WE 202 and 634A subset (I think)

[Rbjoep]

Hello - Please forgive me but this is my first attempt at fixing/wiring an antique telephone (not to mention my first post) .  I recently purchased a Western Electric 202 with a 634A subset (at least that is what I was told I was purchasing) and really need help with the correct wiring.  I thought I had it last weekend as I was able to talk on the phone and the ringer worked, however every time I dialed a number I received the "number not in service"  or "you call cannot be connected as dialed". I had wired with a modular plug so I switched back to 4 prong and now nothing works.   So here are the questions - First should I keep the 4 prong plug or should I rewire for modular?  Either of the options I still need help in correctly wiring so that I can actually use the phone.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Rbjoep]

Hello - Please forgive me but this is my first attempt at fixing/wiring an antique telephone (not to mention my first post) .  I recently purchased a Western Electric 202 with a 634A subset (at least that is what I was told I was purchasing) and really need help with the correct wiring.  I thought I had it last weekend as I was able to talk on the phone and the ringer worked, however every time I dialed a number I received the "number not in service"  or "you call cannot be connected as dialed". I had wired with a modular plug so I switched back to 4 prong and now nothing works.   So here are the questions - First should I keep the 4 prong plug or should I rewire for modular?  Either of the options I still need help in correctly wiring so that I can actually use the phone.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

[unbeldi]

Your subscriber set has a No. 46B induction coil, so this can only be wired as a 102 type telephone. A 202 would require a 146-type induction coil and a four-conductor mounting cord. You only have a three-conductor (red, green, yellow) cord, which is in fact compatible with the 46B induction coil and a 102.

The desk set D1 mounting appears wired correctly.

Let me look at the wiring details of the subset...

A subset with a 46B induction coil is a 534A subset.  Your set had its original condenser (=capacitor) replaced, and I believe the induction coil was probably added by someone too, as it is mounted in a rotated position. Normally the markings on it are readable from the direction of the gongs.

The subset is miswired. It seems to be some kind of random wiring. It's best to disconnect everything in the subset.

Here is what it should be:

The mounting cord from the desk set connects as follows:
Yellow to YL2 on terminal strip
Green to GN on induction coil
Red to R on induction coil

The telephone line connects as follows:
red lead (ring) to YL2 on terminal strip
green lead (tip) to L1 on induction coil
These are the "standard" colors, your line cord appears to be cloth insulated cord with three leads with tracers in red, white, and ?? black or none.  So, substitute white tracer for green, and store the third wire somewhere.

The ringer leads connect:
black wire to C on induction coil
red wire to L1 on induction coil

Only one half of the 194A condenser is needed:
Yellow to L2Y on terminal strip
Slate to C terminal on induction coil

The GND terminal on the wood terminal strip is unused.

Whether or not to use a 4-prong plug or a modular jack is up to you. Originally these may not have had a "line cord", but inside wiring might have been directly routed into the subset.
In any case you only need a two-conductor cord with the two center conductors on a modular plug, or on the two outside connectors on the four-prong plug.  With "outside" I mean the two pins farthest apart, marked GN and R. 

This is the original wiring of a 102 telephone with only a single condenser.

[unbeldi]

Now on to another consideration.
Your condenser can came from a 302-type telephone and has two condensers in the same can. It has four wires emerging.

The yellow and slate wires are for the ringing capacitor (0.5 µF) and the red and black wires are for the 2 µF DC-blocking audio capacitor.

It is possible to use the two capacitors to your advantage. In this case you would disconnect the ringer wires (black, red) from the previous scheme, and wire them in series with the yellow/slate capacitor leads:

   L1-->red-->ringer-->black-->GND terminal-->yellow-->condenser-->slate-->L2Y

The advantage of using the second condenser is that this circuit presents a lower REN load on your telephone line.
REN is a measurement of how many telephones with ringers can be connected to a telephone line at the same time. A typical telephone land line supports up to five traditional telephones. That is REN 5.  "Traditional" means the equivalent of a Western Electric 500-type set.

The large capacitance of the 2 µF condenser as used in the standard wiring scheme described, results in a large load on the telephone line. This would probably be as high as REN 3 or 4, I would guess, rather bad.  When using the 0.5 µF condenser for ringing, this should drop the REN value perhaps to half that.

The 534A subscriber sets before World War I indeed used 2 µF condensers.  But with the material shortages resulting from the war effort, Western Electric decided to save material and only use 1 µF condensers.  This reduced the size of these cans by half almost. They were huge.  After the war, they just stuck with the 1 µF value, because they found that it worked just as well. Much of the electrical dimensioning and wiring theory until the 1910s was experimentally obtained, and not rooted in formal theory.   The 1 µF condenser of the 534A subset after WWI resulted in REN 2 to 2.5.

[Rbjoep]

Hello ...and thanks so much for reply!!  I wired just as suggested in the first reply and I get a dial tone however the dial tone remains while dialing.  When I dial a number the tone goes away but then comes right back once dialing is completed.  What have I done wrong? 

Also - one wonders  (the one wondering is me) if I purchased a pieced together mess!  I sure hope not..but if I did...lesson learned.  Thanks again for your help ...truly amazing!

[unbeldi]

That sounds like progress.  What I am reading is this, just to be sure we're on the same page:

When you pull the dial for any number to the finger stop, the dial tone disappears, but returns when the finger wheel has returned to the home position.  Same thing happens for the next number and so forth.

This means that dial tone is never broken, you just can't hear it during dialing of one digit.  The latter is good, means the dial is wired correctly.  However, central office should remove dial tone when it recognizes the first digit.

What kind of telephone do you have?  Is it a standard old POTS land line, or do you have a cable TV type service, or another VOIP service, such as Vonage?

Many VOIP services use telephone adapters that do not recognize rotary pulse dialing.  If you are sure that the service supports it, then we have to look further, perhaps the dial is too slow.  But I'll let you tell us first about your service.

Have you tried calling your number to receive a call?  How is that working?  Does the phone ring and can you talk?

[Rbjoep]

I agree progress....and I learning more about antique phones in process!!  My service is Verizon FIOS.  The only thing I know about FIOS is I have to have a battery backup for power outages.  I can tell you I have a WE 302 and use it every day with no issues.  When calling the subset does not ring, however I can answer the phone and hear though somewhat faint.

One more thing (and this is going to be very lame and somewhat embarrassing) do you happen to know where I can find a definition of all the parts in an antique phone and subset?  When you refer to condensers and coils, etc, I think I know what you are referring to, however I just want to make sure!!  This is truly my first attempt at working on an antique phone instead of taking it to someone else. 
Again thanks so much! 

[unbeldi]

There are indeed excellent reference works and workshop-type of books out there. If you want to read what the professionals of the trade were educated with, authored by the Bell System for internal use, those are available.  Some even here on the forum.  See for example, in our reference section, Telephone Reference Information.  There you'll find things like Electricity for the Telephone Man, a 1955 training manual by Michigan Bell and AT&T.  Or look for the very comprehensive book  Principles of Electricity applied to Telephone and Telegrap Work that was issued between 1928 and 1961, and is available in the TCI library, but also other places on the Web: http://long-lines.net/sources/att_principles_ocr.pdf
This can also be cheaply bought in hardcover on eBay. Look spending about $5-$15.  There are also many telecom dictionaries available.

Verizon FiOS does indeed support pulse dialing.  However, I have found that the tolerance for dial speed and/or break/make ratio seems very narrow. I have had troubles with some phones.
You may have to clean your dial and lubricate it properly to achieve consistent results.

Subset does not ring.... hmm.   You have it wired according to the first part only?   Is there any vibration of the ringer at all when a call comes in?

[unbeldi]

The ringer should ring with either method.

Make sure that the wiring is as described.

As to the weak reception... which kind of handset do you have?  An F1, like the one your 302, or the older E1?

[Rbjoep]

How do I know which one I have...(yes big time newbie!).

[unbeldi]

No problem.   You said you have a 302 telephone.  The handset on that is an F1.  "F1" should be molded into the logo on the underside of the handle.

If the handset on your D1 (this phone)  is different, than it can only be an E1, if the handset is original Western Electric, and that should be molded into the same place.

Either handset is fine for a D1.  The E1 was made until ca. 1937, and the F1 starting about that time.
Generally collectors nowadays prefer to have an E1 on this phone, and since yours is a 102 sidetone instrument, it would be more appropriate.  When these phones were upgraded with an F1 handset, most likely they would have also been upgraded to anti-side operation, and the 534A subset would have been upgraded to a 634A.

There are explanations of sidetone and anti-sidetone operation in probably many posts here on the forum, but basically an anti-sidetone circuit eliminates most of the electrical feedback from transmitter to receiver.

[Rbjoep]

You are 100% correct!  The 302 is marked F1 and the other is E1.  I have had the 302 for 20+ years and never noticed that!

[cloyd]

This is a very informative thread!  Thanks guys.  It would be nice to post a "finished wiring - WE202" image in the reference library as well as all of the instructions on problem solving and a labeled image of the parts mentioned.

This is EXACTLY what I need for my Kellogg 900 that was stripped out and was purchased without a subset.  I'm a newbie too!  You have both given me the incentive (and courage) to put my request on the blog.  Thank you!

cloyd