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What is required to make a WE 555 Cord Board work?

Started by Ed D, April 16, 2011, 06:28:31 PM

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GG



I'd advise against trying to re-purpose a Panasonic power supply.

Panasonic manufactures everything they use, down to the level of individual electronic components.  Thus they tend to design things very specific to their intended purpose.  For power supplies, they tend to design for the greatest possible electrical efficiency, a) because these things are sold all over the world including in places with expensive electricity, where total life-cycle operating cost is relevant, and b) for green marketing advantages (they also make Prius battery packs for Toyota, and some solar stuff). 

I would guess that a Panasonic power supply wouldn't have enough current output to power a cord board.  The result would be blown fuses on the power supply: fuses are replaceable but bothersome. 

Better to stick with a 1A2 power supply.  That'll have a higher power consumption level overall, but will produce enough current to power the switchboard with room to spare. 

Jim Stettler

Quote from: Phonesrfun on April 18, 2011, 01:05:45 AM
Tell me more....  what is meant by a left handed blind attendant, other than maybe the obvious?  Any way to see a photo, and where might it be?

-Bill

It is in Colorado Springs. A blind Attendant switchboard has a seperate console mounted on the side (usually right) . This console is about 18"x 18" . It works with air and might actually send an air jet thru the buttons on the seperate adjucnt.

This board has the "blind adjunct" on the left and the boards orientation is Left to right.
It used to be $1600-1800
The price keeps dropping. It was holding at $350? You could probably get it cheaper.
There is a trucking option as well.

I will try to get by and take some photos.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

marty

#17
Hi All;
If your 555 has trunk capability then you can attach it to your home phone line provided it is a landline... I don't know if anything else would work, but you need two wires to hook up to your home phone line.. and a Station line or STAL or extension line to hook up your phone to, like a WE 500 or what ever... You can hook as many of them as you like, as long as you have extensions.. I have three phones hooked up on my 557. You do not need a power supply to make it work, as I leave my power supply off, most of the time, and the board works fine.. Just no lights, but if you know which plugs to plug into then you don't need the lights...
Here are some Pictures of my Board.. The first Picture is with NO Power attached, the rest have power applied.. And the Board works fine.. with or without power.. Power is applied to the Tie points in the Back under "Bat" or "batt" and "Gnd".. The ringing (If you need it) is on the "misc." lines, among other things... my misc line numbers are different than yours, for ringing. And I don't need ringing for now..
THANK YOU Marty

marty

Hi All;
There is a nice article in April 2011 of Singing Wires part 2 , on manual Switchboards for explaining some about them.. I have started to look at it, but I have not read it all...
THANK YOU Marty

Ed D

Hi GG!
Thanks for the advice on not re-purposing a Panasonic power supply.  Much appreciated as you saved me much frustration and aggravation!!!


Hi Marty!
A big thank you to you for posting the photos and offering connection information!  That was truly a great thing that you took the time to do this!!!  I'd like to have power for the lights and for ringing.  My Mom used to run a 555 board back in the 1970s, and it'd be a kick to make it all work.

All of you other guys are awesome too!  I am continually amazed by your willingness to help, and share!

I still will need a power supply, and there were several model numbers mentioned in your posts.  It sounds like I should get one that gives 24VDC, plus, AC Ringing Voltage at 20 HZ (but I don't know the voltage for ringing.)

A "101G" was mentioned by Harry as a proper power supply.  Hopefully Jim S has one in his supply of Key stuff.

marty

Hi All;
Ed, I need to clearify what I stated, because of some work I did yesterday.. I got extension to extension to work, and that you need Power to work, because it needs "Talk Voltage", which you have to supply.. Whereas when you are using, trunk to extension, you do not need any voltage, to supply talk voltage.. If you need any more information, just ask, someone may know... Also if you need only 24-27 volts, there were power supplies for the old 8" Floppy drives that provided 24 volt and also 12  and 5 volts... You would only need the 24 volt, but they are regulated....
THANK YOU Marty

marty

Hi All;
My understanding of the 101G is there are two different types, I have the Square box one and it ONLY has Ringing, Where as the Rectangular Box has Both Ringing and other voltages.. Mine came from a KTU (Shoebox) as one of its two supplies.. One for ringing (101G)  and the other to supply the other voltages needed to run the KTU... Possibly I had an Early unit and later units had Both Supplies in the Same box..
THANK YOU Marty

Jim Stettler

I checked the power supplies. Short answer is they are all 24volt  w/ 30hz ringing.


I will be talking with Fred Haynes later. I think he has told me to not worry about using 30hz on a switchboard.  Fred built a lot of switchboards as a Bell employee. He has restored a lot of them as a "Switcher".

I think these will work.
JMO,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Jim Stettler

I checked with Fred Haynes (he may join).
Fred said the 30 HZ is fine for the WE 555.
The switchboard doesn't care about the HZ. It just switches it. The phones that are connected to the switchboard are the items using the ring voltage.

He felt these are a great power supply for old switchboards, you can mount the power supply in the bottom of the switchboard .

He also suggest mount steel casters to the bottom of the board for ease. (Ace Hardware).

Jim

I have several of these 24VDC 30 HZ key systems power supplies $30 each plus shipping if any one is interested please PM me. These are missing the covers.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

AE_Collector

#24
Quote from: Jim S. on April 20, 2011, 11:07:22 PM
I have several of these 24VDC 30 HZ key systems power supplies $30 each plus shipping if any one is interested please PM me. These are missing the covers.

Good use for a power supply that is missing the cover becasue if you mount it inside the 555 cabinet you don't want to be fighting with the power supply cover anyway.

I also agree that the PBX doesn't care what the ringing frequency is. The phones might but most phones would have SL ringers anyway so they would work fine. A frequency ringer would likely need to match the power supply frequency though.

Terry

Jim Stettler

Other uses for these power supplies include:
homebrew telephone testers and intercom systems

You get 24vdc filtered talked battery, 24vdc signal power (lamp) and 30hz ring

Note: The lamp power on these type supplies are  pretty clean so you could probably use it as a 2nd talk battery.

JMO,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Adam

#26
In my experience with Western Electric power supplies like the 19B2 and 20B2 which I used with key systems, the 24VDC signal was not clean enough to use for talk.  It was meant for powering relays.  Only the 24VDC filtered was usable for talk and not "hummy".

And this might differ in a 555-type PBX, but in a key system, lamp power was 10VAC, which the 19B2 and 20B2 power supplies also supply.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

DavePEI

#27
Quote from: Jim S. on April 20, 2011, 11:07:22 PM
I checked with Fred Haynes (he may join).
Fred said the 30 HZ is fine for the WE 555.
The switchboard doesn't care about the HZ. It just switches it. The phones that are connected to the switchboard are the items using the ring voltage.

He felt these are a great power supply for old switchboards, you can mount the power supply in the bottom of the switchboard .

He also suggest mount steel casters to the bottom of the board for ease. (Ace Hardware).

Jim

I have several of these 24VDC 30 HZ key systems power supplies $30 each plus shipping if any one is interested please PM me. These are missing the covers.

Just a little warning from hard experience. I, too highly recommend casters, BUT, don't try to install them without help. Several years ago when I got my 555, I decided to put casters on, but when it came time to do it, had no help. It wasn't too hard to get it onto its side to drill and add the casters. When it came time to set it upright again, the whole board crashed down onto one of my legs, and I wound up on the ground, pinned by the board.

I got my self out, but wound up with an extremely bruised leg.

I have used a NE Key system supply in mine (used in QUJ9B and QUJ10A and other NE Systems), and a QGG1A frequency (ring) generator.

NOTE: The photo of the supply shown below was taken when the power supply was still in the KSU - The 24 volt signal line is not used when powering a 555 - only the talk line. The 10 VAC is used with a 555, but only to power the ring generator which is not part of the supply. Some supplies will have a ring generator built in. I am clarifying this since I get the impression that some people were going from the wiring shown on the supply photo, and that is causing confusion. ONLY 24 VDC talk is used as well as 100 VAC 30 cycle ring.

Incidentally, mine started out life as one of two 555's bought from an antique shop in Western PEI. The boards had been stored for years on the earth floor of a barn, each with pieces missing - fortunately not the same pieces on each board, and sides rotted from the dirt floor. By combining both, I came up with one good unit. New sides were traced from the original sides and duplicated in birch plywood then stained accordingly. The one advantage of getting one in this condition, is it taught me a lot about the board, and the price couldn't be beaten - the two cost me $100.00 total.

The remaining parts from the other board were parted out to help others with 555's. I kept one spare cord unit for myself, so my $100 buy went a long way towards providing me a good unit, and needed parts to others.

Eventually, a line was installed using amphenol connectors to a 66 block on the wall, where additional phones were attached. This allows me to quickly disconnect the line when it comes time to haul it out from the wall when I am working on the board.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

Wallphone

#28
DavePEI, What is the lamp voltage on your power supply? It was mentioned earlier that lamp voltage is either 24 or 48 volts and that the lamps will last longer with 24V. I posted a picture of my power supply on page 1 of this thread and it lists lamp voltage as 10V, 8A. I don't have my switchboard in service yet so I can't tell if the 10V will work or not. Would it work with 10V or would I have to change all the lamps? Also, what terminals do you have all your different voltages going to? Thanks for any info you can offer.
Doug Pav

Jim Stettler

If your board is 48 volts and you run it on 24 the lamps will last longer.
if it is 48 and you run it on 48 it should make a difference in lamp life.
If it is 24 and you run it on 48 your lamps will die quick.
Summation- It is probably best to run these boards on 24volt.

I am thinking the lamp supply is 24 DC at least on 1 style of these supplies. I have 3-4 styles of key power supplies.

I will try to post the #'s or photos tonite.
Jim S.

Could someone post a photo of a switchboard "Drop light". They are a neat item and this is a
good thread to add the photo to.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.