How To Repair An Old Rotary Phone

I heard on the radio this morning virtually an 82-year-erstwhile who up until two months ago was nevertheless paying AT&T $29.10 a month to charter an quondam Western Electric rotary telephone.

Those old Western Electric rotary phones are good. But they aren't worth $29.10 a month in rental fees.

western electric rotary phone model 500

The Western Electrical model 500 rotary phone is as indestructible and reliable every bit information technology is iconic. If you lot grew up in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or early 1980s, yous remember these.

I'yard merely barely erstwhile plenty to call up those arrangements–when the government broke upwardly the AT&T monopoly (the first time, before it rebuilt itself) consumers were given the option to opt-out. They could even buy the phones they had been leasing, if they desired–or they could return them. I actually own two of those old rotary phones. I like their looks, and they're built similar tanks because they were designed to operate trouble-free for decades. At a budget of $29+ a calendar month, Western Electric could afford to build them like that. Under that business model, it was cheaper to build them to last than information technology was to repair or supersede them.

Dialing on a rotary is a bit of a pain, so I ordinarily call out using a modern bear upon-tone phone. Just if the phone rings, and the phone in the room I'm in happens to exist one of those Western Electrics, I'm just as happy talking on that as on any modern telephone. You tin can wire a keypad up to one if you lot need to. More on that in a bit.

Where to get your ain Western Electric rotary phone

I have some advice for her: If she wants her rotary telephone back, she can get one. They're considered collector's items these days, only the phones nosotros used from the 1960s onward aren't expensive. Expect for a Western Electric 500. Await to pay around $15 for the phone and nearly that much to send it. They besides turn upwards in antique malls rather regularly. If you desire a more nostalgic looking phone similar you see in quondam detective movies, wait for a Western Electric 302.

The Western Electric 500s frequently turn up in antique malls as well. Prices vary. Don't pay more $30 for one. Even the less common colors commonly aren't expensive.

Going to estate sales in the old part of boondocks is another good manner to observe them. The key is finding the manor of someone who's lived in the same house since the early on 1980s. Look in your local estate auction listings, especially in pictures of the basement. Often they'll be in the background of a motion-picture show of something else.

What to exercise if a Western Electric rotary phone won't ring

Western Electric rotary phone won't ring

If your Western Electrical rotary phone won't ring, move the red wire from the position circled in black to the position circled in blood-red. This will enable the ringer.

There is one drawback to those old Western Electrics though: both of the phones I have came with the ringer disabled. The story I've heard is that it cost extra to have ringers on more i telephone, and then when people wanted multiple phones, they would disable the ringers to relieve money.

But it just takes a few minutes and a standard slotted screwdriver to re-enable the ringer if your rotary phone won't ring.

Open the phone upwards by loosening the two screws on the underside. In one case y'all remove the cover, inside you'll find a mess of wires. Locate the red wire nearly the bell, circled in black in the photo on the right. Movement information technology to the position marked L1, circled in red in the photo on the right. Then supercede the cover and tighten the screws.

That's all there is to it. It really is that easy.

Plugging your Western Electric rotary phone into the wall

Older models of phones often have a 4-prong connector rather than the modern RJ11 modular connector. If the telephone you get has the old connector and your house has the newer ones, there'south an piece of cake fix. Choice up a iv-prong to modular adapter to change the connector. The adapter should toll $x-$15, shipped.

If you're OK with opening the phone, get a spade to modular line string. Rewiring it is pretty easy. Open the phone, trace the existing green and scarlet wires, and remove them. Connect the blood-red and green wires from the new cord where the original red and green wires were.

What if you lot need a keypad?

Some phone services require a affect-tone keypad in order to dial out. And often when you make calls these days, yous have to select options on a touch tone keypad.

Fortunately, you can wire upwards a keypad to whatever phone without making permanent modifications to information technology. I wouldn't say these types of retrofits were common in the 1980s, simply they weren't unheard of. My dad put one on one of our phones.

If you don't mind building something, here's how to wire a keypad to any rotary phone.

Admittedly, that solution isn't for everyone. Another option is to buy an AT&T 4-number dialer, The keypad on the dialer is intended for programming numbers, simply it also works for dialing out. Use an RJ11 coupler to connect the pigtail from the dialer to your phone.