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Ericofon Ringers

DISCLAIMER:
I have no documentation to back up what I am saying about the Ericotone ringers on this page. I am only setting forth what I have been able to surmise from years of working with these.

The Ericotone ringer is the tall board that sticks up from the chassis of American Ericofons. It was never, as far as I've been able to find, been used in any other market than the United States. The Ericotone has undergone several design changes, but in the end, they all sound alike.

All TouchTone Ericofons and Model 700 Ericofons have the ringer built into the circuitry.

Model of Ericofon: Ringer Used: Sound file:
Swedish made rotary Buzzer Buzzer (151k)
American made rotary Ericotone Ericotone (159k
TouchTone Built in- Similar to Ericotone Type 60 Ringer (152k)
Early Model 700 Built in Early 700 Ringer (150k)
Later Model 700 Built in

Late 700 Ringer (152k)

For information on troubleshooting the Ericotone, CLICK HERE

For information on troubleshooting the buzzer, CLICK HERE

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Ericotone Version 1

The first of the Ericotone ringers (commonly referred to as tweeters) are found on the Earliest K5 chassis. The black tape at the top holds together a cluster of neon tubes. I've seen a number of variations on this, so I think they changed it as they went, maybe to work bugs out of the original design. It almost looks homemade.

The K5 chassis was not originally designed to carry the Ericotone, so they had to modify it whenever a ringer was added.

 

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Ericotone Version 2

The next generation of the Ericotone is found on the K7. The K7 chassis seems to have been a revision that allows for easy installation of a ringer without having to make any changes to the original chassis configuration.

This chassis is identifiable by the use of large diodes (the red thing up near the top) and the use of the Germanium transistor (the tiny oblong can in the center of the board).

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Ericotone Version 3

The final incarnation of the Ericotone is this model found on the K14 chassis. The  electronics are the same as version 2, but you can see more modern components are used. The big diodes have been replaced with tiny Zener diodes, and the Germanium transistor was replaced with a more modern Silicon transistor.

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ANI Ericotone

This is a special version of the Ericotone used in ANI phone service. I won't get into the technical jargon. I'll just say that it's for use on party line systems.

Personally, I have not been able to get these to work. The chassis is also very different. I've been able to get the phone to ring, but not dial out, and vice versa. I'm sure there's a way, but I see so few of these, I'm not going to take the time to figure it out.
There's no volume adjustment for the Ericotone.

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Internal Buzzer

The internal buzzer is the ringer used on all Ericofons NOT sold in the USA. You can see it circled in the picture. It looks like a small can with a lid the size of a dime (about 20mm) on it. You adjust the volume by turning the screw in the middle.
If you have a Swedish Ericofon, and you don't see this can, you have no ringer.

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External Buzzer

In the early days, and later on in some countries, ringers were not included in the Ericofon. You had to get a separate external buzzer that mounted on the wall.

 

Why Some Ericofons light up when they ring:

Some people say their Ericofon lights up when it rings, other's won't. Why the difference?   Simply put, it all depends on where you live. The telephone relies on current from the phone company (central office). The further current has to travel, the more it drops. So, if you live close to a central office, your current will be higher than for  someone that lives ten miles down the road.
The Ericotone ringer circuit has some sensitive components. If these components get hit with too much current, they will burn out. A limit needs to be placed in the circuit to protect these parts. A neon tube acts as a "relief valve" of sorts. It just sits there doing nothing until the current reaches a certain level. Once this level is achieved, the neon tube will discharge the excess current to ground, lighting up as it does.

 

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