Authentic sound of telephone ringers [telecom]

A community theater performance of "Barefoot in the Park," which I saw recently, involved a Princess phone as part of the plot. When it rang (through the public address) the sound did not match the sound of my Princess, which I keep for power-out emergencies. Trust my ears, but remember that mine is blue and the one in the play was beige (lol).

Further, I recall a discussion on this forum or a similar one a couple decades ago about erroneous ringing in movies: 501 sound for a 302 phone, e.g.

I have a 302 with a Bell "black box" ringer and a Kellogg ca. 1908 candlestick with an oak 37SG ringer. Don't know if either of those pairings is authentic.

Anyway, my question is: is there a web site with descriptions of various ringers and accurate sound files?

TIA.

Reply to
Curt Bramblett
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For the standard W.E. phones with mechanical ringers, from at least the early '50s onwards, there were a number (I think 5 or 6) of _different_ sets of bells -- tuned to different frequencies. The phones used two different tones; the pair heterodyne at an subsonic frequency -- one intentionally selected because it triggers feelings of 'urgency' in a listener. Yes, there _is_ a real reason why it is 'difficult' to ignore a classic ringing phone.

It is quite possible that your phone and the on-stage one had different sets of bells. However, it is likely that what was on the P.A. was from a 'sound effects' recording -- and was not matched to the actual prop on stage.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

Yes, sound effects in film and TV often did not match the device being used. (As an example, long after 3-slot payphones were removed from service, pay phones in films still made the 'ding ding' sound as coins were deposited.)

On google, entering the search term ""telephone ringer sounds" yields quite a few webpages with downloadable files. However, I don't know the quality of those websites.

I've heard there are telephone oriented sound effects available on YouTube.

Hope this helps.

Reply to
HAncock4

Certain Princess models used different ringers. I have a 1972 vintage Princess and it's ringer is a half of the full type with the domed bell. Later Princess phones used the P-type ringer.

Reply to
T

Some comments on ringers...

The ringers of my W/E Trimline telephone sets sounds the same as a Princess telephone set. I believe they have only a single gong, partly to save space in the compact base. Those phones have a more pleasant ringer sound than the everyday 500/2500 sets.

I was using a W/E 302 set for its ringer since it was distinct and loud. But it was too loud and the 302 set was not adjustable (adjustable volume came with the 500 set). I now use an AE 40 set which has a rather pleasant ringer.

(The 302 set was in good shape and could be used as a regular rotary telephone. The AE 40, while it does work, has a lot of static and others say it has poor voice quality. The 302 is marked as being made in 1948, but I can't find any mfr date on the AE 40. I also use a Touch Tone AE/GTE set, probably made in the late 1970s, and that works fine.)

I've noticed a number of cell phone users today have a ringtone that simulates the sound of a mechanical telphone bell. They sound pretty neat. I tried recording a ringing phone to use that as a ringtone but it sounded poor.

A hospital switchboard room once used the Bell Chime, set on 'doorbell', as a signal for an emergency ("stat") call.

The experimental electronic switching system at Morris, Illinois, required electronic tone ringers in the station sets because the switch circuitry could not pass through ringing currents. All subscribers in the experiment got special telephone sets with a tone ringer (and also 20 pps dials). The actual production ESS was redesigned to accomodate that so they wouldn't have to change every telephone set at cutover.

Do they have universal digital telephone sets that can connect directly to any FIOS, cable, and VOIP networks without needing a conversion box?

Reply to
HAncock4

Sure, your 502 or AE40 set could.

In the end, digital phone over FIOS, Cable modem (which is VoIP as it is) and some VoIP systems present just a standard POTS interface. Leaving the phone experience the same as ever, and just utilizing the base transport differently than the traditional phone network.

If you get digital voice over Comcast for example, they'll take their Arris cable box, plug the POTS jack into the wall, and cut the house wiring away from the LEC demarc and drive it all from their box instead.

Most of the "consumer" VoIP services give you an ATA box that you plug a standard POTS telephone into. Ie. MagicJack, Vonage, 8x8 are all like this. Plug ethernet in one end, plug the POTS network in the other and go.

There are some VoIP services more orientated towards the techie users that let you do more, and have something like a SIP phone setup to talk over ethernet to the provider, but I haven't seen a phone with both an ethernet and POTS port. The SIP phone then would need programming and setup, which is why it is is only appealing to a techie user. Even more so than my old AT&T ISDN phone set.

Reply to
Doug McIntyre

HIGHLY doubtful.

physical interfaces are different.

logical interfaces are different.

call setup/teardown signaling is different.

etc., etc.

Plus, beyond the phone logic itself, one has to have all the 'smarts' -- for 'node addressing', time-slot management, etc. -- that are in the 'conversion box, *AND* those smarts have to be compatible the 'head end' gear of the "network" they connect to.

The cost of 'all that un-necessary stuff' -- for any specific use -- would run the cost up, _far_beyond_ that of a phone that lives behind a conversion box, -or- a set designed for a specific network.

Circa 20 years ago, I saw a phone set that looked like a 2500, but had an Ethernet jack instead of an RJ-11. It was (somehow, I don't know how) pre-programmed with the IP address of the switch that it talked to, and used DHCP to get it's 'own' IP address. You just plugged it into an Ethernet jack, waited about 20 seconds, and when you picked up the handset, you had dial-tone from the 'home' switch, *wherever* you were. (I saw it in use with the set and the switch on opposite sides of the country.) It was true 'plug and play'.

I'm not sure who made the phone sets themselves (probably the switch mfr.), but the switch was a _big_ Siemens unit -- 30k+ extensions. SS7 trunks, etc.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

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