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Found a hazardous area phone

Started by BillBBB, October 11, 2010, 11:16:36 AM

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BillBBB

Hello all, I am new to this forum, and I have used much of the information posted here to help restore an original 50's WE500 which I now use as my desk phone.

I recently came across this hazardous area/explosion proof phone and I am not sure how to go about restoring it. It is large and I am not sure if I am going to keep it, but at the very least I would like to learn more about it. The phone is a bit dirty, but in fairly decent shape. The front label says it is a Crouse Hinds KS T4476 telephone set for hazardous locations. I would appreciate any information anyone has about this phone, or how to go about testing it/making it work.  :o


jsowers

Welcome to the Forum, Bill.

I posted a small scan from a 1955 Western Electric brochure on this phone a while back. Below is the link. It's not a lot of information. They had two different models, one for the wall and one for desk use. Both are pictured.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=2240.msg29770#msg29770

These phones were made for mines, gas plants and other places where a spark would set off an explosion.

I have the BSP (Bell System Practices) on this phone, but it's at home and I'm not. I can't find it on the Document Repository (maybe someone else can?), but I did find some info about the AE (Automatic Electric) version of the same phone, which looks to be the same except for the handset and dial. The first is the description and the second is the installation.

http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=1681&Itemid=2
http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=1682&Itemid=2
Jonathan

mienaichizu


HarrySmith

Hi Bill, welcome to the forum :)
I have been after an expolosion proof phone to add to my collection. I can save you the trouble of doing anything with it, sell it to me as is ;D
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

BillBBB

Wow, thanks everyone!

I did figure this was somehow related to a WE phone considering that it has a WE handset. That is a good sign. Hopefully it will not be too difficult to open and will be wired like other WE networks. I am going to attempt to clean it and straighten the handset cord (any suggestions?) this week. I'll post some more pics when it is done.

Harry, I may sell the phone, but I want to have a bit of fun with it first (fixing and cleaning is the most fun for me). I also do not know how much this phone is worth, if anything?

HarrySmith

Yeah, I know what you mean ;D
I love building them & restoring them too :D
Keep me in mind when you are ready to let it go ;D
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

jsowers

The handset cord may have come with those large coils on purpose, so trying to straighten them may be impossible. You may just be able to clean it and leave it as is. It may also be rubber and crack-prone. Handle it gently.  If it has a mounting cord with red and green wires, try connecting them up to your phone line and "watch it fizz" as they say. One thing it won't do is explode. ;)

I couldn't find any completed auctions for a phone like this. You don't see as many of these as you do the wall model. I don't know what it's worth, but the shipping across the country might be more than it's worth. It looks to be very heavy.

I agree that the cleaning and repairing part is the most fun. This phone would be a great conversation piece in a phone collection since it was purpose built.
Jonathan

Dennis Markham

Bill, Welcome to the forum.

We have posted several topics about repairing/straightening coiled cords.  Here is just one of those:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1874.0

You will find a link contained within the text of the referenced topic that will show you some experimentation and results.  There are more.  Use the search feature of the forum.

However, as Jonathan pointed out your cords have the larger coils and are more than likely rubber.  Your results would be different with rubber cords vs vinyl covered cord.  It may be best just to clean them, twist them all in one direction and leave well enough alone.

~Dennis

Jim Stettler

They also call those Soviet Princesses. It is auctually an explosive atmosphere phone.
I think you can find them with a WE lable as well. My underrtstanding is both brands are built the same.

In The past I have seen 2 desk phones at shows. 1 was $50.00 and 1 was $100.00 I think they both sold at the end. They probably sold for less than the asking price. I have also seen the wall version at shows. I never checked the price.

I think they were priced on low side. (heavy stuff can go cheap at the end of a show).
On the other hand shipping would probably be around $30 (my guess).

I also have interest in a desk phone like these.  I am not in a hurry for 1, so  I think I will wait to find one local or at a show.

They are an interesting phone.

Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Sargeguy

I paid $45 for a wall version without the mounting plate.  I think I was outbid on one like yours that sold for around $80
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

KeithB

I'm not concerned with the market value of a phone.  They hold more value to me as a part-time side project, for the satisfaction of cleaning and renewing them.  If a phone costs too much, I probably won't be interested.

That being said, this is the first time I've seen an explosive environment desk model.  All I've previously seen were the round black wall-mounted models.  Good luck working with it, whatever you decide to do.  ;D

Greg G.

Quote from: BillBBB on October 11, 2010, 01:59:09 PM
Wow, thanks everyone!

I did figure this was somehow related to a WE phone considering that it has a WE handset. That is a good sign. Hopefully it will not be too difficult to open and will be wired like other WE networks. I am going to attempt to clean it and straighten the handset cord (any suggestions?) this week. I'll post some more pics when it is done.

Harry, I may sell the phone, but I want to have a bit of fun with it first (fixing and cleaning is the most fun for me). I also do not know how much this phone is worth, if anything?

Well, if dismantling and cleaning is what you want to do, for grimy phones I dismantle them and put all the non-electronic parts in a bath of Oxiclean and hot water and leave it for several hours, usually overnight or before I go to work.  Most of the heavy grime will come off in the bath.  Be careful of what goes where, I take lots of pictures during the dismantling process, and it pays!

The only problem with spending a lot of time and effort on a phone cleaning it, I usually don't want to part with it after that, especially if it cleaned up very well.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Jim Stettler

Quote from: KeithB on October 11, 2010, 03:42:46 PM
I'm not concerned with the market value of a phone.  They hold more value to me as a part-time side project, for the satisfaction of cleaning and renewing them.  If a phone costs too much, I probably won't be interested.

That being said, this is the first time I've seen an explosive environment desk model.  All I've previously seen were the round black wall-mounted models.  Good luck working with it, whatever you decide to do.  ;D

There was another wall model that looks like this phone.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

jsowers

Bill, I found the BSP for the KS-14476 Explosion-Proof Phone and scanned it. I learned something interesting I didn't know about this phone. The actual dial is secured inside and the fingerwheel on the outside mates with another fingerwheel on the inside that's attached to a regular dial. See the pictures for an example. It does tell how to remove the dial.

The insides look a lot like a 302 and not like a 500. This BSP is from 1955 and it's the third edition, so I would say this phone may have originated in the late 1940s during the 302 era and was made through the 1950s.
Jonathan