Western Electric 564

[Sargeguy]

I have gotten out of the plastic habit but this one looked like too good a deal to pass on:

http://tinyurl.com/3gdxf3g





Does anyone know who sells the adapters for these to connect to a modular jack?

[paul-f]

Not what you asked for, but a good solution -- gets you blinking lights and hold, too!

   http://cgi.ebay.com/170625742758

[Sargeguy]

Thanks.  I don't think I can explain one of those away to our office IT guy though.  I am looking for a more discreet solution.

[Dave F]

This would give you easy access to all the wires in the cord without making any modifications to the phone or the cord:

http://tinyurl.com/5wgosub

Dave F.

[GG]

The tail cord on the phone is male, thus you need a female Amphenol connector.  I probably have a bunch of those around since Panasonic PBX cards are female also, and when I get male/female cords, I save the female connectorized end for future use (such as this). 

OK, send me your ship-to address via the messaging system here, and I'll stick one in a heavy cardboard envelope, with the correct wire pairs isolated, and send it out to you, free unless postage costs me more than $10 in which case cost of postage.  I'll get this out in the same shipping run as that AE speakerphone adaptor I have for someone else. 

The white/blue pair will get you dial tone on line 1 w/o ringing.  To add ringing to line 1, also connect to the yellow/slate (slate = gray) pair.  There are ways to make these phones more functional w/o going the whole 1a2 route, but those are basically compromises such as "lines w/o hold & lights" etc.

[Sargeguy]

Thanks everyone.  GG I will take you up on that offer.  I am also bidding on the block Dave recommended, I still need to get my 464 functional.  Sorry Paul but I don't want to get started with KSUs-they're a gateway drug to switching!!!

[ESalter]

Sorry Paul but I don't want to get started with KSUs-they're a gateway drug to switching!!!

That's exactly why you SHOULD get started with them

[paul-f]

Sorry Paul but I don't want to get started with KSUs-they're a gateway drug to switching!!!

Few of us wanted to get started with switching.  Once you have a bunch of phones, the infection is spreading through your system.  

Think of this as one more subliminal influence chipping away at your resistance.  It's inevitable, you will eventually get hooked by the siren song of the Panasonic 61610 or a KSU.  Then it's only a matter of time until you also have a working Merlin system and a Comkey 416 system -- and maybe a manual switchboard.  They're actually simple to set up and provide hours of entertainment -- not to mention being good for giving demos.  

Resistance is futile.  

[Sargeguy]

A local guy is selling a switchboard on craigslist.  I asked for better pictures the other day.

Here are a few more pics of the 564: 












Not many dates on it except the dial (6-59) and transmitter (4-6-56)

[paul-f]

A local guy is selling a switchboard on craigslist.  I asked for better pictures the other day.

Nice set!  I see it was authentically used as an ashtray at least once.

Are there also dates on the ringer (below the buzzer), network (behind the mounting cord) and housing?

[Kenny C]

Here's how I think the mark got there

Mr Jones was About to dial home and was smoking a cigarette. While he was dialing the 3rd number Sarah from accounting interrupted and he had the cigarette in his hand and burnt the housing just above 1. But that's just a theory 

[paul-f]

The other common scenario was holding the handset in the left hand and cigarette in the right.   The person on the phone says something important so the cigarette gets parked on the cradle while writing with the right hand.

[Dennis Markham]

Nice phone, Greg.  I picked one up last summer that is marked A/B 564H.  There is another character after the "H" but I can't make out what it is.  The bottom is dated 8/57 but the foot pads are rubber, held on with screws like a 5302.  I like the leather foot pads on yours.  What is the network date on yours?  On the regular 500 sets the leather foot pads went away about August of 1958.

[Sargeguy]

It is a 564 HD.  11-57 is the network date.  The dial has an R in pencil on the back and if you look on the bottom "1260" is written in pencil, apparently the date of the dial replacement.

[GG]

The acrylic repair technique should work on that burned/melted spot, so you can't tell it's there unless you look closely under bright light. 

Use a fine metal file (not sandpaper) to remove most of the excess that's above the background level of the plastic.  Then fill the remaining depression with krazy glue (cyanoacrylate glue) in multiple thin applications so it hardens properly. Build up the level of acrylic to just above the background level.  Then file to level.  Then buff, along with the rest of the housing & handset.  Byebye burn mark.