Western Electric H & M mounting codes

[unbeldi]

Yes, I have some better pictures of that...  just annotated them: the yellow arrows point to the spring in colored set, or the same place in a black set where the spring is missing.

[unbeldi]

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[Kenton K]

I believe those bars correlate with reduced (or is it higher?)impedance ringers. I think sets with those bars also have the ringers with red stripes on the coils which signifies the difference.

I could be misinformed though.

Kk

[unbeldi]

I believe those bars correlate with reduced (or is it higher?)impedance ringers. I think sets with those bars also have the ringers with red stripes on the coils which signifies the difference.

I could be misinformed though.

Kk

When you say "misinformed", where did you get the information?   I believe this can only be obtained by observation.

But irrespectively, I quickly checked some data and the correlation is very high.

10 with bars = 10 with red stripe ringer
1 with bars = 1 with red stripe ringer and also -I date suffix
5 without bars = 5 without red stripe ringer
2 without bars = 2 without red stripe ringer, but marked -A

One old rose 302 has bars, but no red stripe ringer, but the ringer is marked 3-52-I

On black 302 has no bars, bit has a red stripe ringer, marked 2-52-I

My earliest red stripe ringer is 11/41, but I don't have pics of the base or mounting code.

This covers mostly colored plastic 302/304s. My data base for the black sets is not complete.

The -A suffix on ringer and base dates indicates that the base is made from aluminum and therefore the ringer is adjusted somehow to account for the difference in magnetic "environment".

I still don't know what the -I suffix means.

So....
I don't know if the statistics is good enough for anyone.

[unbeldi]

I am pretty much convinced that the three bar symbol indicates a red-stripe B ringer.
I have examined a bunch of other M3 mountings, and some recent auctions which agreed.

Last not least I found that subscriber sets also used red-stripe ringers, and indeed had a three-bar symbol. So the symbol has nothing to do with a telephone housing.

Here is the evidence from a post in this Forum:

[unbeldi]

Here is another red-stripe ringer of 1941-07 with matching three-bar stamping on the base, sold recently.


PS: another interesting factoid from this picture is that apparently the bases were feature-marked before the leather feet were attached, as it would be difficult to achieve that position of the three-stripe mark otherwise.

[Russ Kirk]

Why are the bellls different colors? One shiny brass and one with a patina.

[unbeldi]

Why are the bellls different colors? One shiny brass and one with a patina.

Starting with the 584 subset in 1930, WECo's ringers used two gongs with different frequencies. The B-type ringers in the 302s used the Nos. 40A and 40B, or the Nos. 41A and 41B gongs. Sometimes one of them was oxidized, I suppose to distinguish them clearly, although usually the type was punched into the metal near the mounting hole, but no always, I believe.

During the war, they also made them from steel and painted one of them black.

I don't really have statistics on the painting and oxidizing, perhaps Poplar1 does. 

[poplar1]

During Wartime Restrictions (1945 in any case), both steel gongs were painted black. It was after the war (at least in 1946) that some ringers had one painted black steel gong and one unpainted brass, and in the 50s that 41A and 41B gongs were unpainted steel.

I don't know about oxidation, but wonder whether some were tuned, i.e., some material removed after they were formed.

Whether by design or not, early gongs, such as 29A on 8A ringers, are often about a quarter tone different.

[Russ Kirk]

Wow, learn something everyday. Many thanks guys.

[unbeldi]

Red stripe ringer in 531A-3 extension ringer box (even marked on the box).
The rear of the base is marked with the three-bar symbol !