News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Western Electric 334 subset with Wooden Gongs

Started by Sargeguy, March 02, 2014, 03:32:17 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Sargeguy

Different style gongs were used on subsets and ringer boxes to provide a distinctive ring so that people in offices where several phones were in use could determine which phone was ringing.  There were several types: Cow bells, temple bells, tea bells, sleigh bells, to name a few.  You needed to have run through a lot of options before you used wooden gongs.  Wooden gongs are less durable and harder to manufacture than brass equivalents.  They are prone to splitting and warping.  They produce a sound comparable to an anemic woodpecker.  This makes them pretty scarce.  They do not turn up on eBay very often, and the last couple that I saw went for pretty good money.  I was surprised to wake up yesterday morning and find I had won an auction for a WE 334 with wooden gongs for $86, about what a typical 334 might sell for on a good day.  The seller lived nearby and I was able to pick it up yesterday morning.

1903 Western Electric Candlestick Phone Ringer Box with Two Wooden Bells

The subset worked fine when hooked up.  One of the bells has a crack, but it doesn't seem to affect the acoustics much.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Mr. Bones

Wow, Greg!

     Nice find! Wooden gongs, who'd a' thunk? I could see these as a Wartime measure, but never thought they'd be utilized simply to make a different tonality.

     If / when you have an opportunity, I'd love to hear a sound file of them. Pretty Please!

Best regards!
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

Sargeguy

Hmmm...maybe I could make it into a ringtone?
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

WesternElectricBen

Very, very cool..

I'd like to hear a recording of the "bells" if you get it going.

Ben

Sargeguy

Cannot post audio files so I took a video with my camera and uploaded it to Vimeo.  It should be ready for viewing in a 1/2 hour or so.

https://vimeo.com/88011860
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Mr. Bones

Thanks for taking the time, Greg!

     I can't wait to hear it.

       Anemic woodpecker? Yup, that could certainly be a ringtone! Fwiw, I watch birds extensively, and we have some 'metalpeckers', here; I hear them / see them dinging away on metal light poles... not sure how well they fare, bug-wise, but they persist, year, after year. Not sure just where they fit in, evolution-wise??

Best regards!
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

Mr. Bones

Very interesting!
     
     Thanks, Greg, for taking the time and trouble to post this, it is greatly appreciated! Enjoy your truly rare find, Sir!

Best regards!
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

WesternElectricBen


Dan/Panther

Sounds to me like an early attempt at the Doctors office muted ringer.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Nick in Manitou

A bit off topic, but in response to Mr. Bones' comment about the "metalpeckers", I have been told that some of the woodpeckers look for noisy items to peck at in order to attract the opposite sex.  They tend to peck at things like metal chimney caps and the like at a faster rate than they would if they were pecking at a tree or the side of your house in an attempt to access bugs or excavate a nest.

Nick 

Sargeguy

As Nick said, it is a means of marking their territory-they will drum the loudest object they can find.  Males will also attack their reflection in shiny metal such as hubcaps, and mirrors or glass.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Mr. Bones

Quote from: Sargeguy on March 04, 2014, 07:53:57 PM
As Nick said, it is a means of marking their territory-they will drum the loudest object they can find.  Males will also attack their reflection in shiny metal such as hubcaps, and mirrors or glass.
Interesting, and thanks to the both of you for the information!

     I have seen birds, many, many times, attacking their reflections in car windows, and mirrors. Understood the territorial dominance imperative there, but never re: banging on the metal light poles.

Best regards, back to telephony!
Sláinte!
   Mr. Bones
      Rubricollis Ferus

19and41

Sounds about like a TA-312 field phone "ring".
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

unbeldi

Wooden gongs for subsets are in none of the WECo catalogs, while these documents provide great details on the other shape or material types.

Is it actually known that these were indeed manufactured by Western Electric, rather than being private replacements from another company to make gongs less intrusive?  Many companies invented all sorts of additional gear to fill market niches. Or were they perhaps used for a short time during WWI because of metal shortages, when WECo also reduced capacitor sizes from 2 µF to 1 µF in subsets to save material.

Sargeguy

They are notched like WE bells.  These were used, like cowbells, tea gongs, etc. in offices where there were multiple lines and people had to differentiate which phone was ringing.  I have also seen 3.5" gongs that were notched to dull the tone on CO ringer boxes.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409