CL finds

[Greg G.]

One is a Kellogg, but I'm not sure of the date, it looks like there are two dates on it, but I think it's April 72.  I'm not sure what the other numbers above are, but it looked like 66.  If 72, why would the mouth piece have a 69 date on it?  Also, why is the inside of the ear cap beige?

Now here's a challenge for y'all - try to make out what phone company it originally belonged to.  I can barely make out "WH??ER PA??"  Something Park?  It's not a local phone company, otherwise I would recognize it and be able to fill in the blanks.  

[Dan/Panther]

66 is the Htz of the ringer. If it's kellogg.
D/P

[Greg G.]

The other one is a WE 500, 2-56.  I haven't tested either one yet because, I hate to say, I forgot how to hook up the wires to a jack.  All I can remember is the obvious way is the wrong way, the red, green, black, and yellow wires DO NOT go to the corresponding colored wires on the jack.  I don't have any other phones rigged to a jack to compare it to.

[Dennis Markham]

The cap that is beige on the inside and black on the outside was painted.  A factory refurb most likely.  The pre-dated piece is probably a result of the refurbishment of the phone.  They would use parts for many dates when refurbishing a phone for re-circulation.

The W.E. base obviously appears to be from 2-56.  The plastic housing was replaced at some time later.  You can tell by the clear switch hook buttons (plungers).  The handset appears to be a G1, perhaps the same date as the bottom of the phone but the caps are replacement plastic caps with 7 holes in the ear piece and no "missing" center hole in the transmitter cap.  There is probably a date molded into the plastic.  On the housing if you remove it and look inside, in a small circle you will see a date...there will probably be a letter with a line under it then a two-digit year.  Like C over 68 or whatever the date it was made.  Also under the hood since the dial appears to be an original 7 series dial (wide opening for the finger stop with a support underneath), the ringer bells probably match the bottom date and also the network will have a similar date.

I don't much about the Kellogg phones.   There may be information on "Kellogg Mike's" web site.  Everything anyone wants to know but were afraid to ask about Kellogg Telephones can be found on his site.  Here is a link to that page:

http://www.telephonearchive.com/kelloggtelephone/index.html

Hope that info helps. 

[Greg G.]

Hope that info helps.  

It does, thanks.  Can you help me with the correct wiring instructions so I can test it?  I was looking for the outer stickers to tell me if it was refurbished.  Somebody named "Pete" refurbished it on 2/18/63, can't see it too well in the picture, but he wrote it in pencil in the front right corner.  I'll call him "Sneaky Pete" for that!  The caps have 5-66 and 10-64 dates on them.  So did I end up with what's called a "frankenphone"?  Go ahead, I'm a big boy, I can handle the truth!  My enthusiasm often far outpaces my knowledge on a lot of things.

[Dennis Markham]

It's a real, authentic Western Electric telephone.  Pete may have refurbished it in 1966 but hey, it's all good.  That's still over 40 years ago!  How are you going to connect the line cord to the wall?  I notice that the black wire from the ringer is attached to the G terminal.  (Look on the diagram on the side of the network).  If you attach a plug at the end of the line cord and you put the yellow wire with the green wire (on the same lug) and the red wire where the red wire is supposed to go on the plug it will ring.  Otherwise, if you just want to connect the red and green to the wall, move the black ringer from G and put it on L1.  You will then connect your mounting cord (line cord), green to L1 and red to L2.

[Greg G.]

How are you going to connect the line cord to the wall?  

I was going to connect the wires on the phone to this gizmo, then plug one end of the whatcha-macallit cord to the gizmo, and the other end to the other gizmo that's already in the wall.  That's why I was asking which wire actually goes where.

[Greg G.]

And in the process, try not to electrocute myself:

[bingster]

You won't electrocute yourself.  Hopefully.

If it's wired according to the standard diagrams, you'll want to connect the red wire from the mounting cord under the screw of the connecting block that has the red wire running to it.  Then the green and yellow from the mounting cord BOTH get connected under the screw that has the green wire running to it (otherwise it might not ring).

[Greg G.]

You won't electrocute yourself.  Hopefully.

If it's wired according to the standard diagrams, you'll want to connect the red wire from the mounting cord under the screw of the connecting block that has the red wire running to it.  Then the green and yellow from the mounting cord BOTH get connected under the screw that has the green wire running to it (otherwise it might not ring).

Ok, sounds easy enough.  Brings up another question though.  I have a 59 WE 500 that has an additional black wire.  What's with that?

[bingster]

That's not a telephone mounting cord.  It's actually a piece of stiff "station wire," which is the wire the phone company stapled to the baseboards.  Somebody got a hunk of it and used it to make the phone work, apparently.  It can be used, of course (as can just about any wire), but the black wire serves no purpose in this application.

[Phonesrfun]

Briney:

When we get to Bellevue on the 27th, I can give you a lot of "how-to's"

I could give you a big long list of things to do to test the phone, but I don't think I can say it any better than Dennis already has.

I'll tell you what.  I will bring a tester to Bellevue so that we can hook it up and get it working for sure.  Just remember to bring the phone in question.

-Bill

[Dan]

Brinebay, beautiful finds. If you like those boxes to hook the wires to, there's a guy on ebay that seels them in bulk real cheaply. I got all my phones on those boxes (biscuit jacks, as some guys--specifically, a british guy I know-call them). They help to switch out your phones easier.


I am waiting for a 10 button pink touchtone WE 1500 from Craigs list. I emailed him several times. Finally, about a month after his listing was over, he wrote back and said he still had the phone for sale.
I told him about how to ship it sent him the $30 plus shipping with USPS. He emailed me back and said he got payment and would ship the phone the next morning.

I was going to give it to my wife because she uses a pink princess rotary , but really wants a touchtone.

Eleven days later, NO PHONE. I emailed him after seven days and asked him if it was on the way and had no response. I called him (he sent me his phone #) and left a voice mail.
Looks like I got taken. Each day I ask my wife if anything came in the mail. It is getting depressing.

Anyone ever get ripped off like it's appears is happening to me?

Since I have his # and address, is there anything I can do? He lives on Michigan, I'm around Cincinnati.

[JorgeAmely]

The black and yellow pair is used in Mushroom phones to provide power to the lamp circuit. Very little current is drawn by the phone on this pair and the voltage is in the order of 6 to 8 volts DC or AC.

It is very difficult to get shocked with the voltages present on a phone line, unless you put the exposed wires in your mouth and suddenly a phone calls arrives.

I don't want to mention any names, but that has happened to a forum member.

Would the members of the Phone Line Shock Club please raise your hand? 

[bingster]

Shamefully raising my hand.  The station wire's conductors were in my hand when the phone rang.