Western Electric 251 (was What dial plate is this?)

[Sargeguy]

Cool!!!

[Jester]

I have really enjoyed this forum, and have learned alot about phones I've had for years & thought I knew.  This thread is a good case & point.  I bought this phone as a kid & thought I had a 302.  What struck me as odd, though, was the F1W handset and the strange ringer (which had been disconnected).  As I became even more familiar with the 302, I discovered some other features on this phone that are VERY different.  Check the pics below against my list.
1)  The porcelain dial plate is notched, but there is no part # on the inner radius, and no date stamp.  Also, the red zero is large, and the "operator" designation is absent.
2)  The feet are metal caps with black rubber inserts-- no felt padded suede here!
3)  This shot shows the ringer detail, including the similar yet different mounting bracket.
4)  This shot shows the AB-1 case stamp-- a true indication this is a model 251.

[Sargeguy]

Neat.  You never know what you'll find on an independent telco 251/302.  Those are most likely aftermarket accessories that were cheaper than the WECO versions.  Is that a straight line ringer?

[Jester]

Sargeguy,
I believe so.  This set had the standard 195c condenser in it when I got it, but the ringer had been disconnected-- from both terminals as I recall.  You can imagine the head scratching that caused a newbie, but I finally got it!  I eventually disconnected the condenser leads & installed a Radio Shack 2mf condenser between K & L2--there is so much built-in resistance in the clapper pivot (notice-- no bias spring) I finally figured out the coils needed more Oomph! to overcome it!

[GG]

Yo Stephen-

That's a frequency ringer used in harmonic ringing systems for party lines. 

As far as I know WE never used harmonic ringing (but the independent telcos did), and in any case the coils & bells on that one do not look like anything WE ever produced.  So I'm going to guess it's some kind of aftermarket adaptation, and I would expect to find a non-standard mounting of some kind on there.

What you said about the clapper pivot being stiff is also very typical of party line ringers: the pivot is actually a solid piece of metal rather than a hinge point. 

And altering the capacitor can change the response of the ringer; increasing the value of the capacitor makes it more likely to ring but also draws more current and increases the ringer equivalence of that phone on a CO line. 

-G.