Astral candlestick phone
 

Apologies if this has been asked before, but i find it hard navigating around a forum.
I have been left by my late mother an Astral candlestick brass phone which works, but has extremely low volume. You can hear the dial tone and ring out. but you can barely hear the other end.
Has anybody any ideas how to fix
The s Number is S/1214/3/H/500865
Thanks in advance

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

If the receiver is a diaphragm type it have have become stuck.

Can you unscrew the earpiece and post a photo showing what's inside?

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

Here are some photos

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

It's more modern than I thought - press-button not dial. Early Astral phones were dial and I assume closer to 700 series circuitry.

I think the receiver is probably a cheap moving-coil speaker and unlikely to be faulty if it hasn't gone completely open-circuit.

The base unit is probably all "electronics"

Could it be on the circuit board then, as I am at a loss and if so can these be replaced? Any surgestions to fix would be great.

Here is a pic of the base wiring.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

Are you saying that dial tone and ring tone can be heard at an acceptable volume, but once the call is answered the volume drops? Or are DT and RT quiet to?

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

The dial tone is very quiet (it does not ring as it does not have a bell ) if you dial a number it will dial and when the other person answers it is very quite as well and you can barely hear them.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

OK.

There's some confusion here. What people of my age refer to as ring tone is what you hear in your ear when the phone is ringing at the other end.

Younger people understand ring tone to mean the sound a phone makes when someone calls it.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

...Properly called ringback, not to be
confused with Ringback, the BT network
service.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

When I joined Post Office Telephones back in 1967 it was called Ring Tone or Ringing Tone. It was still called that when I retired and as far as I know it still is.

Faultsman's Ring Back or FRB is something quite different.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

"Properly called ringback".

It was always ring tone when I worked for the GPO/BT.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

I'm glad you agree Euros. I don't like to see history being rewritten.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

There are any number of references if you care to follow this link.
https://tinyurl.com/y9zgwsog

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

In post #9 you twice refer to "ringback" and give it two different meanings. Now you've changed your mind and posted a link to "Ringback Tone", something completely different.

In all the years I worked for POT/BT and two other telcomms providers it's not a term I ever heard used in the UK.

This thread is about a vintage telephone so I think that ring tone is most appropriate. We both know what we're refering to though regardless of what we chose to call it.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

Reseat the plugs on the circuit board. Check the reverse side of the board for cracks in the tracks.

Do any of the electrolytic capacitors have bulging ends or show signs of leaking electrolyte? If so they're ripe for changing.

I think I can also see some tantalum capacitors. Have any of them exploded or gone short circuit?

If you google the IC types you may find that one of them is an audio chip which may have failed. In the absence of a circuit it's a case of poke and hope though.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

The 'bell' is a tone ringer generated by a piezo disc under the pcb. The astral ones are rather pleasant.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

I've been connect with telephones since starting with the GPO Telephones in the 1950's and have always heard it referred to a 'ringing tone' or 'ring tone' . GPO circuit diagrams refer to is as 'Ring Tone' - just looked at several.

Even BT still refer to it as 'Ringing Tone' on their documentation - see their latest SIN 350 about PSTN Tones and Information Announcements where they are all defined. "Awaiting Answer Indication (Ringing Tone)"

It is another case of the internet rewriting history - a term that has more than likely come across the Pond with mobile phones. They don't have NU Tone over there either. They have a tone called 'Reorder Tone' Anyone familiar with setting up VoIP telephones or Analogue Terminal Adapters will have come cross the terms there.

We still refer to 'final selectors' but they call them 'connectors' - we have telephone exchanges and they have 'central offices'

If it is still 'Ringing Tone' for BT, it's good enough for me.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

OK gentlemen, I concede it was not in the GPO/BT lexicon!

I first became aware of the term in this context about 25 years ago, but it looks as if it was an American expression (and therefore probably adopted in many other countries).

Here is a US patent document from 1974/75 that mentions ringback tone in the context under discussion 58 times, and at least once without the word "tone".
http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US3920913

It wasn't my intention to subvert anyone's understanding of telecoms terminology, even less to rewrite history, and I apologise if I gave that impression.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

Thanks Station X, I will do what you said and post back tomorrow to let you know how I get on, also thanks for all the advice from the other members.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

Tried what you said but no difference the connections were little white plug-ins

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

These modern phones with electronic voice circuits has lots of different standards, so as you see it is a lot of possible things to try out. Still this phone are made in a relatively modern way, and parts are not always made to last for ever, nor repaired, but still we can if we are good enough. I hope we are. The receiver (loudspeaker) may not be bad, but to sort it out, it would be nice to test it. If it is has a plug on the printed circuit board (PCB) please unplug it and just test if it will have a load and clear dialing tone when connected direct to the line. If yes, the fault may be worse to find, but at least we know the receiver is working. If not, maybe that's all.

Re: Astral candlestick phone
 

There seem to be 3 chips on the PCB in the base. Can you post the numbers on them. Somebody may then be able to make a good guess as to how it works.