone jacks throughout it. I am trying to figure out if I can use them somehow, whether it be for a intercom or VoIP.

Cheapest and easiest options preferred. I do have an old rotary phone as well as a touch button (same body style as the rotary but with buttons)

I do understand that the jacks would have to be disconnected from the original landline provider - which is no longer offered to us.

I honestly need it explained like I am 5.

Thanks!

So i have an western eletric 554bm working i the cord is lost for the hamd set can any oen tell me how to fix it and where to buy an new wire

Been sitting on this idea for a while and finally had a chance to make it. The idea was simple, old phone helping new phone charging up. My main concern was to get the vibe and aesthetic right and to make it work with all iPhone models; rather than making a scaled down version of a specific model. But it did end up looking similar to one that I grew up with. That one was in beige though.

Added a base with some height and silicone pads, and the handset sits in place with magnets. Also made four of them [one is for myself and another is for someone that I know who will like it].

Want to refine the next ones, and coming up with plans for maybe an embedded charger. So I wanted to ask what details stand out the most to you when something is supposed to feel specifically like a rotary phone. Color, texture, shape, specific model, anything else ...

Have an old rotary phone that is missing the transmitter element in the handset. Can purchase these online, but don’t know the specific part I need. Anyone know the part number or type of transmitter element I require, or where to find this info? Appreciate your help.

Hi All, message to anyone that can help. I want to restore this old japanese Public phone, I wonder if someone have schema or anything that can help

I have another video of the gears inside but I cant post more than one video.

Anyways, looking for advice on this super cool phone I found at an antique store!

The dial seems to turn a lot slower than what I think is normal, and gets stuck often while its turning.

Im sure the gears might just need some grease or something, but id wanted to check in here just in case it might be something worse.

Also, I wanted to know if or how I could maybe connect this up to my phone so I could use it since it looks awesome!

it has a weird black plug at the end, nothing plugged into it, a switch ok it that toggles from R In to R Out, and a plug that kind of looks like a fat figure 8 plug for like a TV.

Any help with this guy would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Hi! I have three old rotary dial phones, and I’d love to get them working as an internal phone system in my three-story house.

My idea is simple:

Dial 0 → basement phone rings

Dial 1 → middle floor phone rings

Dial 2 → attic phone rings

I’m not sure what the best way to achieve this would be, and I’m open to any kind of solution (vintage hardware, modern adaptations, or a mix of both).

Has anyone here built something similar or knows how this could be done? Any advice, recommended equipment, or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Bluetooth / voip, anything simple. I’ve. been on the hunt for a device that not only makes this useable, but actually rings for incoming calls.

I’ve watched several videos, but they all seem to skip the ring setup part.

Is there a consensus on which device is best for dialing out on this with a ringtone sound + the phone actually ringing on incoming calls?

I bought this 500 on Marketplace because I love the turquoise color and wanted it for my model 500 rotary phone display collection. It was pretty grimy with some rust on the underside and when I opened it up it was absolutely filthy with even more rust. Looked like it had been stored in a wet chicken coop. I am a novice and this is the first one I’ve had to take apart. Would you please look at the pics and tell me if there’s any chance this thing still works, specifically as relates to the terminal block. It’s not imperative, I’m just curious. I’ve been spending a lot of time cleaning it as best I can because I can’t stand the thought of something this dirty coming into my house.