This topic

Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

wendyhgibbs — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 09:28:41 GMT

I have an old Bakerlite phone which is pulse dial, now that the lines have switched to digital the phone no longer works. Whilst I can plug the phone into the router and do get a dial tone, it does not support pulse dial, only tone dial so will not dial out. Is there a pulse to tone dial converter that I can use that has a BT jack - ones I find online have the RJ45 or RG11 connectors and my Bakerlite is a BT Jack?

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

licquorice — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 11:39:00 GMT

You just need one of these

and one of these

I can't post a link as it is against forum rules, but if you Google BT431 to RJ11 adapter, you will find various sources.

PS there is no 'R' in Bakelite.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

licquorice — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 11:39:55 GMT

Second image didn't post

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

SallyW2 — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 16:10:44 GMT

We too have a 1945 bakelite pulse dial phone, which had been updated to plug in to a BT box (can plug in to our hub too, no problem). However, with the switch to digital and having obtained a Digital Voice Adaptor, this phone no longer works - won't work via the hub either. A BT engineer came today and told us pulse dial phones won't work on digital. Really? That's so sad as we love our phone. Any ideas anyone please?

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

imjolly — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 16:15:06 GMT

You should be able to buy and adapter to convert pulse phone to tone dialing which should then work

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

Carlusha — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 16:21:39 GMT

@SallyW2wrote:
We too have a 1945 bakelite pulse dial phone, which had been updated to plug in to a BT box (can plug in to our hub too, no problem). However, with the switch to digital and having obtained a Digital Voice Adaptor, this phone no longer works - won't work via the hub either. A BT engineer came today and told us pulse dial phones won't work on digital. Really? That's so sad as we love our phone. Any ideas anyone please?

Your post is actually in the same topic as the solution! Strange you missed it, provided by @imjolly in mesages 2 and 3.

Therefore all is not lost.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

Pulse-dial-pedant — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 18:31:00 GMT

I'm not sure how one would connect an old pulse dial GPO phone and BT hub via the adaptors pictured in messages 2 and 3 (which were by @licquorice I believe) ; would be very happy to have it explained. @imjolly mentions a pulse to tone adaptor. I have found one (and only one) by a specialist vintage phone supplies company on a well known selling site. Cost £54. Thank you everybody for getting me here and enabling me to use my beloved old GPO 746 again!

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

Firefox1701 — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:29:53 GMT

Not sure whether this does or doesn't comply with forum rules, to be honest, but if, say, you had an interest in 'uk vintage radio repair and restoration', you might come across a site where the users are extremely knowledgeable and helpful with this sort of thing. As someone who has used 746s and permutations thereof for many years ( and fixed them myself on more than one occasion ), I can tell you that I won't be giving them up without a struggle; fortunately, there's no need to.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

licquorice — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:50:30 GMT

You can post a link to such site without breaking forum rules.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

Firefox1701 — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 15:53:15 GMT

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum

It looks like the answers above may have already solved the problem, but otherwise, this site is well worth a visit for any problems such as this, and I've found their users very knowledgeable and helpful.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

wkirkman — Sat, 28 May 2022 18:42:13 GMT

@licquorice I would be really fascinated to know how converting a BT plug to an RJ11 plug and back again would change a pulse dial into a tone dial? As far as I am aware, that would just swap the wires round, then back again.

an answer further down the page for a pulse to tone converter seems more likely to do the job.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

licquorice — Sat, 28 May 2022 18:50:51 GMT

If you had actually read the thread, the adapter was just to allow the pulse to tone converter to be used as it didn't have the appropriate plug. It wasn't intended to provide the conversion from pulse to tone.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

wkirkman — Sat, 28 May 2022 18:58:22 GMT

Apologies. I wouldn’t worry except now my attention to what I have read is in question. 🙂 The reply immediately before the adapter response was:

“Whilst I can plug the phone into the router and do get a dial tone, it does not support pulse dial, only tone dial so will not dial out. Is there a pulse to tone dial converter that I can use that has a BT jack - ones I find online have the RJ45 or RG11 connectors and my Bakerlite is a BT Jack? “

I read this, and perhaps wrongly, that the question was in the context of: does a converter exist that has a BT Jack.

Hence my confusion with the response.

I will accept however that the question could also be read, and may have been intended to have been read in the context of: I know there are converters, but is there one specifically with a BT Jack.

With the second I concede a straight plug converter would be a good suggestion, but as I read as the first, that the OP was looking for a converter, then that would be my mistake 🙂

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

gg30340 — Sat, 28 May 2022 19:17:41 GMT

I can not believe that this is being debated but I'll add my tuppence worth.

The whole sentence should be read " Is there a pulse to tone dial converter that I can use that has a BT jack - ones I find online have the RJ45 or RG11 connectors and my Bakerlite is a BT Jack? “ and the answer given was that "You just need one of these" along with a picture of a BT431 to RJ11 adapter.

This would indicate to me and apparently the other people that replied to the post that the BT431 to RJ11 adapter was needed to allow the pulse to tone dial converter to be connected to the phone socket and not that it was a pulse to tone converter.

By virtue of the fact you are taking umbrage at what was posted you must also have been aware that the BT431 to RJ11 adapter was not a pulse tone convertor so goodness knows what are you trying to achieve.

Re: Old Bakerlite Pulse Dial done on Digital Line

wkirkman — Sat, 28 May 2022 19:25:39 GMT

Well I do apologise, but post 7 appeared to be confused too:

“I'm not sure how one would connect an old pulse dial GPO phone and BT hub via the adaptors pictured in messages 2 and 3”

As I said, it was just how I read it, which I believe my last reply was actually fair and well reasoned, acknowledging that although I read it one way, it could be read the other.

So really, it would be a question of: why did you feel the need to reply to a balanced and conceded reply which acknowledged the error made in the reading itself? Not sure what you are looking to achieve there but, there you go 😄