WW2 field phones.

[Tim Durrant]

Hi all. I have a few ww2 field phones that I am trying to restore. I have so far managed to get two of them to ring but cannot have a conversation between them. If anyone had any tips that might help this would be great.

[Station X]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

It would help if you could tell us which model of phones you have. I assume you've fitted batteries?

[dagskarlsen]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. We are many with different backrounds and knowledge so we are probably able to guide you through. As Graham says it would help pretty much to know what you have, and maybe if you have a multimeter of some kind. Nice to have but you may even come pretty far with a little bulb from a flashlight and some wires and batteries.

It is much more fun to learn this if we start on your level. (Have to admit that I have scared some by starting on too high a level) and it is boring to hear too much of what you already know.

Best wishes from Norway

[peterbetts]

I have just purchased two WW2 Type F MkII field telephones and after some fiddling I have managed to get

(1) The buzzer to sound (although variations in buzz between the two units)
(2) The magneto ringer to work (in fact it just worked )
(3) the handsets


Now the biggest problem I had was the "Receiver Microphone"

BOTH of mine were caput! Seemed oil or moisture had got to them.
Luckily after weeks of scouring I was able to source one new and one second hand one.


Replacing both microphones, cleaning terminals and fiddling and swapping I got them working last night (Ready for Tanks Trucks and Firepower show this weekend)

So I am no EXPERT but if you need me to measure any voltages or take any pictures then I can help.

[Station X]

A kind offer Peter, but the OP hasn't returned to the forums since he started this thread.

[Tim Durrant]

Hi all. I have a couple of old phones that I would like to use, I have managed to get them to ring but am unable to communicate between them. What checks should I do to enable them to converse between the two.
.

[G6Tanuki]

The Tele-F I remember from my school Cadets used a pair of square brown cardboard and wax cased 1.5V dry cells to provide current for the carbon microphones.

If you don't have good batteries (or any batteries at all) in both ends of the circuit, you won't get speech.

The original square batteries are now long since obsolete, but a pair of D cells series connected in a suitable holder will work OK.

[Station X]

Threads merged.

[Dave757]

Hi,

I seem to remember that if those carbon mics don't work, sometimes a
sharp tap will 'decohere' the carbon granules.

Kind regards
Dave

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by peterbetts

(1) The buzzer to sound (although variations in buzz between the two units)
.

Not all Type 'F's have a buzzer. My first pair just had plain plug-in induction coils without the Bakelite adjusting knobs on top. I was maybe fourteen years old when I bought them from a junk-shop on the Grassmarket in Edinburgh and it took me ages to realise they were buzzer-less!

[dagskarlsen]

Mine does not have a buzzer, my guess is that they skipped that when the war had been making shortage of materials, and the needed the phones made.

[Welsh Anorak]

Like Russell as a teenager I spent a long time wondering why my 'press for buzzer call' didn't work!