Make your phones ring with this Bell System Teletrainer on ebay

[bingster]

Some time ago we were discussing methods of making a phone ring for testing purposes.  There's a device up on ebay right now that will make such testing elegantly simple.  It's a Bell System Teletrainer, which is a device the local Bell companies lent to local schools in order to teach children to use telephones.  Basically, it works like so:  The central unit has two telephones connected to it, and one phone can call the other.  The unit generates a dial tone, ringback tone, busy signal, etc., in the individual telephone sets.  The unit will also ring either phone without one calling the other.  It's perfect for testing telephones and subsets.  Plus these units are very collectable in their own right.  This set comes with a matched pair of WE telephones, too--a 500 and a 2500, both fully hardwired.

It's pricey, and it may be a bit like driving a tack with a sledgehammer, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case anybody had interest in it.  

http://tinyurl.com/bdalf6

[McHeath]

Geez that's cool!   

And tempting.

[Dan/Panther]

Is the circuitry very complicated, We already have the phones, and just how much stuff could they put in that little case. It might just be feasible to build one if we could find a schematic..
D/P

[bingster]

Actually... I think I might have the BSP for this set.  It might contain the schematic.  Let me see if I can dig it up.

Incidentally, this was listed last week, too, at a considerably higher price:

http://tinyurl.com/c3u9e8

[Sargeguy]

These show up from time to time on eBay.  They usually go for $50-75 without the phone and case, if I'm not mistaken.

[Dan/Panther]

The bottom of the unit has the schematic on it. The ringer, dial tone, and busy signal all seem to be instructor operated items, so the unit doesn't seem to complicated.
D/P

[JimH]

I had "Teletrainer" training in school in the third grade.  This was about 1974 and it had two phones, one a rotary dial and one a touch-tone.   We all got little books called "we learn about the telephone" (which I STILL have!)  We also saw a movie in class by the same title.  Once in a while someone sells DVDs with a bunch of old telephone training movies on it.  I bought one of them a couple of years ago and it has about 14 films on it, and that is one of them.  Memories!

[JimH]

BTW, here's the movie on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y18dQAn0ymE

[BDM]

Thanks Jim. Notice the ring sound on that 500 sets is actually a 302.

[JimH]

Wow, you're right!  I didn't even notice!  And I bet Jimmy and Susie didn't notice either!

[BDM]

LOL..... Uncle Bill, this phone isn't correct. It rings like a 5302, yet has the proper 500 shell. Uncle Bill, this phone is a frankenphone. Ma Bell is going to be angry with you!!

Would love to see the look on 'ol uncle Bill's face when Jimmy utters those words

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks Jim for making me feel my age........third grade, 1974......I was out of high school for a year in 1974!

[bingster]

I was in third grade in 1976.

We didn't get all this phone training in school.  I feel very left out.

[Dennis Markham]

Dang Bingster, for all the wisdom you have I figured you were much older.  You are wise beyond your years!

[JimH]

Dennis, you can relax now.  It's my turn to feel like the fossil.