atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Problem with my TS22AL butt-set

I have had this TS22Al for at least 10 years. Recently it just died on me due to low 9v and 3v batteries. I replaced both of them and it came back on as good as new....except that when I go off hook the dial tone is very, very, low. People can hear me okay, but I can berely hear them. Could someone tell me what did I do wrong? if there is a fix for this, I sure would appreciate the help.

Thanks,

AlfredoV

I forgot, when I use the speaker it works fine

AlfredoV

check for metal debris on the reciever unit. I had one do that and found old used staples stuck on it.

There have been quite a number of posts regarding the batteriesin the TS-22 series test sets.I was about to dump my set until I read one of the posts and got it working.Harris wanted a flat rate of $100 to repair the set.It seemed to be a lousy design that would allow the lithium battery to fail if the nine volt battery ran down.While I understand that Harris wanted to keep the circuit board as watertite as possible,they still should have made it easier to change the lithium battery. I just received the nov. issue of Electrical Construction and Maintenance.Fluke has an ad saying that they are not contesting a class action lawsuit concerning the batteries in the TS-22 series of test sets.The web site-www.TS22Settlement.com lists the remedies that are available to anyone who purchased a set after 1-1-2001

Wow, that's good to hear. I have two sitting here that I was going to send off for repair. Now I know what to do with them. There is no easy way to replace the battery. It's soldered to the circuit board which is all covered with a heavy epoxy conformal coating. Even though I have extensive experience with component level repair, I would not attempt this one. Maybe someone with military electronics experience knows the trick to not destroying the PC board to just get at the battery. My opinion of Harris has dropped into the sub-basement for doing something like that. As far as I'm concerned replacing the battery is only a temporary fix since it will continue to fail so really the TS22 series are throw aways.

Off topic on a side note, I find it disgraceful that information about a class action regarding one of our primary tools was published in a sparkie magazine. It just goes to show how fragmented and close to extinction our business has become. We don't even have our own publications to keep our members informed.

-Hal

I just went to the FAQ on that site.
Any ideas about this?
DEFENDANTS SHALL CEASE SELLING ALL "LOCKOUT" MODEL TS22 TEST SETS. Fluke and Harris shall cease and desist from selling the “lockout” versions of the TS22 (the TS22AL, TS22L, TS22LO, TS22ALO).

Are they referring to the DATA LOCK OUT feature? I have a TS-22 with data lock out...every time I try to grab DT on a DSL line all you get is a beeping line.

I saw that too Jeff. It's only right that they stop selling poorly designed products. Purchasers have no idea that they have a finite life span and will have to be repaired at high cost or thrown away after a number of years. I don't agree that it is entirely dependent on timely replacement of the 9 volt battery. Mine have not been allowed to have a dead battery yet the lithium has gone bad. The shelf life of a lithium battery is something like 7 years so even with no load on it that's about all you can expect. That means that your butt set is only good for 7 years. From the serial number on mine it was manufactured in 2002 so it's right on schedule.

-Hal

I use a TS42 deluxe butt set. I have noticed on the 3 test sets we have that when that battery dies its not just a simple swap and it works. For some reason you have to pull the 2 screws that hold the speaker in and reinstall them or it will just stay Dead even with a new battery. Just stoopid luck we figured that out. Actually thought the first one was dead and bought a new one. :shrug:

Well curiosity got the best of me. I took one of the TS-22ALs that would not qualify for the free repair and removed the battery. Exacto knife and dental picks to deal with the coating and a low wattage solder station, solder wick and solder sucker. I can tell you that this is not an easy thing to do without doing damage to the board and hopefully it survived. I suspect that those of you who have problems after attempting to replace the battery yourself may have suffered that fate.

At any rate I ordered new batteries and we'll see what happens when it gets replaced.

-Hal