Updating a candlestick phone

[Atari1977]

I've come into possession of an American Tel&Tel Co 323 candlestick phone and wanted to see if I could get it working again. What kind of subset box(did not receive one with the phone) do I need and are there any other steps I need to go through to make it work with modern phone lines?

[poplar1]

323 is just the part number for the transmitter. The model number in on the lug holder (neck)--probably 50AL, 51AL, or 151AL.

The 50AL and 51AL have 3 conductors from the phone to the subset; common subsets are 295A (oak), 534A (metal), and 584A (Bakelite).

The 151AL uses 4 wires to the subset. Subsets are 634A (metal), 634BA (metal),  684A (Bakelite) and 684BA (Bakelite). Also 495BP (oak with cowbells).

These phones and subsets were made by Western Electric for AT&T and other companies.

[Atari1977]

On the back of the lug holding the transmitter it says 20AL, also there is no dial(It's from my great-grandparents who  I presume had a party line). After I get the subset box what do I have to do to get it to work with modern phone lines?

[poplar1]

20AL uses same subsets as 50AL and 51AL. It should work fine on modern lines, though the transmitter is understandably not as clear as modern ones.

You connect the red, green and yellow wires from the 20AL to R, GN and Y in the subset, and connect the line from the wall to L1 and L2. If the ringer was originally wired for a party line, then the black ringer wire will have to be moved from G to L1.

Some have recommended adding a second condenser, but this can be done later.

[Atari1977]

What would the average risk of buying a subset off ebay? By which I mean how big of a gamble am I taking on whether it will work or not. I saw this one which looks to be in fairly good shape but I have no idea about these things. Not that fixing it would be that big of an issue, it's just that I would rather get a functional one to start with.

[wds]

I had this box on my radar - I think it's a good one.  You can polish that box up real nice.  I always liked the looks of these wood subsets much better than the metal 534 or 634.  The seller already states the box works, so i don't think there is much risk.  Good choice.

[dennisjnunes]

Help---I saw your post and thought I would give it a try because I'm new and I don't even know how to post, I have a *329* and a D202 anti sidestone, I'll get to those later what I'm trying to find out is what is the difference between a 684A and a 685A
Can anyone help because I don't even know if anyone can get back to me, I cant figure out how all of this posting and talking to people works.
  member I.D. dennisjnunes