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WE 211, 212 "Hang Up" sets

Started by paul-f, April 26, 2010, 05:46:25 PM

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paul-f

Kenny,

Here are a couple of photos of some of the variations we discussed last night.
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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savageje

Paul:

I'd love to know more about these sets.  It is fascinating to me that this design seemed to change so little over time.  I read somewhere (I think it was on your web site, which is fantastic, by the way) about WE's "carafe" variation of the "space saver."  Was this sort of the red-headed stepchild of the WE lineup, or were there actually technological improvements (other than the handset) made over the life of the model?

Kenny C

In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010

paul-f

Quote from: savageje on April 26, 2010, 10:37:32 PM
Paul:

I'd love to know more about these sets.  It is fascinating to me that this design seemed to change so little over time.  I read somewhere (I think it was on your web site, which is fantastic, by the way) about WE's "carafe" variation of the "space saver."  Was this sort of the red-headed stepchild of the WE lineup, or were there actually technological improvements (other than the handset) made over the life of the model?

The G handset mounting was quite long-lived.  There wasn't much to improve, as it was just a box to protect the hookswitch and terminals and (optionally) hold the dial.  The technological improvements happened in the dial, handset and subset.  Basically the G mounting was a "minor" revision of the earlier C mounting -- which was originally found with a #2 dial and E handset.  Variations of the G (G1, G7, etc) were simply to designate different contact arrangements in the switch for various applications.

There are numerous BSPs that cover the variations.  I haven't checked lately to see how many have made it on-line, but they should be readily available in Station Serivce Manuals and other publications.

When I was a kid, my grandfather had one in the workroom at his photo studio.  Unfortunately, an uncle got to it before I started collecting phones.

Speaking of the Carafe, I have been enjoying stripping one down and checking out the internals.  It's really neat, but it's complex enough to see why it never made it into production.  I've also come across some photos of a pre-production model that used a full size dial, rather then the 10-style dial used in field trials.  There's a web page or two coming, if I can ever find the time to get to it.
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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Jim Stettler

Congrats on the 211 Kenny.
When I was a kid a neighbor had one as a wall phone and a local surplus store had 2 of them as counter phones.

I used to have 2 of them from the "Broadmoor Hotel", (a 5 star local resort).
The 2nd? Austin powers movie shows the hotel during the credits. It is after his honeymoon. They are not listed on the credits,

I have seen a green one, and I used to have a 2211. They had a large square "head" to house the TT dial.

Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Kenny C

the way she explained it it was a 211 with a F1
In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010