# Rotary Phone



## 8V71

I can't imagine them still supporting rotary. Someone would have to make a box that would convert the rotary pulses to tones.

On an unrelated note...I got a notice from AT&T telling me that I need to turn my cell phone in and get another one because they are doing something to their cell network next month which will cause my phone not to work any more. :blink:


----------



## Big John

Up until a few years ago I know pulse dialing was still supported, because I have an old Bell rotary butt-set that I could still use in a pinch.

Does the "special jack" convert it from pulses to DTMF or is it something else altogether?


----------



## crazyboy

There is a few places around here that still have rotary phones service


----------



## wildleg

you can easily check your service to see if it still supports rotary dialing by tapping out the number (doesn't take much practice, we use to do it to bypass "phone locks" back in the day)


----------



## 8V71

Their modem would have to make the conversion from pulse to tone. There is no other way to make pulse work with this system unless someone made a conversion box like I mentioned. Definitely no special wiring like they told you.

ETA: Their "special cord" may have a tiny pulse/tone converter built into it.


----------



## jeffmoss26

We have Time Warner Cable for internet, TV, and phone, no issues using my old rotary phones.


----------



## cdnelectrician

my dad has telephony over cable, I gave him a 1940's western electric phone that I removed (was still wired to the wall) out of a customers house years ago. It works fine, you can dial out and everything. The ring is a bit quiet though...


----------



## farlsincharge

If memory serves me there are three conductors in the rotary and if you jump yellow to green or red it may work.
Some services no longer support it though and you have to buy a pulse to tone converter.


----------



## 8V71

When dialing with a rotary you are basically picking up and hanging up on the line at a certain timing rate. That is why the rotary dial has a spinning governor inside to keep the timing constant and if you try to force it faster or slower it won't dial properly. If your timing is really really good you could dial a complete number with the on/off hook button.

Going through a digital cable which has different RF frequencies and many subscribers presents a problem for rotary dialing because you have lost the direct wire and voltage connection to a standard phone line.

On the other end of the cable, which could be many miles away, there has to be equipment that emulates a phone hooked up to a phone line. The phone company exchange could very well be able support rotary dialing, but the equipment hooked to the line must also support it.

The modem in your house has to either convert the rotary pulses to touch tones with a digital code for each different number. Or staying with rotary, digital codes for each rotary number, depending on the modem and what the equipment on the other end can support including the telephone company exchange itself. So basically the equipment on the other end has to send either touch tones or rotary pulses into the phone line.

This is small portion of my trade except it's over fiber optics instead of cable but the equipment and theory is similar.


----------



## Ty Wrapp

farlsincharge said:


> If memory serves me there are three conductors in the rotary and if you jump yellow to green or red it may work.
> Some services no longer support it though and you have to buy a pulse to tone converter.


Jumping the yellow wire to the red or green, sounds like a ground start circuit such as a pay phone.

My high dollar butt set has a tone/pulse toggle but that does not work either!


----------



## MaxH

I have my old rotary phone with no issues...


----------



## Zog

To educate the younger crowd


----------



## 8V71

Zog said:


> To educate the younger crowd


On the flip side, mom took us to the worlds fair in NYC and I remember an exhibit with a rotary and touch tone phone. First time I had ever seen a touch tone phone. Anyway, there was a timer and you dialed the same number on each phone to see which one was faster. :laughing:


----------



## Holt

Is it possible the modem is resetting dialtone due to the lenght it take to input digits... most cable cos have gone through multiple versions ofthe modem. May try a different model of modem.


----------

