German phone in America

[Atari1977]

Hello,
I've been in Germany the last couple of months and I've picked up a Siemens W36 telephone from 1941 while here. The previous owner wired it up for a standard German TAE connection and I wanted to know if anyone knew what kind of adapter I need exactly to have it work in America. I think all I need is a TAE to RJ-11 adapter(or change the cable), but I read that American ringer voltage is higher than it is in Germany and I'm not sure how to account for that(though I think the solution would be just putting a resistor on the line)

[dsk]

You may just use it as it is, works great, but has a higher ring load.
dsk

[unbeldi]

There really isn't a need to worry about the ringing voltage.  The components in Siemens sets are well dimensioned for higher voltages, in fact I think they have higher margins than the US telephones usually.  For, example, the capacitors in a W48 are rated at 250 V, but have been tested at 750 V.  Perhaps this is because of the higher utility power of 220 V there.

I think you can get TAE to RJ11 adapters in Germany, and they are probably cheaper there than in the US, where nobody uses TAE.   You can also make one yourself if you only have the mating connector.

Here is a diagram of a line cord that I wired for a W48:


  Leviton RJ14 box   6P4C male adapter cable  TAE connector       Line cord          W48 telephone
   +---------------+  contact side up
   |               | +-----+
   |               | |     |                 
   |     --Yellow--< ===----Yellow------------++----------------------green----o  W2  external bell
--T-------Green---< ===----Green-------------||---++-----------------brown----o  b   Exchange line b
   |                                          X3   X2   X1
--R-------Red-----< ===----Red-------------------------++------------white----o  a   Exchange line a
   |     --Black---< ===----White-------------X4----------------------yellow---o  E   Earth
   |               | |     |
   |               | +-----+
   +---------------+




The TAE connector 'drawing' in this diagram probably only makes sense if you are actually looking at the TAE connector facing the contacts, looking at the two rows of three contacts ea.  What I drew here, is actually the combination of a male and female plug and socket.   I labeled the four contacts as X1 through X4.  Following the scheme, X5 (opposite to X2) and X6 (opposite to X1) are not connected in the TAE.

[Atari1977]

Alright, thanks for the info! I saw a couple of adapters online here, so I'll just pick one up while I'm still here.

[Jack Ryan]

As has been said, the phone will work in the USA without any issues.

The TAE connection is not correct for that phone, it is a modern conversion.

I would remove it and find either the original plug & socket or wall terminal block. While you are looking, I would simply connect a modular wall socket to the end of the cable so that a normal modular cable can be used to connect the phone to the line.

I have attached the terminal connections. 'a' and 'b' are the line wires and '1' and '2' are the terminal block numbers in the phone.

By the way, there is no 'W36'. The 'W' would indicate that the phone was a standard used by the German telephone company. It was not so it is a 'Model 36' not a 'W36'. There are lots of variations of the Model 36 over nearly 30 years.

There may be a dial interlock fitted. This prevents the dial from operating (turning) when the handset is on the cradle and was originally designed to prevent users from operating the dial too early. Does it have an Earth or flash button?

Jack

[Atari1977]

Yeah, the original's one of these Walzenstecker connections right? I'll switch it back over when I get back to the States. It does have a button on the front, but I still haven't actually received the phone yet from the seller.

[dsk]

Mine is here: http://tinyurl.com/gs39aa9
It seems to be wrong to call it W36 because the W indicates some kind of approval for using on the PSTN. The correct name should  be Modell 36. It was developed in 1936, made for decades for use on PBX's. As far as I have discovered the wiring of the dial in hence of hook-switch in circuit differs from later models approved.

Regarding the ringer:  (from this thread: http://tinyurl.com/hom4ezz  )



dsk

[Jack Ryan]

Yeah, the original's one of these Walzenstecker connections right? I'll switch it back over when I get back to the States. It does have a button on the front, but I still haven't actually received the phone yet from the seller.

Yes, that's the plug and socket referred to in the diagram I posted. It's a Reichtspost connector but I don't think it was restricted to them.

Jack

[unbeldi]

Yeah, the original's one of these Walzenstecker connections right? I'll switch it back over when I get back to the States. It does have a button on the front, but I still haven't actually received the phone yet from the seller.

Well, probably most often it would be hardwired to the wall connecting box, called a 'Rosette', a round black Bakelite connection block with a cover.
Like in the US, portable phones were much rarer, often used for temporary outdoor use or in large residences or office suites.

Telephone lines with portable phones always had to have a fixed device installed for ringing and central office testing. Even when all telephones were portable with plugs, the Reichpost, and later the Bundespost, would install a single ringer on the line.

[unbeldi]

Regarding the ringer:  (from this thread: http://tinyurl.com/hom4ezz  )

......
dsk

These "REN" values don't make any sense to me.  I am not disputing that you measured and calculated something involving those numbers, but they are not REN.  There is no way for example, that an AE40 has a lower REN than a 500 set, or that the 302 is below 1, it is more like 1.3.

The nominal value of a 500 set according to the original definition was 1 REN, with later definitions it came out to be just a little lower.

[dsk]

I have measured as described in the thread. It is based on the setup in "Old times telephones" by Ralph Meyer. The main difference is the frequency used is 25 and not 20 HZ.  As you see the load calculated for the 500 and the 2500 differs, and I did believe these were equal.  Still the readings gives an idea of a load by the modell 36 compared with the others. Approximately 2.5 times the 500.
Regarding the AE40 the readings are as measured, and I know this is a late version ringer, but nothing about what it should be for real.
It seems like the load are changing different when frequencies are changed. 

So far this is the only table I have seen with my types telephones measured, so until further it is the best I have.

dsk

[Matilo Telephones]

I think the rosette or terminal box was more common than the plug and socket. It also may be easier (cheaper) to find.

The standard Siemens rosette has a round metal cover rather than bakelite.

And to be entirely correct (although it is rather nitpicking) it's model 36 or Modell 36.

I am curious about some pictures of this telephone. The Modell 36, W38 and W48 are often confused. And the Modell 36 has many different versions, that differ from the Original Modell 36. For instance a metal version was made for the Belgian market, with entirely different electronics. It could hardly be called a Modell 36, as it is as different from the W38 is from the W48.

Just my 2ct.

[dsk]

"telfondose" http://tinyurl.com/h6wepg7
This does not look nice but it was the first I could find.

When I got mine, it had this plug.

dsk

[Matilo Telephones]

I have one of these. Only one. I would like more. :-)

[unbeldi]

Here is a somewhat more 'modern' version, probably from the 1950s.