Discussion:
WE 2500 buttons do not make tones
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f***@gmail.com
2013-12-08 01:15:27 UTC
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I have a WE 2500 phone that has quit working. I thought it was becuase the last phone tech from UVerse messed up my polarity, and the only old phone that is polarity sensitive is this phone. So I reverse the red and green again in the phone jack. Still will not break dial tone. I repeatedly pushed the hook to break dialtone and get a silence, then pushed the buttons, and there were no tones. Does this mean that the mechanism is broken, or that there is a polarity problem? I did plug another modern phone, not polarity sensitive, into the jack, and it works fine.
Fred Goldstein
2013-12-08 04:52:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by f***@gmail.com
I have a WE 2500 phone that has quit working. I thought it was
becuase the last phone tech from UVerse messed up my polarity, and
the only old phone that is polarity sensitive is this phone. So I
reverse the red and green again in the phone jack. Still will not
break dial tone. I repeatedly pushed the hook to break dialtone and
get a silence, then pushed the buttons, and there were no tones. Does
this mean that the mechanism is broken, or that there is a polarity
problem? I did plug another modern phone, not polarity sensitive,
into the jack, and it works fine.
What kind of voltage is the UVerse line putting out, and what's across
the line when it's off hook and you push a button? Since it's not
coming from the CO, the POTS line might be spec'd low, able to support
modern phones but not old ones that draw more current.
Eric Tappert
2013-12-08 19:20:04 UTC
Permalink
On Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:52:18 -0500, Fred Goldstein
Post by Fred Goldstein
Post by f***@gmail.com
I have a WE 2500 phone that has quit working. I thought it was
becuase the last phone tech from UVerse messed up my polarity, and
the only old phone that is polarity sensitive is this phone. So I
reverse the red and green again in the phone jack. Still will not
break dial tone. I repeatedly pushed the hook to break dialtone and
get a silence, then pushed the buttons, and there were no tones. Does
this mean that the mechanism is broken, or that there is a polarity
problem? I did plug another modern phone, not polarity sensitive,
into the jack, and it works fine.
What kind of voltage is the UVerse line putting out, and what's across
the line when it's off hook and you push a button? Since it's not
coming from the CO, the POTS line might be spec'd low, able to support
modern phones but not old ones that draw more current.
Reverse tip and ring, many earlier 2500 sets didn't have a polarity
guard...

ET
John Levine
2013-12-08 20:05:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by Eric Tappert
Post by f***@gmail.com
I have a WE 2500 phone that has quit working. I thought it was
becuase the last phone tech from UVerse messed up my polarity, and
the only old phone that is polarity sensitive is this phone. So I
reverse the red and green again in the phone jack. Still will not
break dial tone. ...
Reverse tip and ring, many earlier 2500 sets didn't have a polarity
guard...
Got any other helpful suggestions?
--
Regards,
John Levine, ***@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. http://jl.ly
Eric Tappert
2013-12-09 00:30:39 UTC
Permalink
Post by John Levine
Post by Eric Tappert
Post by f***@gmail.com
I have a WE 2500 phone that has quit working. I thought it was
becuase the last phone tech from UVerse messed up my polarity, and
the only old phone that is polarity sensitive is this phone. So I
reverse the red and green again in the phone jack. Still will not
break dial tone. ...
Reverse tip and ring, many earlier 2500 sets didn't have a polarity
guard...
Got any other helpful suggestions?
Sure (sorry I missed the T/R swap...). Since he can break dial tone
with pulse dialing (switchhook action), the tone pad failure is
probably the single transistor in the circuit (I forget the part #),
particularly if all the switches fail to operate... If only a single
switch, or a single row, or a single column doesn't work, check the
switch contacts.

Less common failures are broken wires connecting to the tapped
inductor or a cap failure.

Of course getting an old dial pad and swapping it will confirm the
problem is with the pad.

ET
Fred Goldstein
2013-12-09 04:34:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by John Levine
Post by Eric Tappert
Post by f***@gmail.com
I have a WE 2500 phone that has quit working. I thought it was
becuase the last phone tech from UVerse messed up my polarity, and
the only old phone that is polarity sensitive is this phone. So I
reverse the red and green again in the phone jack. Still will not
break dial tone. ...
Reverse tip and ring, many earlier 2500 sets didn't have a polarity
guard...
Got any other helpful suggestions?
Take the telephone to a neighbor's house who has a CO-powered line and
see how it works. If there still are such lines in the neighborhood...

I suppose the the single transistor could have blown, though, given its age.
Carl Zwanzig
2013-12-12 20:01:11 UTC
Permalink
What kind of voltage is the UVerse line putting out, and what's across the
line when it's off hook and you push a button?
Try the set with a 9v battery, that should be plenty to make the tonepad
work (or try the friend's house as already mentioned).

z!

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