Howdy, some WE 334A questions...

[vicvalis]

Still not sure what I'll do with the coil, but I did completely take apart the bell. It will look pretty brand-spanking new once I'm done and it's back together, might even be way cleaner than any bell that would have originally been used. I just had to do it... curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Pictures to follow. Did finally prime and repaint the condenser. I had painted it a glossy black, but didn't look right to me. Stripped it again, re-primed and re-painted it a flat black. Looks much better. Pictures included. Hopefully, it will work. Started painting the case cover and mounting bracket with 1-shot enamel, and boy, is that stuff glossy. I'll need a better quality brush for the final coat once I get there.

[vicvalis]

I got a little carried away, but so far I'm liking the results. Curiosity about how things work and how they were assembled. I need to clean up the soldering, but otherwise it looks good and I have continuity across all connections. Nobody is ever going to see the results, as they will be inside the case, but I'll know. I like a challenge. Of course, i'll only know if the results are as good as they look once i put everything back together and wire it up to my 102, then plug it in and take a call.

[tallguy58]

Does it matter if the line-in green goes on L1 and red on L2Y or can you swap them?

What does everyone else do with the yellow and black conductors?

[unbeldi]

there is no practical difference anymore w/r/t to the polarity of your line cord, since we are all using bridged ringing these days. Back then, the ringing was provided via a grounded circuit over either the ring or tip side of the loop.

You can store the yellow and black by isolating them from each other and tucking them aways somewhere. Isolating them makes sure that they don't short any second line being installed in the house wiring.

That is now about the prettiest 21D I have seen.

[poplar1]

It's true that it will work either way. However, originally for bridged ringers (non-party lines), the ring side of the line (red) connected to L1 and the tip side (green) connected to Y-L2 in Western Electric apparatus.  Also, for bridged ringers, the red ringer wire connected to L1 and the black ringer wire to K.
(Note: For some unknown reason, WE swapped the L1 and L2 designations for the 500 and later sets.)

A ground connection was not necessary for bridged ringers on individual lines. Connecting the ringer circuit to tip and ground, or ring and ground, was necessary only for divided ringing on party lines.

There were some independent companies that used grounded ringers even on individual lines. That way, if the ground connection was disconnected at the protector, the subscriber would call in a trouble because the phones would no longer ring. However, this was not the way individual line ringers were usually wired.

You might consider connecting the yellow line cord conductor to the GND terminal inside the subset, even though it won't serve any purpose. Originally, GND was the ground connection. Still, tape up the black lead.

[vicvalis]

I wired this as it was originally wired when it came to me, reproducing what was there very carefully. I bought inventory tags when I realized I was going to replace the wiring, just so I could mark every wire. Then I mapped everything out on paper, assembled the replacement wiring (yes, using green waxed cord like the original), and then marked all those with inventory tags as well so that there was no guessing when I installed the new wire. For several days I had two bundles of wiring with something like 20 inventory tags each dangling from them... I lived in mortal fear that if I did not mark everything, something would be spilled, and I'd end up with a very frustrating collection of unknown wires on the floor. I wasn't shooting for that just-manufactured look, there were plenty of gouges and dings in the wood still visible that I left, but it came out looking so nice I just had to show it off. Jeez I hope it all works.

The case will be painted this weekend (my enamelling keeps leaving steaks, but I'm almost there), and sometime soon I should be getting back the bell gongs and hinges re-nickeled. I noticed a lot of surface rust on the steel screws, so most may get replaced with new screws. Also a lot of rust at the ends of the induction coil's iron core where it was visible in the induction coil end blocks... I was tempted to grind them down to get rid of the rust, but I let them be. Might tread the with Ospho, though I fear soaking the wood blocks and having them split. This subset must have lived in a damp environment with all the rust I found.

[vicvalis]

A follow-up question: I'm going to be reproducing the wiring schematic sheet for the inside of the subset cover, and the list of patents dates. How were these pasted into the covers? Pasted all the way in, pasted at the corners, or did it vary?

[Sargeguy]

Subset schematics are usually mounted in the center, wall phone schematics mounted off-set to make room for the transmitter.

[Sargeguy]

For the rusty coil there is a product called Workshop Hero Metal Rescue available through Home Depot.  Mine does not carry it but I do a free ship-to-store and it arrives in a week or so.  You need to heat it but is removes surface rust from a lot of (but not all) surfaces without removing paint or damaging wires etc.  You can dip one end at a time.  It is great for rusty screws, but so is cider vinegar.

[vicvalis]

Thanks for the information, been away a while. Might be assembling the subset this weekend. Hope to print out all my paperwork and glue it in. The only documentation in there was the paper identifying it as a 334A. That was on the wall-facing side of the bracket the condenser and induction coil are mounted to. I seem to remember a 334A tag elsewhere in a photo, but can't find that photo. I'm printing out extras in case I find it. Now I just have to hope I have the correct cords to wire up my 102... it's been a while since I had the phone wired to anything.

[vicvalis]

Stuck everything in a box, traveled to a family gathering, and took some time before dinner to put everything together. forgot the hinges, so the lid is not attached to the base yet, but all the major components are done. Next i need to wire it to the telephone (which still needs some work) and then test it on a land line.

[vicvalis]

Repeated one picture in the last post... here are the last few.