Vintage Phones

[alphy27]

my desk phone

Looking for modern reproduction rayon woven covered wire to replace the obviously inappropriate vinyl wire.

 

[Mike K.]

Looking for modern reproduction rayon woven covered wire to replace the obviously inappropriate vinyl wire.

Have you tried this place?
http://oldphoneworks.com/antique-phone-parts/index.asp?currency=USD

 

[alphy27]

Thanks

Mike K.
Thanks. That site has it all.

Regards,
alphy27

 

[PADDY]

This thread has become a great resource...

As I'm on the lookout for an old bakelite phone that I can hook up to my home line. Something about the old bell ringing in the hallway!!
I might get the separate phone and bell set so that the bells can be in a suitable place to ring throughout the house.

 

[PADDY]

Love the wall phone!!

I just love that old wall phone in your hallway!!! how did I miss this first time around?[huh] Gosh I could hang on that baby for hours just nattering away in 1938!!

This phone hangs in my hallway and probably gets more use than any other in the house:

1940 Western Electric 653A

In addition, I have a 1931 WE 202 in my living room. I don't have a photo of it handy but I borrowed a picture of one that looks just like it:

Western Electric 202

The ringer for the 202 is mounted on the wall behind the sofa and it sounds great. Both phones work fine. Neither is restored. I had to do a little bit of work on the 202. Apparently a previous owner had tried to work on it and rewired it incorrectly. I have a schematic, so I was able to hook everything back up correctly in about 15 minutes. I ended up with a very nice phone at a deep discount.

I have found that I can even use some modern features like call waiting. I just depress the hook briefly when I hear the signal and I get the second call. Depress it again and I'm back on line 1. To me, the WE 653 (and its earlier incarnation, the 553) are the coolest telephones out there.

By the way, you can use these things in situations requiring touch tone. Radio Shack (and other places as well, I'm sure) sell a tone generator that's about the size of a deck of cards. It's designed for this very application and is easy to use.

I don't own a cell phone. I don't want to be that easy to get in touch with.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I never noticed the old wall phones much before I actually acquired one. Since I got the 653A a few years ago, it seems like I see them in just about every black-and-white movie ever made.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Looking for modern reproduction rayon woven covered wire to replace the obviously inappropriate vinyl wire.

Interesting phone, looks like a WE 302 with an Automatic Electric dial.

Some of the small independent phone companies bought 302s like that and used the AE style dial, with the "0" at the 6 o'clock position rather than the WE style which had the "0" at around 4 o'clock.

 

[alphy27]

Interesting phone, looks like a WE 302 with an Automatic Electric dial.

Some of the small independent phone companies bought 302s like that and used the AE style dial, with the "0" at the 6 o'clock position rather than the WE style which had the "0" at around 4 o'clock.

Exactly right! Found a date stamp on the inside of the thermoplastic case of 1951. Will be replacing the modern cords soon as the cloth covered ones arrive. I'll post a picture once it's done.

 

[dhermann1]

VOIP?

When I move in Feb I want to rethink my whole electronic set up. I'm thinking about getting VOIP (Vonage, or other). Question is, can I hook up an old analog phone with VOIP? Is there a box that I can insert in the chain that will make it do-able?

 

[David Conwill]

When I move in Feb I want to rethink my whole electronic set up. I'm thinking about getting VOIP (Vonage, or other). Question is, can I hook up an old analog phone with VOIP? Is there a box that I can insert in the chain that will make it do-able?

I'm a rank amatuer about this, but in my quest to convert my AE80 to a handset for my cellphone, I have discovered that the major obstacle with any 1960s-or-earlier telephone is the carbon microphone, which requires power from the phone line. We first ran into this problem when attempting to use the phone in our previous apartment building - there wasn't enough juice to run the ringer. I'm thinking that wiring up a power source in parallel with the microphone might be sufficient, but I haven't gotten the voltage figured out yet. 30V DC, I think, but I'm afraid to fry things.

Mine...

-Dave

 

[catsmeow]

I just love these old classic telephones. They have so much character! I've seen some beauties around the antique centres/ebay and there are some nice ones in this thread. When I get a chance I'm definitely going to buy one.
I was also wondering how you would use an old phone compared to digital technology of today!

 

[alphy27]

rewired

Finally got around to rewiring my phone. Here it is as promised next to my new(old) camera.

 

[GI Joe]

I just found out more about my WE 302 (didn't even know that!) in the last 5 minutes than in the years I've owned it.

Thanks for the link to Oldphoneworks. A few bucks to refurbish mine & hopefully it will look as good as alphy27's does!

Great info everyone. Thanks!

 

[Forgotten Man]

Operator, give me ELiot 8. 5682!

Well, I just got this little gem off of ebay... and it came yesterday! I cleaned it up pretty good since it was pretty dirty.

Before:

After:

It's a late 20's Western Electric model 202... much the same as we see in the "Thin Man" movies... with the classic E-1 handset... I've wanted one of these little guys for a long time... I love the oval base set up. It's not working right now, need to get the proper cords on it from Phoneco and it should work after I get it set up. The dial works perfect and makes that swell zip, tick, tick, tick, tick, noise as it returns to it's stop... Ahhhhhh, just like the old movies!

Soon, I'm goin' to buy a ringer box for it... I see some good originals on ebay now and again go for cheap so, it's a project.

Anyone else have a Western Electric 202?

PS: The fan is a 1922 Emerson 12"... works perfectly

 

[The Reno Kid]

Anyone else have a Western Electric 202?

I have a 202 with an E-1 handset built in 1931. I picked it up cheap complete with the ringer box about 5 years ago because it wasn't working. It was in perfect cosmetic condition (except for a frayed cover on the cloth handset wire) so I took a chance. I have a book on old phones with the correct schematic and when I compared it to my phone, I found it was wired incorrectly. It looked like someone had tried to work on it and gave up in frustration. All the wires were on the wrong terminals. After about 20 minutes of re-wiring, it worked liked a dream. It's been my living room phone ever since. I did replace the handset wire with a NOS one that I found on ebay. Other than that, I just cleaned it up with a damp sponge. The bakelite on the ringer box still has its original shine.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've mentioned my 202 earlier in the thread, I think -- it was a bargain, back when such things were commonly found for peanuts because they were "old" rather than "vintage." Been using it since the early '80s, and the only modification's been to replace the original handset cord, which finally wore out about seven or eight years ago. They really *are* built to last

When I got it, the number card featured the KIRkland exchange, which was Cambridge, Massachusetts. No doubt some thieving Harvard boy snuck it home in his baggage.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I have a book on old phones with the correct schematic and when I compared it to my phone, I found it was wired incorrectly.

Say Kid, could you perhaps make a copy of that schematic for me? I think I'm goin' to need it when I order the line cord and receiver cord... now, I know how to put the receiver cord on... pretty easy stuff but, I'm not sure how to do it on an E-1 Handset... the F-1 handset is a breeze! However, is the E-1 Mouth piece a two part? How does one unscrew the upper part to get to the connections to replace the cord on the handset?

Any help would be SWELL!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I was also wondering how you would use an old phone compared to digital technology of today!

Well, the old "Pulse" style system works fine... as long as you're not needing to punch in numbers for calls to offices or businesses.

I have two phones plugged in... my Western Electric 302 and my AT&T touchtone... which is hidden away but, easily accessible if needed. When I make a call to my bank or whatever that needs touchtone, I use the contemporary phone. And when I make calls or receive incoming calls, I use the antique.

 

[The Reno Kid]

Say Kid, could you perhaps make a copy of that schematic for me? I think I'm goin' to need it when I order the line cord and receiver cord... now, I know how to put the receiver cord on... pretty easy stuff but, I'm not sure how to do it on an E-1 Handset... the F-1 handset is a breeze! However, is the E-1 Mouth piece a two part? How does one unscrew the upper part to get to the connections to replace the cord on the handset?

Any help would be SWELL!

Thanks in advance.

For schematics, try here or here. If you don't have any luck with the offerings on those sites, let me know and I'll get out my scanner.

The handset isn't really a problem. If memory serves, the connections are all at the mouth end of the handset. It does come off in two parts and you'll need to get them both off. If your threads are stuck, there are holes for a pin that should give enough leverage to get them unscrewed. Make sure you use the right-sized pin to avoid damaging the phone.

When using these schematics, pay attention to the wire colors and the terminal designators (these are stamped next to the terminals). It's pretty easy.

 

[Ande1964]

Just won one!

I just snagged this one on the bay.

I'm hoping it's the Canadian version of the 302. Looks that way to me, but I am far from an expert. I like to tinker, so I was looking for one that needed a little work, but nothing too extensive.

I hope it's nice in person. When it shows up, I'll come back with pics.

Best,
Anj