Teletrainer question.

[podor]

I just picked up a red teletrainer with cases and two phones. The seller said that only one of the phones was original to the set. I replaced the AC cord and it works great. I'm looking for a more original type phone to complete the set. From what I can find, there is no real consistency to what could be in there as far as colors and dates. It almost seems like they put whatever they laying around in the set. The teletrainer itself is dated 7/61. The original (supposedly) green 500 is almost prefect condition wise, but is a hodgepodge of dates. The other phone is a beat up 500 that was clearly in service. My question is, what should I put in the place of the replacement phone to be as accurate as possible? I have a yellow 500 with a long cord the same length the green one, with similar date ranges as well. Should I put that one in the kit, or keep an eye out for something else?

[unbeldi]

The BSP of 1973 for your type of Teletrainer specified two 500DR-51 sets, so you might want to look for a second green one. 

BSP Section 473-411-100 i4, January 1973:  KS-16605 Teletrainer; Description and Maintenance

But indeed the color selection may have been different earlier or later.

From mine, I know that the later (smaller) units came with a yellow 500DR set and and a green touch-tone Princess.

[Jim Stettler]

In 1966/67 I used a green teletrainer w a matching 500 and 1500 set. I was in kindergarten.
My understanding  is the phones were standard sets, rewired with the  ringer  on the second pair.
There are bsp's for the teletrainers.
JMO,
Jim S.

[jsowers]

All different colors were used, from my observation of sets being sold at auction over the years. I have a friend who got a Teletrainer with two yellow soft plastic 500s that had yellow Bell logo cards. I have also seen a set with one Oxford Gray and one Mahogany Brown phone--now that would be a find. The long mounting cords were required because the phones sometimes needed to be some distance from the main unit in the classroom.

My Teletrainer, about the same vintage as yours, requires the phones be wired for "ground ringing" which is how 500 sets came from the factory in the early days. The yellow wire in the mounting cord needs to be connected to G on the network and so does the black wire of the ringer. And the 4-prong plug should have the yellow wire on the "Y" screw. You will no doubt find that's how your original green phone is wired. I've never seen an older Teletrainer that needed separate ringer wiring, which would require a 4-conductor mounting cord. That could be a later incarnation.

I think the yellow phone you have would be fine as the second phone. Please post a picture of your Teletrainer and the phones.

[unbeldi]

Here is mine, the last version,  which WECo actually made in house, it appears.

This is KS-21764, made ca. 1977 and later.

In these ringing was separated on the second pair of the mounting cord, because they didn't want to go to the expense of having to properly superimpose the ringing onto the loop proper.   Ringing signal was generated by a 20 Hz interrupting relay, so when ringing is signaled to a station, the control unit also starts buzzing internally. 

[paul-f]

There are a few more examples and some background info with BSP references here:

  http://www.paul-f.com/Teletrainers.html

[Sargeguy]

The red/orange version I owned had a green and a red 500 set.  Both phones had very long line cords and were stored in their own Samsonite case.  The green one was from the early 60s and the red one was from the early 70s.  I sold the teletrainer but still have the case with the two 500s somewhere, I think.

[DavePEI]

Yes, that i the one I bought... The Teletrainer and its case, but no phones.

The red/orange version I owned had a green and a red 500 set.  Both phones had very long line cords and were stored in their own Samsonite case.  The green one was from the early 60s and the red one was from the early 70s.  I sold the teletrainer but still have the case with the two 500s somewhere, I think.

[Jim Stettler]

Be careful with storing the phones in the samsonite case. On mine the black padding turned to a tarry goo.
JMO,
Jim S

[unbeldi]

Be careful with storing the phones in the samsonite case. On mine the black padding turned to a tarry goo.
JMO,
Jim S

Hmm, I have to open it up again one of these days. But I would figure, what 35 years didn't do, I shouldn't expect in two or three. But I will run the test...

[podor]

Thanks guys. I tried it out with my kids a few nights ago and it worked great. You really have to be on the ball pushing buttons to make it as realistic as possible. My kids are pretty familiar with how to use a real phone. I'll have to try it on some of their friends and watch them try to figure it out. It may be pretty entertaining. I'll post pics shortly.

Speaking of the foam, it's missing on the case for the phones. The one on the teletrainer is like a thick cloth pad covered in felt. Im going to try to figure out a replacement.

[Sargeguy]

I used to have one just like it!

[podor]

Here's some pictures with the yellow phone, minus receiver.

[DavePEI]

I used to have one just like it!

[AE_Collector]

They both came with the exact same stuff in the background of the pictures as well. How ironic is that!

Terry