Ringer bias question

[NorthernElectric]

I got this ringer yesterday along with some other parts.  I think it's Northern Electric because it is nearly identical to the ringers in 2 of my wood box magneto subsets (N415H, N300K).  It differs in that it appears to have a piece of stiff wire with a loop on the end for attaching one end of a bias spring, whereas the ringers in the aforementioned subsets are unbiased.  If this is indeed for a bias spring, where does the other end attach?  Does anyone have photos of such a ringer installed showing the bias spring?

[unbeldi]

I got this ringer yesterday along with some other parts.  I think it's Northern Electric because it is nearly identical to the ringers in 2 of my wood box magneto subsets (N415H, N300K).  It differs in that it appears to have a piece of stiff wire with a loop on the end for attaching one end of a bias spring, whereas the ringers in the aforementioned subsets are unbiased.  If this is indeed for a bias spring, where does the other end attach?  Does anyone have photos of such a ringer installed showing the bias spring?

Yes, the hook is for holding one end of the bias spring. The other end has attached one end of a string that is wound around a take-up stud for adjusting the spring tension. The stud looks like a screw, but usually it wasn't, it was a slightly conical brass 'rod' pressed into some hardware. On this type of ringer this take-up 'screw' was attached not on the ringer itself, but on the frame of the ringer box onto which the ringer is mounted.


PS: if you peruse some of the WECo catalogs that are listed in my post Western Electric Catalogs I am sure you will find examples and detailed parts lists.

[G-Man]

I got this ringer yesterday along with some other parts.  I think it's Northern Electric because it is nearly identical to the ringers in 2 of my wood box magneto subsets (N415H, N300K).  It differs in that it appears to have a piece of stiff wire with a loop on the end for attaching one end of a bias spring, whereas the ringers in the aforementioned subsets are unbiased.  If this is indeed for a bias spring, where does the other end attach?  Does anyone have photos of such a ringer installed showing the bias spring?

Instead of the poor quality scan that was pirated from the TCI Library, here are detailed illustrations from the WECo No. 9 catalog showing a similar ringer. See if yours has provision for tapped screw-holes for mounting a bracket, as shown in the illustrations, for taking-up the thread for adjusting the biasing spring.

[NorthernElectric]

Thank you both very much.  I guess mine is the type 54 (or NE equivalent), and it does have the tapped screw holes for the bracket.  I will have to go back where I got the ringer and dig through several boxes and see if there are any of those brackets hopefully with the stud.  I will likely want to swap this for an unbiased door mounted ringer and there will be no convenient spot to mount just a stud if I had one to spare.

I am looking forward to it.  My main parts source is the basement of a century old barn crammed full of all sorts of stuff.  I go in and don't come out for hours; only when I start to fear that I might exceed the allotted budget for the day.  Then I go and dicker with the owner.