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OBi 200 and Answering Machines

Started by Noah9D8, November 16, 2018, 02:29:10 PM

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Noah9D8

Hi,
I use my OBi 200 to work with corded phones and answering machines. It's just a hobby of mine..
I was wondering if anyone here has ever encountered any problems with a phone or an answering machine not detecting ring signals. Every phone I've had worked perfectly with the device. I've even used a vintage AT&T answering machine from the mid 1980s with the device with no problems. Recently, though, I've acquired two Casio PhoneMate answering machines from the mid 1990s (models 3500 and 3600, if it makes any difference)
These answering machines have speaker phones, and I've verified that they work -- I can hear outgoing audio and they send audio, implying that the connections from the OBi to the machines are fine.
I've tinkered around with the ring voltage, and the ring frequency, not thinking it'd make a difference, and sure enough, nothin'. Of course, I wasn't going to try every single possible amount of voltage, or every single frequency, but I did try several options. I am aware that machines like that don't really need a lot of ring power, seeing how there are no mechanical bells.
Mind you, I've had a Western Electric 2500, two corded phones with piezo ringers, and the vintage AT&T answering machine hooked up to the same device simultaneously, and there were no problems whatsoever.
Could it be that I really got two PhoneMate answering machines that weren't working all the way? I'm not going to rule it out, but I doubt that's the case, given the machines send and receive audio when using their speaker phones...
I'm sure it's a long shot, but if anyone knows, or thinks they know the problem, I'd greatly appreciate it! It's just a hobby so it's no big deal, but I still hope there are answers...
-Noah