Binatone answer machine , model 3900 from 1981

Mar 03, 2007 5 Replies

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N Cook 19 years ago

I know its ancient but the owner does not like the new ones that loose contents on power failure, has standard tapes for messages he can archive, does not auto rewind to message tape start, 20 minute long messages possible etc. No message count is the only down side. I've not repaired one for 15 years or so , so i'm rusty.

It was not responding to anyone dialing in, ie no OGM. Of course I try it with telco's "line test facility" and it works fine as far as starting OGM and starting record cycle at end of that, so presumably an intermittant fault. The phone lead and plug are fine but I've not fully taken it apart yet. Other than checking for worn belts, slippy pulleys, corrosion on manual-change function-switch and change the cap that charges up analogue fashion after a pot-settable approx number of rings is there anything else to check. ?

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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Mike Tomlinson 19 years ago

In article , N Cook writes

Is the owner using it on a properly wired extension - i.e. one that has the ring wire connected to pin 3? The machine might not be detecting ringing due to a faulty or incorrectly wired extension at the owner's premises (which is why it works for you).

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N Cook 19 years ago

presumably

there's only 2 wires actively connected to the innards

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Mike Tomlinson 19 years ago

In article , N Cook writes

Unusual for a machine of that age, especially if it's BT approved.

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N Cook 19 years ago

It has one of those green blobs on the back with also a "Post Office Certification" sticker but whether they were transfered by Dellboy I've no way of knowing

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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b 19 years ago

In any device that old, I would start by checking or replacing any relays. chances are the contacts have been tarnished with exposure to air, arcing or just plain wear and tear. I recently had to clean up a few on one of those early 80s sharp 'vz-' vertical turntables.

-B.

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