Please identify this phone

[cloyd]

I have looked on the internet for images that would identify this phone that I picked up at the flea market yesterday.  It has a North Electric Company stamp on the handset with numbers B101 and a date of 12-1-55 on the hardware.  On the back of the dial there is Final 75 Inspected and 11 62  and what looks like 78 stamped elsewhere.  The body says "North Electric" Galion, OHIO, USA and B201.  I tried searching for it but have not found it.

Thank you for your help.
cloyd

[unbeldi]

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[unbeldi]

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[paul-f]

For photos of some variations, look here:
  http://www.paul-f.com/North555.htm

[andre_janew]

Is it just me or does this phone look like a WE 500 with an AE dial?  I  know you said it was a Northern Electric, but still . . .

[cloyd]

I was anxious to hear this fancy ringer.  Someone cut the line cord at the phone body so I wired it with a modern flat phone cord I had.    The old line wire was still inside the phone and I wired it the same way that it was.  I plugged it in to our home phone jack with it's new modular jack.  No ring.  The handset cord was also broken right at the handset.  I didn't rewire the handset because I didn't have a cord.  I left the handset in the cradle when I called our home number.  Any ideas why it didn't ring?

How can I estimate the value of this phone.  There aren't any on ebay to gauge off of.

Thank you for helping to solve my mystery.
cloyd

[unbeldi]

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[paul-f]

Is it just me or does this phone look like a WE 500 with an AE dial?  I  know you said it was a Northern Electric, but still . . .

Andre,

It's just you.       (And maybe a few others.)

The differences in the housing shape are more visible in profile.  (below)

[JorgeAmely]

As others have pointed out that is a North 541 model. The dial is a 7B designed by North Electric themselves. I have a couple, one with an aluminum base and another with a steel plate. I think yours has the anodized aluminum base. There should be a month-year stamp inside the base plate. Mine started in poor shape as shown in a picture below. The coolest feature of this phone is the recessed dial, however, it is a trap for dust. There are some 302 features along all sides of the plastic housing that in my opinion, makes it a very elegant set. I think a standard WE ringer will fit in the base: you may have to try this to confirm. North Electric designed their ringers and the straight line ringer has a very clever design feature to keep the clapper in place: a spiral spring.

The dial has a flat spring that is prone to breakage. I suggest you don't take it apart. Yours has a very interesting feature mine don't have and that is a transparent finger wheel. In mine, they have the same color as the housing. The dial has a date stamp on the back. I would say it is from the early fifties. Yours seems to have the original fat rubber cord. After 60 years, the rubber becomes brittle and can break at the handset. I used mine for a number of years, but never stretched the cord more than two feet for fear of breaking the internal conductors.

I have an album of mine here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Amelyenator/EarlyNorth541PhoneWithAluminumBase#

I found this album of the overhaul procedure for the dial, but if your dial is OK, leave the center dial screw alone. Don't ask me how I know. 
https://picasaweb.google.com/Amelyenator/NorthElectricModel541DialOverhaulProcedure#

The body as well as the dial is made of soft plastic. As soft as in a 302 phone.

[cloyd]

Thank you to everyone for all of your great information.  I got excited last night when I thought I had a phone that would ring beautifully.  Sounds like it is only going to cost more money if I want it to ring.  Oh well.  Easy come, easy go.  It seems a shame that the ringer can't be used though.  No tiny converter boxes?  Can you tell that I know nothing about electronics?
cloyd

[unbeldi]

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[cloyd]

I may have to take you up on that!  When the phone bug bites, it goes deep!  Thank you.
cloyd

[dsk]

Some how the idea with those ringers was a clever idea for its time. If you have a voip line, many ATA's may be set to what frequency you want. I f you are lucky the ringer may ring by removing the heavy brass cylinder attached with a screw, and maybe adding a capacitor across he existing one, maybe as big as 1 microfarad. The last dirty trick may be using a relay and separate wires to feed the ringer from the mains, In that case it is extremely important to do it right so you dont electrocute someone, or ruining the telephone equipment.
I do not have one like that, but it seems to be a pretty rare and nice phone.

dsk