Western Electric 500 Handset Not Working

[Theo]

Hi, I am new to the forum and to the world of phones, so please bear with me. Several years ago I purchased a restored Western Electric 500 phone with a hard wired handset. It worked beautifully for quite a while. Then, sometimes, when I would lift the handset the transmitter would be dead. This problem was easily corrected by simply unscrewing the cap and reestablishing the connection between the element and the two arms. Eventually the problem advanced to include both the transmitter and receiver, and now both the receiver and transmitter are dead. I removed the phone from its housing and saw that the connections are all tight and good. The phone inside looks brand new. Likewise the interior of the handset. My thoughts suggest that the coiled cord itself has gone bad somehow, but the condition of the cord is like new externally. Any assistance with this problem would be greatly appreciated.

[jsowers]

Does the phone still ring? If not, it could be the mounting cord instead of the coil cord. What color is your phone? One of us may have a cord to spare if you don't have one to substitute. If you have something to check continuity, you can check the cords one wire at a time. You may also be able to find a phone at a thrift store and test the cords with it.

Welcome to the Forum, Theo! I'm sure you'll solve your 500 set problem.

[Theo]

Thanks for replying and for the welcome! The phone does ring--I meant to include that--and it is black, with a black metal dial, and has no volume control. I believe it was made in 1953. It has a harder ring than the later ones with controls on the bottom.

[poplar1]

If the cord is going bad, if you shake the cord, this will usually cause static or fading out to get worse.

All 500s with C2A or C4A ringers have a volume control on the bottom. If you have a ringer used on certain party lines, then there may be no volume control.

There is another phone that looks very much like a 500, called a 5302. Some of these don't have volume control for the ringer. If it is a 500, it should be marked C/D 500 and the date of manufacture.