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First post- 1963 US army "unclassified" Western Electric phone

Started by Btee, October 05, 2010, 09:52:29 PM

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Btee

Hello all! I am new to the phone world, but not new to the old stuff collecting.

I am mainly a vacuum collector. I have 29 vacuum cleaners currently, ranging from a 1919 hoover, to a 2009 Sanitaire.

I also collect fans. I have a 1925 Dayton 367 16" desktop brass wing. And a 1950s westinghouse 8".



Well my grandpa is the one who gave me this most interesting WE phone. He lives in a 1915 historical Mansion here in Omaha Nebraska. Hes got more stuff in there, that every time I find something cool. I have taken two of probably a dozen vacuum cleaners in his house, the 50s westinghouse fan was from his garage. And this telephone is just one of many in the basement.
______________

This phone is a 1963 Western Electric 500 series "service corps" US army issue phone.

Id like to find out more of this phones history and rarity.

Another member posted here earlier asking about a switch under the handset holder. I dont know what it is yet, as I dont have an adaptor for the phone to use on a modern jack.

The sticker on the front reads-
Fire
95
6452
Unclassified
Only
*and some other numbers including a date*



These pictures are pre deep clean. The phone at one point had tape holding the reciever on and the cord taped on, probably during a move.

The base has no big scratches. Just little ones that can be buffed out. [i mg]http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7R5xPKf-tTBWVKthZdm3wgrZW5GCTNdt5djG8sov4Z8?feat=directlink[/i mg]

Btee

Another pic.

This is the cord. The ringer/sound wire is disconnected. I will reattach it soon. Dont know what the original cord would have looked like. This wire is like 70 feet long. A bit excessive!

Phonesrfun

Likely sold by Western Electric to an Army post or Air Force base  A '60's 500 has no particular rarity to it, but they are interesting, and not bad for a 50-60 year-old phone.  After all, it is what keeps us all going.  History of the phone is anyone's guess, unless you can tie it to a specific location.

Hope you can get it to work, and welcome to the forum.

-Bill G

Btee

The base.

I have noticed that no other 500 series I have seen has an unpainted base. It appears all original. Has some paint splatter on it though.

Btee

#4
Quote from: Phonesrfun on October 05, 2010, 09:57:04 PM
Likely sold by Western Electric to an Army post or Air Force base  A '60's 500 has no particular rarity to it, but they are interesting, and not bad for a 50-60 year-old phone.  After all, it is what keeps us all going.  History of the phone is anyone's guess, unless you can tie it to a specific location.

Hope you can get it to work, and welcome to the forum.



Thank you! My grandpa doesn't recall where this was used. Considering where he was stationed in the 60s and 70s, it could be anywhere around the world.


Here is the handset.

Btee

The switch is visible here.

Sorry for the dirt. Hey it hasn't been used in about 10 years. :)

It does work, so thats a good thing! Now I just need to get it hooked up at my house!

Btee

The guts of the beast.

It was extremely clean on the inside. I was impressed.

Btee

The badge with all the gunk. Ha!

It had a sticker over it and I just took it off, so I have yet to clean it up. But it gives you an idea what it should be!


how cool! I was thrilled when I uncovered it.

Dan


Move the grey wire and pair it up with the green wire. It will ring. I could give you the network connection labels, but basically the bells are grounded and moving them will make them ring.

The grey (black ) wire looks like the letter "C" when you look at it in the guts picture.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Btee

Thanks for the tip!

Before I do that I will reconnect the yellow wires just in case. My grandpa said that is why the phone doesn't ring as it is right now. If that fails, I will do the green wire trick.


Were these switched around in the past just to bypass the ringer?

Thanks again!

McHeath

Signal corp phones are somewhat rare, not unfindable but not your common variety by any means.  I've got a 1960 model myself. 

The unpainted base became standard in the mid 60's, they moved from black painted base plates to anodized ones.  The anodized process was cheaper, from what I've heard, and it has the bonus of not rusting as much with the plastic, neoprene, feet. 

This phone appears to be mostly original.  The handset is pre 1968 which is when they changed the logo wording to the "Bell System Property Not For Sale" saying. There ought to be date codes on pretty much everything, just look for the numbers, even the inside of the handset will have one as well as the cords on the strain reliefs. 

Nice to have a phone with family history to it.   

rp2813

Oh yeah, the strain relief dates.   That's one place I forgot to tell Brandon to look for a date.

Brandon, I think the date on the handset cord will be on the end that attaches to the base and has the small hook on it.  You should see two digits stamped into the metal, one on each side where the crimp comes together.  My guess is that they'll be a "6" and a "3"

I'm fairly sure that "unclassified" simply means that it was a phone anyone could use to talk with anyone else, working off a line that wasn't any more or less secure than your average POTS line, and unlike, say, the "hot line" which is probably the most secure and "classified" phone line on the planet.
Ralph

LarryInMichigan

The "Unclassified Only" on the dial card means that the phone was not to be used to discuss any classified information as the line was not secure.

Larry

rp2813

I don't know where the concept came from re:  a third wire being needed to make the phone ring.  My dad used to say the same thing.  I think it might have something to do with party line service, but on a regular POTS line just connect your pair of wires onto the L1 and L2 terminals and that should do it.  The red lead from the ringer needs to be connected to either the L1 or L2 terminal as well.
Ralph

Btee

My grandpa replied to my question of where it came from.

----
I probably "acquired" it from Sgt. Stanley S. Swiontek, whom I knew from Warner Robbins
AFB in GA.  We got together again at Griffiss AFB in Rome, NY where he taught me how
to connect telephones... red wire for signal, green wire for common, yellow wire for ringer,
etc.  That's what he did in the AF.  I would have acquired that phone some time between
February and June of 1967.
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