Western Electric 356

[Sargeguy]

I was trying to buy a Western Electric 352/354 for my kitchen.  I won an eBay auction for what appeared to be a WE 354 but when it arrived I discovered that it was actually a 356.  The 356 id the party line version of the 32/354 Looking inside, the most obvious differences appear to be the 333A tube attached to the ringer and a muffled bell on the ringer.  Can anyone tell me if the 333A tube will increase the number of phones I have hooked up at any given time or will that feature be redundant once I wire it for single-party service?

[Dennis Markham]

There was some discussion about the 426A tube a while back.  There is a photo of the 372A tube from a 302 that I had.  The 426A was in a model 500.  Check out this posting:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=99.0

There is some good information there.  If the 333 is the same type of tubeit may be best to disable the tube.  The baffle in the gong acts similarly to the baffles inside the gongs on the C4A type ringers.  I would leave it there (the baffle).

[Sargeguy]

The pics did not upload last time:

[bingster]

Is there a vacuum tube inside that housing?  It looks just like an electrolytic condenser, which is something I've never seen in a telephone before.

At any rate, the BSPs do indicate there should be a 426A tube in a 356, and that it's intended for polarized ringing (4-party selective and 8-party semiselective service).

[Sargeguy]

The sources I looked at had a 333A tube, so I assumed it was the housing for the tube.  Further research (via Google) shows either a 333A or 426A tube.  The housing reads "GUDEMAN CO. KS-16023".

[bingster]

"KS" anything indicates a Western Electric part.  The tube is probably inside, but I've never seen anything quite like that.  Is the end opposite the screw open?

[Sargeguy]

Nope.  It is sealed up tight as a drum.  I assume this wouldn't be done with a vacuum tube?

[bingster]

I can see it being sealed on a telephone, since the tube isn't always "on."  It's a very interesting arrangement, though.  The BSP I have for this phone shows a picture, but the picture shows a bare tube above the condenser.  I wonder if it was done because the phone was in service in a particularly humid climate or something.

[Dennis Markham]

Paul Fassbender's site indicates that a model 356 would have the M5 mounting.  You can view what he writes about that model  here:

http://www.paul-f.com/we300typ.htm

I've never seen one of those metal tubes before.  I've always seen the larger tubes protected only by a corrugated cardboard sleeve.

[Sargeguy]

I sure can pick 'em.  The specific designation for this phone is 356C-SPL.  On the back "Dial' is written in pencil.  The phone is a 1952 and came from a seller in Illinois.

[McHeath]

Do ya'll suppose that Western Electric just cobbled this phone together for some special use?  Or was this a standard configuration? 

[Dan/Panther]

Also what is the baffle in the ringer ?
D/P

[Dennis Markham]

I've been trying to remember the real answer to that baffle question.  I remember some discussion about the baffle a while back on one of the phone club lists.  I recall someone comparing it to the baffle that is inside the gong on a model 500 (C4A Ringer).  The writer said that it really doesn't baffle the sound at all but that it has a function that actually makes the ring more clear.  Again, I'm just remembering that from something I read a while ago.  If I can come up with the real answer I'll share it.

[Sargeguy]

The aluminum housing seems to be there to protect or insulate  the tube, but from what? 

[Sargeguy]

From the wiring schematic  for the 306 at www.telephonecollectors.org-

"Gas tubes must be replaced with KS-16203 or 2uF 250V polyester film capacitor.  Conversion results in an equivalent low impedance ringing bridge which reduces the ringing range and the number of permissible ringing bridges"