Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

I have a pair of Set F Mk II, one TMC, one GEC which I'm trying to get operational. They both ring from one to the other - except one has lost its clanger. Both ear pieces seem to work, but I can only speak from one to the other. So I want to check out one of the handset microphones.

Q.1. I've wired Earth to Earth, and L1 to L1, is this right?
Q2. How do you get the microphone out of the handset? I can't seem to unscrew it. There is a little play then it stops. I can't pull it. Don't want to break it after 75 years.

Thanks,
Ben

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

I don't know if this applies to your telephone, but on a lot of them the mouthpiece is fitted with a locking bayonet fixing.

Look for a small hole in the side of the mouthpiece, on the side pointing towards the earpiece. Put a small tool in there and press to release the catch, hold the tool in, then turn the mouthpiece anticlockwise and it will come off.

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

Have you tried swapping the handsets over to see if the fault carries with the handset? They just unplug on the four-pin jack.

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

Thank you Tony. That works a treat. I had tried that but didn't push hard enough. I'll do some test now. Should have said its a YA2636 handset.

Russel, yes, tried that and it does go with the handset. More tests now!

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

It is also worth checking the health of the battery in the one whose transmitter (microphone) isn't working - though first try Russell's suggestion of swapping handsets first to confirm whether the problem lies with the handset or the main unit.

Do your units have buzzer units? This can be established by checking whether the plug-in unit in the right-hand lobe of the body is an enclosed unit with two knobs on top (buzzer) or an open unit containing just an induction coil (no buzzer).

If one or both have buzzers, try pressing the button on the front right-hand side to the left of the handset plug and checking whether the buzz is audible in the other handset. This will have the dual effect of checking the battery health of the initiating set and that the receiver in the other set is operational. If only one has a buzzer, then try swapping the handsets and repeating to check the second receiver.

edit: (presumably owing to need for moderator approval on initial posts) Ben's second post hadn't appeared when I made my post, so forget battery checks. It is still worth checking whether the problem lies with the transmitter or receiver.

In the absence of a buzzer, the receiver can be checked by connecting a low-voltage battery across the inner two prongs of the handset plug - with the handset unplugged from the main unit.

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

Hi, I had one of those with a defect transmitter capsule. when you think about the age, that is not strange. I took a carbon transmitter from a newer phone, and soldered 2 wires on it and used that. I have now sold that one since I could get a better one, and did not have any need for 2.

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

Thank you Dave and Dags

It's all working! I cleaned up the connections and tightened screws, checked the capsules, and now it works just fine. Using 2 x AA on each phone.
It's a non-buzzer type.
Just need to find a couple of spares now. I'll post in the wanted section.

As to restoring some more:
Would you polish the bells? Or would that destroy the aged look? Do people care?

Thanks for all your help on this, my first visit to this forum.

Regards,
Ben

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

The bells would not have been polished in field service, not very tactical! But in the days of National Service, if it moves salute it, if it doesn't paint or polish it.

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

The type 'F' was not a 'battlefield' telephone as such but would've been used in field-offices and not normally used beyond Divisional-HQ, so perhaps the shininess that may catch the enemy's eye would be masked by keeping the telephone part-withdrawn from the wooden box as far as the handset-cradle. The Type 'D's with their PTT switches and 'work-in-any-position' capability would be on the front line.

Any 'F's I have are chrome-gonged, with rather a rough matte finish on them. I tried polishing one as a kid, when I had a couple (£1.50 each I paid with new-fangled Decimal Currency!) but it didn't make much difference. I didn't have a buffing wheel, though.

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

Thanks for the input, I'll give them a tidy and post some pics.
Regards to all,
Ben

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

Also we used Tele L and later Tele J with the 'Switchboard Magneto 10 Line' introduced during WW2 - the Tele D Mk V being buzzer calling was used with the earlier 'Switchboard, Universal Call 10 Line'.

The Tele F was used to below Divisional Level. There was a metal plate with curled up 'sides' and a webbing strap used to clamp the Tele F on a flat surface in vehicles - it was used without the wooden box in that case.

Ian J
one-time Lt. R.Signals, serving with none other than the Earl Kitchener of Khartoum it was that long ago !

Re: Telephone Set "F" MK II questions
 

I seem to remember my old mentor showing me the "easy " way to release the lock- use one side of a pair of long nosed pliers ( AKA in PO terms 81's).