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Hello, New Member Here! - Marcelo L.

Started by Marcelo L., October 06, 2011, 04:25:36 PM

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LarryInMichigan

It does appear that the magneto is missing, and only the crank is left.  I don't know much about magneto subsets, but the local battery phones required batteries for power.  They may have been held in this box.

Note that, if you use the ringer in this box, , it will tap (ring) when other phones are dialed or other voltage changes occur on the phone line because it does not have a bias spring.  You can probably add you own spring or rubber band to hold the clapper still when it should not be ringing.

Larry

Marcelo L.

I'm going to a large flea market in upstate NY tomorrow morning. What would you say is a fair range in price for a typical wall mounted wooden subset ringer box? I'm having a hard time knowing what's a fair price, seeing as the prices are all over the place on ebay. I can find the same subset box from one seller go for $40, while another sells it for $150. I can't imagine these are all that rare to justify that kind of money.

Before I knew what these were, I used to run across them all the time at garage sales and flea markets for cheap.

If I don't find a nicer example tomorrow at the flea market I will definitely buy the one on ebay. 
 

wds

I think that is the magneto in the picture.  Later on they came out with those smaller magnetos - same thing they installed in the desk phone, like the leich's.  They don't put out quite as much current as the older ones, but they do work pretty well.  It could be the seller doesn't know that it's a new version magneto and thinks some parts are missing.  It could be complete and working.  For $20 that seems like a pretty nice box.
Dave

Marcelo L.

I spent most of the day at the flea market today (technically yesterday) and was surprised at how little there was in telephones. It seemed that no one had a ringer box so I stopped at an antique shop on the way home and picked this one up. Now I know it looks rough, but it is complete and the bells do ring when I spin the crank. I can't seem to find a make or model number on the box. Does anyone know anything about this box?

GG



Externally it looks like WE, though for some weird reason I'm thinking there's a slight chance it could be Kellogg. 

There is one little piece missing that I can see, which is the cover for the bell clapper, which can easily be fabricated from aluminum sheet and painted black to match the gongs.

This is a complete subset with induction coil, so you could use it with a desk stand and get it working per original schematic, though if connecting it to a CO line, the generator should be disconnected to prevent an expensive accident if a friend comes over and tries to twirl the crank.

wds

#20
It looks like it says "Kellogg" on the plate covering the magnets.  I've tried to use those coils before, but they seem to only work on lower current - batteries.  They won't handle the current on today's phone lines. 
Dave

GG



Well I'll be darned, I didn't even see that writing on the plate over the magnets, but there it is!  I'm not even particularly familiar with most of these "wood box era" phones.  What I was thinking of was a) the position of the screw in the door, b) it sure ain't AE, so therefore c) if not WE, then Kellogg. 

Marcelo L.

Quote from: wds on October 09, 2011, 10:06:58 AM
It looks like it says "Kellogg" on the plate covering the magnets.  I've tried to use those coils before, but they seem to only work on lower current - batteries.  They won't handle the current on today's phone lines. 

So in other words; this box won't work for what I need it to do? I want to construct the same setup you posted earlier in this thread.


wds

#23
That's a very nice box you have, and it will work just fine.  I would probably leave all the original parts in the box to keep it original, then just add the two items you need to make a correct subset for your phone.  Another reason not to use those original components in your wood box is that they are sidetone, and your phone is anti-sidetone.  Get ahold of Steve Hilsz (earlier post), and order the coil and condensor.  There are wiring diagrams on this forum that will help you wire everything correctly.  

I have also wired these boxes so that you can use the ringer by turning the generator, and also have it connected to the phone line.  Makes for a great conversation piece.  
Dave

Marcelo L.

Quote from: wds on October 09, 2011, 12:35:59 PM
That's a very nice box you have, and it will work just fine.  I would probably leave all the original parts in the box to keep it original, then just add the two items you need to make a correct subset for your phone.  Another reason not to use those original components is that they are sidetone, and your phone is anti-sidetone.  Get ahold of Steve Hilsz (earlier post), and order the coil and condensor.  There are wiring diagrams on this forum that will help you wire everything correctly. 

I have also wired these boxes so that you can use the ringer by turning the generator, and also have it connected to the phone line.  Makes for a great conversation piece. 

OK - great! So All I need is a coil and condenser and I should be good to go. What about a network? I've read about people "upgrading the network" in their subsets, is this something I need to do?   

wds

#25
No - the 101A induction coil and 195A condenser is the correct network for that phone.   Post a picture of the inside of the bottom of the phone, showing the wiring and contacts, and we'll put a wiring diagram together for you.  Also, are you going to put a dial in that phone?  If so, that will affect the wiring.  
Dave

wds

Also, while your ordering from Steve - I'm assuming you don't have an inventory of parts laying around - it looks like you might need a better wire between the handset and the phone base?  Steve would probably have one of those also.  I like the cloth cords, so maybe he would have a cloth one for sale.  Your cloth cord between the phone and the subset seems ok, but I can't see the whole cord. 
Dave

Marcelo L.

 Now that you mention it, I would love to put a dial on this phone. It never occurred to me before, but now that you mention it, and now that I've seen the phone from the inside, I can see how easily it would be to remove the metal blank and replace it with a dial.

Here's a picture with the bottom cover removed.   

wds

#28
I know these wiring diagrams are on this forum - here's one that I saved.
Dave

Marcelo L.

Quote from: wds on October 09, 2011, 04:07:55 PM
I know these wiring diagrams are on this forum - here's one that I saved.

This is perfect - thank you!

I did a quick search on ebay and did not have much luck finding a dial for my phone.  :(

I'm going to check out the "fore sale" section of this forum, maybe I'll get lucky.