Wiring a WE211 g1

[Victor]

I'm new to this forum and hope I am posting this in the right section.  I recently acquired a WE 211 g1 space save without the subset.  My question is can this be wired without the subset and if so will I be able to make outgoing calls.  I had the phone so I could get a dial tone but could not dial out.  I was using a basic 2 wire connection. 

[Phonesrfun]

Victor:

The 211 requires a subset.

You can jurry-rig it to work with 2 wires, but it is kind of rough on the components to have the full 48-volts of line current going through it, plus the transmission quality would not be good and it could demagnatize the receiver over time.



-Bill

[bingster]

One of the most common problems with these is that the dial harness is missing (where do they all go??).  Look to see if yours has a bundle of five wires leading from the dial to the interior of the phone's body.  If you do, wiring it up is easy.  Here are some diagrams that will show what is connected where:

First a diagram showing the phone connected to an older-type subset:
http://telephonecollectors.org/library/weco/211.pdf

Second, a diagram showing the phone connected to a newer 685 subset:
http://telephonecollectors.org/library/weco/211G7.pdf

As Phonersfun says, you can get by without a subset, but it's safest to hook it up as the Bell System intended.  You'll probably be okay with a G handset (or an F), but as a rule, the older E handset must never be connected directly to the incoming line.  I once had one of these with an F1 handset connected in my bedroom when I was a teenager, and it was connected without a subset, but I don't remember how I had it wired.  It was an unfortunately long time ago.

[wds]

When you say "wiring diagram for an older subset", which subset model # would you be referring to?  500 series, or 600 series? 

[bingster]

534/634 and 584/684 were what I meant by "older" subset.  This phone was also used with the last major subset, the 685, which used 500 type components.