atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Payphone ringer?

I probably wouldn't go any farther than to say what would you expect from a piece of crap modem that provides a poor excuse for a POTS line? The geniuses who designed the thing probably never even saw a phone with a dial so do you really think they would design it to meet Bell standards in terms of ring voltage and current from before they were born? All it has to do is activate a couple of electronic ringers so why bother with anything else?

-Hal

Hal -

Point taken. However the router is far from a piece of crap, given that it has to supply voice, video and data all from one twisted pair. I'm currently getting 18Mbps, can record 4 channels at once, and made the switch to it's VoIP capabilities for price reasons. I too prefer POTS, but I like money more. It's also nice getting everything on one bill. I'm frankly amazed that any one device can do all that, and also maintain a footprint about the size of a hardbound novel.

The way I look at it is it's a merge of old and new technologies, letting me keep one foot in the past and one in the future, or present, if you prefer.

OK, so it doesn't meet Bell standards; I'm sure there are cost reasons for that. After all, landline subscribers have been declining for years, and of those that do have landline service, I'd bet the majority have $5 chinese phones connected.

AT&T came up with a solution that blows other providers out of the water (IMO), they rolled it out as fast as possible, but ramped up services slowly so as not to affect the quality of the existing base, and they provide it all at an extremely reasonable price with outstanding technical support.

Just because it doesn't support an old fuddy duddy like me who prefers WE SLT's and a 1A2 system, does not make it a piece of crap.

Sandman sells a ring voltage booster, problem solved. Or I can go with Silversams option. There's probably other things I can do to work around the issue as well; one of which is do nothing - because believe me, with all the 1A2 keysets I have installed throughout my house, there is not a doubt in the world when a call is incoming.

In closing, AT&T is keeping pace with current technologies, has managed to more or else reassamble itself, and provides a wide array of reasonably priced products and services to choose from.

The end result? Besides satisfied (in my case, ecstatic) customers, they also managed to provide some good 'ol American jobs in the process.

If a 'piece of crap router' can help to do all that, then I'll take it over POTS any day.

Respectfully,
Matt

The problem is that the younger generation is dazzled by technology and techi things and has no idea what quality or standards are- that's not only the point I get from your post but what I see every day. An old fuddy-duddy like me couldn't give much of a RA how something is packaged or what some engineering team succeeded in stuffing into a box with a budget of around $.02 so their company can make millions. We have something to compare it to- our past. If it doesn't perform as well and equal the quality of what we are accustomed to then it's a piece of crap.

-Hal

Agreed. I'm in the tech business and I hate new technology. Well, maybe hate is too strong a word, but I'll never have an iPhone, send text messages, twitter, tweet, facebook, or any of the other stuff the kids do these days. I do still like to program though; which is good since it's my job.

I'm also amazed at the low level of quality people have just come to expect as part of living in "modern times".

I dunno man. Hard as it is, ya have to keep thinking young (IMO), cause that's just the way things work. I'm sure when electric light came along, there were people who said gas was safer (people/horses were actually being electrocuted walking down the street when it rained).

And when the telephone came about, I'm some people probably said the telegraph was better.

Uverse is a big exception for me. The only 2 areas where it falls short are REN and local loop supervision, neither of which are critical to probably 99% of the Uverse target user base.

The overall quality otherwise is near perfect. Voice quality is outstanding. Video is sharp, channel surfing has no delay. Internet QoS remains at 99%.

I guess my point is this service does perform as well as what I had before (with the previously mentioned small exceptions). It's also less expensive, and has more functionality.

All this makes it not a piece of crap, in my book anyway.

Hard as it sometimes is, I try to remember "Adapt or become obsolete" every day when I wake up (Even if I don't like what I'm adapting to). But in the software business, that's just the way it is. The technology I deal with changes every month.

- Matt

A standard ringer coil will respond to the nominal 48 volts DC of a standard voice line. For this reason, the capacitor is installed in series in order to prevent it from doing so. If the capacitor were not in place to block DC from flowing through the ringer's coil, it would place a short on the line.

That being said, even 48 volts AC at 25-30 Hz will operate many ringers. The fact that the 50 volts being presented causes some of your ringers to respond probably covers 75% of the electronic and even cheap mechanical ringers out there. The problem is that more voltage (typically 77 volts or more) is what is and was expected by ringers that involve a significant amount of clapper throw during operation. I'd be willing to bet that you are actually receiving more than 50 volts, but since most AC test equipment is designed for 50-60 Hz, your reading may be a bit off.

You might want to try adjusting the bias spring between the gongs to the low position. This may help the clapper to travel more under the low voltage condition.

With the exception of a ring booster, it is sad to say that traditional C4 type ringers are going to become more and more difficult to accommodate. Viking Electronics makes a ring booster as well, but it isn't cheap. The model number for it is RG-10A and it can be viewed at their web site www.vikingelectronics.com .

Thanks Ed!!!!!

I'll try adjusting the bias spring.... first I have to remember how to get the darn thing apart. I lost the instruction sheet for it; all I remember is there is an upper and a lower half and taking it apart seemed like a chinese puzzle.

I think in the end I'll end up buying the ring booster.... there are still a couple rooms that need an SLT.

Thanks again,
Matt

Just insert the key and give it a quarter-turn. Then insert the T-handle and give it a quarter-turn. This will pop the upper housing loose.

Matt if a ring booster is going to cost big $$$ then seriously think about a diode matrix. With just two lines it's no big deal, cost is practically nothing and it shouldn't take very long at all.

Your 1A2 system IS a ring booster.

Sam

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Matt1964:
[QB] I also plugged another SLT into the payphone jack, no ring from it either (with the other SLTs connected).

Can you connect three S/L phone 'in front of the KSU' without using the payphone jack!? Your comment "could" indicate a jack problem, altho probably not. John C.

Sam -

I think maybe I would only need to run 1. Out of 3 SLT's (payphone included) - the payphone is the only one that won't ring. So ... I'm willing to give it a shot if ya feel like helping me out...

Lightning - good point, I'll try the SLT in the payphone jack tonight, with the others disconnected.

Thanks all -

Matt