johnp@hpgrla.hp.com (John Parsons) (03/14/90)
I bought two re-conditioned Western Electric Trimline (r) rotary
phones a while back from an AT&T Phone Store -- love that old
technology :) . They both have a distortion problem when speaking in
a normal voice or louder. My guess is overmodulation. Is there a way
to cure this, perhaps by reducing the gain somehow?
Thanks, John Parsonsrees@dabo.ifs.umich.edu (Jim Rees) (03/18/90)
In article <5170@accuvax.nwu.edu>, johnp@hpgrla.hp.com (John Parsons) writes: > I bought two re-conditioned Western Electric Trimline (r) rotary > phones a while back from an AT&T Phone Store -- love that old > technology :) . They both have a distortion problem when speaking in > a normal voice or louder. My guess is overmodulation. Is there a way > to cure this, perhaps by reducing the gain somehow? I love that old technology too. If it were a modern phone you'd have to take it apart, unsolder wires, buy an expensive replacement part, etc. But if it really is an old WE unit, the problem most likely is that the carbon granules have started to stick together, which they do when they get old. The cure is simple and requires no dissassembly or fancy test equipment. Grasp the handset firmly by the earpiece end and bang the mouthpiece end hard against a hard surface, like a desktop (no, not your electronic desktop! The old wooden kind). This will unstick (decohere for all you old radio technology fans) the grains and improve the sound quality.