Western Electric 502 with excursion plunger

[WesternElectricBen]

Hello,

Last year at Lancaster I was gaven a Western Electric 502, I thought it was just a random 500 from 1959. I opened it up and learned it was refurbished in the late 70's.

Though what I want to know is what did the excursion plunger play the role for, a second line, or a privacy block? My guess is it is a extra line because the number card in the phone had two numbers.

Thank you, I'm interested in knowing!
Ben

[paul-f]

It's "exclusion."

You can find some highlights here, with more info in the listed BSPs:

   http://www.paul-f.com/we500typ.htm#502

The most common use was for an executive or military officer to assure that the secretary (assistant, etc.) wasn't listening in on important phone calls.

Since it is a simple switch, it could be wired for other functions.

More info in the April 2009 Singing Wires.

[WesternElectricBen]

It's "exclusion."

You can find some highlights here, with more info in the listed BSPs:

   http://www.paul-f.com/we500typ.htm#502

The most common use was for an executive or military officer to assure that the secretary (assistant, etc.) wasn't listening in on important phone calls.

Since it is a simple switch, it could be wired for other functions.

More info in the April 2009 Singing Wires.

Thank you Paul! For some reason I only have June 2012 to recent Singing Wires...

Ben

[paul-f]

Log in to the Members' Area and follow the link to:
  Singing Wires Archive and Members Only Documents

If you haven't bookmarked the URL yet, you can find it at the bottom of the TCI site home page:
  http://www.telephonecollectors.org/

You'll find ALL the back issues to the beginning of Singing Wires.

There's loads of interesting reading in the back issues.

Happy reading!

[WesternElectricBen]

Log in to the Members' Area and follow the link to:
  Singing Wires Archive and Members Only Documents

If you haven't bookmarked the URL yet, you can find it at the bottom of the TCI site home page:
  http://www.telephonecollectors.org/

You'll find ALL the back issues to the beginning of Singing Wires.

There's loads of interesting reading in the back issues.

Happy reading!

Oh... Now I see it, it was a different button. Well it looks like I'l be reading for the next few weeks!

BEn

[Jim Stettler]

The Disc version of "Singing Wires" is well worth having. It is searchable and ALL photos are in color. Paul and Bev McFadden were the editors for a couple of decades. After the Digital age hit, They scanned all the newsletters and swapped out the B/W photos with the original photos in color.

I Think non members can order the disc. I think it is less the $30.00
Jim

[WesternElectricBen]

The Disc version of "Singing Wires" is well worth having. It is searchable and ALL photos are in color. Paul and Bev McFadden were the editors for a couple of decades. After the Digital age hit, They scanned all the newsletters and swapped out the B/W photos with the original photos in color.

I Think non members can order the disc. I think it is less the $30.00
Jim

Sounds like its worth it, though right now I'm bidding on a Panisonic PBX.

Ben

[paul-f]

The Disc version of "Singing Wires" is well worth having. It is searchable and ALL photos are in color. Paul and Bev McFadden were the editors for a couple of decades. After the Digital age hit, They scanned all the newsletters and swapped out the B/W photos with the original photos in color.

I Think non members can order the disc. I think it is less the $30.00
Jim

It's available from the TCI site for $20.  Members can download the more recent back issues as described above.

   http://www.telephonecollectors.org/store/store.htm

TCI Newsletters 1986-2007

Catch up on over 21 years of TCI newsletters. This disk contains PDF versions of every newsletter TCI published from the beginning including the hard to find "pre Singing Wires" issues. They were carefully converted to PDF documents and completely indexed by Paul and Bev McFadden, Singing Wires Editors Emeritus. If you remember an informative article from the distant past that you can't put your hands on, this is the place to find it!

[Dave F]

502 exclusion sets were also often used at radio stations for listener call-ins.  The activation of the exclusion feature prevented on-air conversations from being interrupted by other station employees who accidentally (or intentionally) picked up an extension phone.  The (originally) gray 502 shown below came from a radio station.  It sat for years on a desk under a sunny window, and is really yellowed and in need of some TLC.  Notice that it also has a G6 amplified handset, and an external neon lamp to indicate ringing, while the internal ringer has been disconnected for obvious reasons.  It also came with a gray 107A Spokesman loudspeaker (not shown here) to allow others in the studio to hear both sides of the conversation.

DF

[WesternElectricBen]

502 exclusion sets were also often used at radio stations for listener call-ins.  The activation of the exclusion feature prevented on-air conversations from being interrupted by other station employees who accidentally (or intentionally) picked up an extension phone.  The (originally) gray 502 shown below came from a radio station.  It sat for years on a desk under a sunny window, and is really yellowed and in need of some TLC.  Notice that it also has a G6 amplified handset, and an external neon lamp to indicate ringing, while the internal ringer has been disconnected for obvious reasons.  It also came with a gray 107A Spokesman loudspeaker (not shown here) to allow others in the studio to hear both sides of the conversation.

DF

Ah, quite interesting, Thank you!