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Is this "oldie" still a "goodie"?

Started by Dewdrop, October 18, 2009, 05:27:38 PM

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Dewdrop

Need some help on how to hookup this Western Electric telephone. I'm such a new "newbie", but love old telephones. Really just started a few months ago collecting old telephones. One of my clients at work calls me Phone Lady and I call him Jar Man (he collects old fruit jars). I have several other collections that I won't go into right now. Back to this Black Beauty can you tell from the following pictures if it will work or can be fixed to work? Does it have all its parts? Also does anyone have a suggestion on what antique or vintage telephone book to start out with? Hope I'm not over doing it with the pictures.
The #4 pic that I didn't attach is of the bottom of the phone with 304 A/C stamped in red. Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks
Debbie

Phonesrfun

Definitely!  It looks all there.  What kind of connector are you trying to hook it into?  I assume a modular jack?


-Bill
-Bill G

McHeath

Wow, that transmitter in your picture 3 wins the award for most trips to the refurb shop that I've ever seen!  The yellow date on the transmitter is the date it was made, and all the red dates are when it went back for refurbishment.  

This is a very nice Western Electric 302 style desk phone.  It has a plastic shell dated 1949 and the chassis is dated 1947.  To make it work you need an adaptor to connect the red and green wires to from the line cord, the line that has the three spade end connectors on it right now.  You don't need to worry about the yellow wire anymore, just the green and red.

An adaptor can be purchased online or sometimes at local hardware stores, though they are getting more rare locally all the time.  I often buy these from places like Wal-Mart and wire them up, then run a modern modular cord to my wall plug to make the phone work.  

Dewdrop

So far, great news. Yes Bill, a modular jack. Can I use a Surface Mount Wall Jack? pic attached
THANKS
Debbie

LarryInMichigan

Dewdrop,

Your jack will be fine.  BTW, most of the dollar stores around here carry all sorts of telephone stuff (jacks, 1-to-3 adapters, etc.).  I tend to stock up on them.  Paying $1 sure beats paying $3-$6  per item, especially when I buy lots of the things.  Also, I often buy the 25 ft modular dollar store cords, cut them in half, add spades to the ends of the wires, and use them as line cords for phones which did not come with decent cords of their own.  They may not be very authentic looking, but they are cheap.

Larry

bwanna

debbie, you could wire the spade ends directly into your surface mount wall jacks.  i prefer to install the old style 4prong jacks & 4prong ends on the phones. these are available at old phoneworks. if you are interested i have a few of the old mounting blocks that would have been used for this phone in the day. in fact, i think i have some extra ends & jacks, if you want to go that way. pm me if interested.

heath, i might also have a couple of those 4prong to modular adapters you are talking about. pm me if you want one.  but will have to wait til i go back downstate on tues to see if i do have one.

i think we would all agree, one of the best books to get is "Old Time Telephones" by Ralph O Meyer. it is available on amazon.com.  

a very good reference website is....http://www.paul-f.com/
donna

Phonesrfun

Hook the red from the phone to the surface mount jack red wire, then hook the green and yellow (both wires) from the phone to the green on the surface jack.  Plug it in and you should be good to go.  Disregard the black and yellow wires in the jack.


-Bill G

Dewdrop

Thanks for all the responses and good advice. Will put the phone back together. Use the jack I previously attached a picture of, match up the red and green spades under the screws of the jack, then plug one end of the modular cord in it and the other end into the jack on the wall. Will let you know soon if anything happens, like if the phone rings or can make calls. Oh, just saw your post Phonesrfun about hooking up the green and yellow from the phone to just the green on the jack.
Debbie
Debbie

Phonesrfun

Debbie:

Phones of that era were usually wired for party line ringing, and when on a private line the yellow had to be connected to the green.  It may ring by just leaving the yellow wire off, but better to be sure. 
-Bill G

Dewdrop

Disappointing News Folks - the 302 will RING but NO dial tone. Next....?
Debbie
Debbie

Phonesrfun

If you pick up another phone in the house when you have the 304 off hook, while talking into the 304 can you hear yourself on the other phone? 


-Bill G

LarryInMichigan

Debbie,

The first thing to check is the hook switch.  Make sure that the buttons in the cradle are not stuck in the down position.  See if gently pushing on the contacts on the switch results in a dial tone.  The dial may also be the culprit.  See if turning the dial slightly makes any difference.  On my 302, the receiver does not work unless the transmitter is properly in place.  Check to verify that both the receiver and transmitter elements are making proper contact.  You may want to lightly scrape the copper contacts in the handset with fine sandpaper or emery cloth to remove the oxidation.  Likewise on the bottoms of the transmitter and receiver elements.

I hope that this helps.

Larry

Dewdrop

Will try this right after supper. Husband just grilled some chicken on the grill.
Thanks
Debbie
Debbie

Dennis Markham

#13
Debbie, often people tinker with these old phones and move wires around.  I'm going to attach a pdf document to this response.  Compare your wire connections to the attachment.  It's simple if you just follow the wiring instruction for each component.  Take one at a time.

You'll see the attached PDF just above the photo, where the little paper clip is seen.  Just click on that and assuming you have Adobe Reader it will open for you.

Also attached is a photo of a coil and condenser so you know what component I'm talking about in my diagram.

I really like your Kellog dial card.  I have a Kellogg 2- 3237 (2G's in Kellogg) on one of my phones.

Dewdrop

SUPER news, the phone is now working. Got a dial tone, phone rings, phone makes calls - BUT, I've attached a picture of where the metal part (where green arrow is pointing) that a black wire goes to under where the transmitter rests is about to break through. Apparently this metal piece was pushed down too far and not making the connection. When I lifted it gently (I really did) it almost broke through. I put the transmitter in the handset and screw the cap on. Plugged the phone back up and it worked, but if I remove the transmitter I'm afraid the metal piece will break all the way through.
Thanks for all your help. Next weekend I'm going to start on another black desk phone. It's a Stromberg Carlson that has a metal dial, big handset and is very heavy. Oh, it also has a 4 prong plug.
Thanks again everyone!!!
Debbie
Debbie