Is this a WE D-Type?

[Greg G.]

Reference I'm using is Ralph Meyer's book, Old Time Telephones.  These are pictures from a local ad, asking price $85.  Ralph's book prices the subset and phone (as a set) much higher, but I was cautioned not to put too much into his price guide, all though the rest of the book is very good. 

What do y'all think?  What things do I need to look for, questions to ask, (other than the obvious "does it work?")  Usually the first thing I ask and/or check is the dial, but since it doesn't have one, that leaves the switch hook, checking the condition of the bottom, and looking for cracks and chips.  I don't know what to look for on the subset at all.  From the picture it appears to be very clean.  Ad says all the parts are there.

[Dennis Markham]

I have to plead ignorant on this one.  I have only a couple of wood boxes that came with phones similar to that one.  It does appear to have the W.E. decal on the front but those are readily available.  Often the decal or some other insignia will be on the generator inside too.  It looks like there is a condenser but again, I'm not sure if you need an induction coil to wire this for anti side-tone.  It may be a side tone unit wired the way it is now.  Hopefully some of the other guys can weigh in on this as they know more about the wooden boxes.

[Steve K]

That is a correct WE box.

[Greg G.]

Say this is a working set with no major issues, is that a good price?

[Bill]

I see the magneto and the inductrion coil, but shouldn't there be a cap mounted above the magneto? Steve K, what subset is that?

Bill

[Dennis Markham]

I would say that $85 is a reasonable price for an E1 handset and a D1 base/body.  The ringer box is then a bonus.  It's not a steal but a fair price.  I cannot tell from the photo if the handset is grooved or seamless.  Is the leather bottom in good shape.  You can always add a dial.  A #4 would work nice in this set.

[bingster]

I'd snap it up for $85.  I'm not sure about the condenser... If the magneto assembly is mounted in the center of the box, and there's room for the coil at the front, then there should be room at the back for the condenser.  It may be back there at the bottom, rather than the top.  Even if it's missing, it's easy enough to replace.

Incidentally, the question "does it work" isn't really very important.  It seems like half the time they do work, and half the time they don't.  But it's not a problem when they don't--they're easy to put right, so that shouldn't influence your decision.

[Steve K]

The box looks like a WE 315.  It uses a side-tone circuit and probably did not have a condenser.  I checked one of mine and it too does not have one.

[Dan/Panther]

I recently bought one just like yours with a F1 handset.
I lost the auction details, I can't remember exactly what I paid, but it seems like around $90.00. So with the E1 handset, I'd say you get a good deal.
D/P

[benhutcherson]

I would consider $85 to be a decent, but not great price for a non-dial set with a subset.

Consider that, if you were so inclined, you could probably get $30-50 for the magneto alone. When considering this, the deal sounds a bit better.

[benhutcherson]

By the way, if I'm not mistaken, you'd still want a capacitor to act as a filter for the ringer coil. Otherwise, the phone would probably register off-hook all the time, which could potentially put too much of a drain on the battery.

[Steve K]

Ben:

You are correct in that a capacitor should be intalled if it is to be used.  But this was designed for local battery so it would have to be rewired somewhat to use on a standard CO line.

Steve

[benhutcherson]

Steve,
Would it not also be the case that you need a capacitor even on a local battery system? I would think that, even with local battery, not having a capacitor would still cause the telephone to register as off hook at the switchboard, or drain the battery of the other telephone to which it was connected.

[Steve K]

Ben:

On a local battery line the battery was on the talk circuit which was disconnected when the phone was hung up.

Steve

[Greg G.]

I'm going to have to learn some basic electronics to understand what y'all are talking about.

As it is, I think I'll pass on it.  It's a 3 hour drive from me.  Here's the ad:  http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/clt/1107263987.html ( dead link 03-09-21 )