Interesting Telephone Equpiment
Over the years, I (fwaggle) have found myself getting interested in many different fields. This interest is usually bordering on the point of obsession, but quickly subsides sometimes after a matter of hours. In the summer of 2007, I found myself interested in vintage telephone equipment after picking some up at a yard sale for next to nothing. Given that I’ll most likely either box these up in storage, or sell them, I decided to catalog them online along with all the information I was able to dig up.
For those interested in restoring old telephones, I can’t recommend enough the book Old Time Telephones! Technology, Restoration and Repair by Ralph O. Meyer (ISBN #978-0070418189). Also, there’s a site that archives (and allows you to print hi-res reproductions of) number cards for the middle of the dial on several of these telephones.
Western Electric Model 302

- Schematic (PDF) of a 302 telephone, courtesy of ATCA Online.
- Schematic (JPEG) of a 302 using an AE Type 24 dial, courtesy of ATCA Online.
- Relevant section from Bell System Practices, courtesy of Bell System Memorial.
- Search for one just like this on eBay.
Western Electric Model 500

- Wikipedia Entry
- Schematic of a WE500CD – courtesy of ATCA Online.
ITT-built copycat of WE 1554 (?)

The front case of this phone is branded with ITT, but at present I’ve been unable to find any images of it. I also have two extra cases that fit this phone, which makes it really confusing – they all have the same WE554 shape, one is grayish-green and labeled “Bell System, Western Electric”, the other is black and is branded Stromberg-Carlson. I’m reasonably certain – due to the color of the touch-tone pad – that the white ITT case is the one that goes with this phone. I haven’t mucked with whether this phone functions or not.
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