Hello all,
I would like to introduce myself. About two weeks ago I was at work when I heard one of the customer service representatives helping troubleshoot a problem with a Point of Sale (POS) device. Someone had put the POS device on pulse dial, which of course didn't work with the necessary communication. I found myself reminded of rotary phones. Soon I was on Ebay looking for a rotary desk phone. I wanted a 40's style phone, but most of them were out of my price range. I search and found a person offering a 1955 Western Electric 500. I won the bid, it cost me more to ship it that to purchase but I was thrilled to be getting it. The day it arrived in the mail I had to wait until late in the evening to hook it up. I finally had time; I hooked it up and tested it. No ringing and I was disappointed. The next day I searched the internet for an answer, and found it on Yahoo answers. I had also stumbled across this forum, and decided to join. I look forward to getting to know the many knowledgeable members here. Thanks for reading.
Joe
Welcome Joe! You will find many helpful folks here. We look forward to you joining in on the discussions.
Hi Joe :D
Welcome! Congrats on your 500!
Since this is your first you can probably escape before phoneitis gets ahold! These things tend to multiply quickly! Maybe another color, another year or a different manufacturer and before you know it you have hundreds and spend every waking moment thinking about phones and maybe even dreaming about them ;)
Watch out Joey, this phone collecting thing can be a "sickness". Welcome!
Welcome! Know why it's called a "500" phone? Because that's how many you'll eventually end up with! You got 499 more to get! hahahaha!!!
Quote from: Brinybay on February 26, 2011, 05:02:06 AM
Welcome! Know why it's called a "500" phone? Because that's how many you'll eventually end up with! You got 499 more to get! hahahaha!!!
My problem is I bought a 2500 set.
Welcome to the forum Joe.
Jim S.
Joe,
Welcome to this Forum. You can already see what this hobby has done to the rest of us!!!! Run while you still can , but I can say I have had a lot of fun learning about phones here. Great bunch of FOLKS!!!!!! stub
Thank you all for the warm welcome! :)
Next thing I looking for is an interesting wall phone. I have seen on Ebay people offering "space saver" phones. They are so small, do they require a subset box?
Any suggestions? Think budget please
Hey Joe,
Space Saver is actually an AE name even though people call the WE model by that name it is incorrect. They can be found cheap on ebay either way, in my opinion the AE has more style and comes in colors. Either one is not a complete phone and will require a subset.
Harry, where did you get that information from? Everything that I've seen on these said that WE had the Spacesaver and AE had the Spacemaker.
Doug Pav
I think the WE requires the subset, AE only requires the ringer box?
Quote from: Wallphone on February 27, 2011, 03:08:35 PM
Harry, where did you get that information from? Everything that I've seen on these said that WE had the Spacesaver and AE had the Spacemaker.
Doug Pav
The WE 211 and 2211 were sometimes called spacemakers. Spacesaver was an AE Term.
Jim
Quote from: wds2185 on February 27, 2011, 03:12:38 PM
I think the WE requires the subset, AE only requires the ringer box?
I think that is correct.
Jim
Quote from: Jim S. on February 27, 2011, 04:03:06 PM
Quote from: Wallphone on February 27, 2011, 03:08:35 PM
Harry, where did you get that information from? Everything that I've seen on these said that WE had the Spacesaver and AE had the Spacemaker.
Doug Pav
The WE 211 and 2211 were sometimes called spacemakers. Spacesaver was an AE Term.
Jim
I just learned something!
The AE 'spacesaver' is a bit wider than the WE 211, but it contains an inductor coil and condenser. The dial is built into the same housing, so it is far less configurable the the WE.
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss74/LarryinMichigan/AE43/Front.jpg)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss74/LarryinMichigan/AE43/Inside.jpg)
Larry
I learned something too. I never knew the AE modle had a coil & condensor in them! Clever packaging. I have seen them with the matching ringer box and assumed it was a subset like the WE.
Doug, don't carve that in stone yet. That is how rumors get started. I have never heard a WE 201 called a Spacemaker. Here is an AE GSP 473-301-200 for the 183 Model. On the first page at 1.01 you will see that Spacemaker is an AE term. > http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=550&Itemid=2 < Here are a couple of items from the Telephone Archive.
> http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/we/we201_ss.html <
> http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/ae/ae183sm.html <
Doug Pav
Quote from: Wallphone on February 27, 2011, 06:49:49 PM
Doug, don't carve that in stone yet. That is how rumors get started. I have never heard a WE 201 called a Spacemaker. Here is an AE GSP 473-301-200 for the 183 Model. On the first page at 1.01 you will see that Spacemaker is an AE term. > http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=550&Itemid=2 < Here are a couple of items from the Telephone Archive.
> http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/we/we201_ss.html <
> http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/ae/ae183sm.html <
Doug Pav
Doug.....this is how I understood it, I always thought Space SAVER was a WE name. Buffing the stone as you read this.....Other Doug
Hi Joe;
I am also fairly new to this forum, not in age.. About a month ago I got a phone and a subset from a friend as part of helping Him clean out His Garage.. I now have 3 phones , with anothe to come in the near future... Welcome to the forum !!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU Marty
Quote from: Kidphone on February 27, 2011, 07:02:52 PM
Quote from: Wallphone on February 27, 2011, 06:49:49 PM
Doug, don't carve that in stone yet. That is how rumors get started. I have never heard a WE 201 called a Spacemaker. Here is an AE GSP 473-301-200 for the 183 Model. On the first page at 1.01 you will see that Spacemaker is an AE term. > http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=550&Itemid=2 < Here are a couple of items from the Telephone Archive.
> http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/we/we201_ss.html <
> http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/ae/ae183sm.html <
Doug Pav
Doug.....this is how I understood it, I always thought Space SAVER was a WE name. Buffing the stone as you read this.....Other Doug
Now I am confused.
In real life most collectors call these styles "spacesaver". I think the BSP for a 211 lists it as a hand telephone set.
Jim
I think "spacesaver" is like "Band-Aid," being a trademarked name of one specific manufacturer (AE) but which is used generically for all similar types. Like Jim, I've never heard the WE versions called anything officially except "hand telephone set," and in early advertising, they were referred to as "hanging handsets."
I always thought that Space Saver was a WECo term but have never actually seen that in writing. I have seen Space Maker in writing in AE documents as Doug Pav (wallphone) points out so my assumption has always been that the officaial AE name is Space Maker just to keep it different from WECo. Space Saver does get used as a generic name for this type of phone as well.
All AE Space Makers are self contained phones but they do not have a ringer. I believe that even includes the earliest AE Space Maker, the AE #4 like Stub's Avatar.
Terry
Joe, Survey says----- :o Spacemaker ::) for the AE
My avatar is called a Dial Monophone Extension Set. I sure would like to find one!!! The Type 43 was called a Compact Monophone and the 83 was called Compact Telephone . With the AE phones all you will need is a external ringer box with bells and a capacitor. stub
The older AE model (as shown in pictures on the first page of this thread) had a coil & capacitor similar to what the AE 43 had. The newer AE model (which is configurable and uses a type 81 or 810 handset) has a network block inside. Neither of them needs a complete subset. Both of them need ringer boxes.
These and especially the WE versions were also known colloquially as "knee-hole phones" because they were often mounted in the knee-holes of desks to maximize available desk space. I was surprised to see them marketed as residential wall phones in the 30s (with E1 handsets of course) because I had identified them with business environments such as the hardware store where I saw one when I was a little kid (and thought it was darn cool too). Yet, they certainly do fit into places where other wall phones will not go, except possibly Trimlines and such.
BTW, WE made one with chromed (or polished steel?) housing as well as hookswitch and other parts. This I know because one passed through my hands when I was in high school in the late 70s (it appeared to be plated rather than polished). Should have kept it. Darn. Back then, everything WE was so easily obtainable that it appeared the supply would go on forever. Think of a basement full of 302s (and a refurb workshop), for selling at the local flea market, installation available for an additional hourly rate. Sigh...