Sometimes it's the little things....

[jsowers]

The one in the apartment is almost like a wall jack for an outlet or light switch, but it's just a circle in the center, similar to that for cable. But without the coax end.

Tom, that sounds like a blank faceplate to me and there could be anything or nothing behind it. Take the faceplate off at your next opportunity and let us know what's back there.

One of my favorite memories is the Saturday I got to connect faceplate jacks in my aunt's house. It had been pre-wired by Southern Bell in 1965 when she remodeled and added onto the house (it's an old two-story farmhouse dating back to the 1800s). Much of it had what Donna has mentioned, conduit running to the second floor and some of the downstairs rooms. I bought enough faceplates to do the entire house and RJ-11 adapters for both her black 500 sets.

Most of the walls where the wiring was located had blank faceplates with Bell System wall mount junction blocks behind them. These were little round pieces with four screws in the sides. I removed them and installed the jack faceplate on that old solid copper wire. It was heavy duty stuff, all right. I had an unusual problem on the kitchen wire (one of the wires was broken somewhere under the house) and I had to use the yellow wire as a substitute for red or green. I saved all those old faceplates and junctions as mementoes and still have them.

It all worked great until one winter about ten years ago. She had a house fire that gutted the back of the house and was lucky to escape alive because it got her bedroom. All the phone wire had to be re-run. Now she has Cat 5 to every room (and I think they re-used the old conduit), which to me is funny because she won't touch a computer. I think only one 500 set survived and the other one sadly melted.

Years ago, in the 50s and on into the 60s, the Bell System had something called Telephone Planned Homes where they would wire new construction free of charge for phones wherever the owner wished, all over the house. It promoted extensions and the new Home Interphone. I have several booklets about it and an old pink and black sign (posted below) from that era that was posted in a development so prospective buyers would know they had the latest in telephone wiring.

There are lots of houses with that old wire still in them. Tom, I hope yours is one of them.

[bwanna]

i like that sign, jonathan. the '50's/60's wiring you are referring to is known as pre-wire. the phone company used non jacketed wire, usually 6pairs. the wire started at the protector & looped all over the the house & back to the protector. i have added jacks for customers using such wire. in order to locate it in the walls, we put a tone device at one end, then use an amplifier to find it in the wall. sometimes the tone bleeds over on the electric wires or heat ducts & you end up punching a hole in the wrong place

[Dennis Markham]

Great sign, Jonathan and interesting story about wiring your aunt's home.

With regard to the phone jacks/plugs.  I found these in my box of junk that I accumulated along the way.  The oval shaped jack I believe fit in the center of a switch plate with an oval cut in the same shape.  I don't know what became of that.  So apparently the early hardwired phone wire went into this receptacle into a junction box inside the wall.  The other is much newer for modular service.  The number on it is 625F.  Both are marked Bell System.

[bingster]

The one in the upper photo is designed to hold the wingband restraint on the 302 and 500 mounting cords.  The end goes through the hole, is turned a quarter turn so the tips drop into the slot, and then the forked bit is moved over top to keep it in place. 

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks for that Bingster.

[bwanna]

way cool, dennis   i am thinking the upper photo is what tom refers to as being in his apt. i don't think there was junction box. i believe the wires from the phone & wires from the protector terminated on the screws on the sides.

[McHeath]

My house has the 625F jacks installed, and the 6 pair wires that go all over the place in conduits.  The wires have colors like brown/white, blue/white, orange/white, etc. 

[Phonesrfun]

Yes.  Blue with a white tracer, and white with a blue tracer is pair number one.  

Then Orange, then Green; then Brown.... each with the white tracers.  Actually, as Bwanna can tell you, Blue Orange, Green and Brown are only the tip of the iceburg when it comes to cable color codes.  It goes on and on....  

Even though one pair is usually enough, most houses and apartments are pre wired with 4 pair.  This is in case someone wants to add lines or features not normally in use, they can be run without needing to fish new wires in the walls.  

[AET]

I thought the same thing, that the upper photo would be about what's there.  I mean, it was just at a glance, so it could be anything.  Pa said phone jack and phone jack was the first thing in my mind.  I don't know when I'm moving in exactly, we have a tenant in there currently, so there's no hurry.  But regardless, I will check it out once I'm moved in, and it'd be icing on the cake if the jack still worked.  Then my mission would be to find an original hardwire-type phone for it!

[bwanna]

tom    we want a picture, when you get the chance. if it doesn't work, i'm sure "we" can get it working.

[jsowers]

Dennis, your first two pictures illustrate exactly what I was referring to, that oval (I said circular) Bell System thing with the four screws around it. They screwed to metal supports that then mounted to regular metal recessed wall boxes. Both her phones were hard-wired into those mounts, having been there since 1965, so I got to see how the "wingband" restraint fit in there. Thanks, Bingster, for that term. I had never heard it before.

The original wiring, for Bwanna's info, was three-conductor station wire with a beige plastic jacket and red, green and yellow conductors. At one spot, under the kneehole in the hallway desk, there were four wires on each screw and the whole thing pushed very snugly into a recessed box in the wall. Now that was interesting and a bit touchy to handle. I think it was a main junction spot for the house.

And Tom, do please post a picture. You shouldn't have a lot of trouble finding a hard-wired phone. Though I do admit they don't show up in thrifts like they used to.

[bwanna]

jonathan,   what did the wires in the box look like?

[Dan/Panther]

Bwanna;
Like string, but made out of copper.
D/P

[bwanna]

smart a**

[AET]

Well, if all pans out well, I will be moving in this spring, AND if all pans out well, I will find my digital caera!

tom    we want a picture, when you get the chance. if it doesn't work, i'm sure "we" can get it working.