Seeking BSP 502-624-(100?) or At Least Diagram For WECo Call Director 624A10(M)

[segaloco]

Howdy folks, I've done a bit of searching and have turned up nothing thus far.  Is anyone aware of any preserved BSP or at least wiring diagrams for the WECo 624A10(M) Call Director model?  I did a little searching on the forum and from what I could find, this is for the 6A system, is a tad bit different than a typical 1A2 Call Director, and is apparently a rarity.  I could not find BSP 502-624-* online, based on 502-623 and 502-625 being for the 623-type and 625-type Call Directors, 502-624-* is my assumption as to the BSP number, but that could be incorrect.  In any case, I couldn't find a BSP for this one, just stuff "around" it.

The one I've picked up has a headset switch-and-jack module installed.  I can't tell if it's WECo make or not, I'm not familiar with these sorts of peripherals, but the appearance, mounting (in)stability, and lack of typical WECo date stamping on the chassis suggests a third party.  In any case, I'd like to at least restore it to spec and bin the module for some later project.  Either way, anyone got the scoop on some documentation?  I assume the BSPs around it may be good enough if the network is similar enough, I can't imagine this module plugs into anything super 624A10-specific, but I haven't bothered tracing the wires around yet until I get hands on a BSP or confirm one isn't archived, if this is a rare phone I don't want to risk any snafus working on it.

I'll also be trying to figure out the fact-vs-memorex on whether this works, in spec, with 1A2 directly or if what I read in one of the forum posts is true, that a 624-type Call Director does *not* work with 1A2 out of the box.  If 624-type Call Directors are for very specific applications, then I'll probably be looking to trade someone with a more common one down the line for 1A2 projects, I'm not a collector and don't want to be sitting on a rare phone tempted to experiment on it if someone has something much more amenable to my experiments....but that'll be a separate thread over in the 1A2 section and or classifieds depending on what I figure out getting this baby back to spec.  Thanks for any help or pointers!

[G-Man]

IIRC, your 624 CALL DIRECTOR, was specifically intended to be used on the recorded announcement frame in a No. 1 ESS Central Office.
 
You may be able to verify this one way or the other by searching in the TCI Library.

[G-Man]

IIRC, your 624 CALL DIRECTOR, was specifically intended to be used on the recorded announcement frame in a No. 1 ESS Central Office.
 
You may be able to verify this one way or the other by searching in the TCI Library.

Further:

10.03 A 624-A10 CALL DIRECTOR^® telephone set is used for recording and checking the quality of announcements.

[G-Man]

I checked several sources including the AT&T Practices Master Index (720-pages) and the results are similar to the one shown below. However, there is one other source with further information regarding the 624, but until network issues are resolved, it cannot be resolved.

[paul-f]

Years ago, when compiling a chart of Call Director models, I found a brief reference.

http://www.paul-f.com/we500typ.htm#CallDirectors

[paul-f]

Here's the full paragraph 10.3 quoted above -- from 232-190-023, Issue 1, May 1977.

FEATURE DOCUMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
NO. 2 ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM

10.03 A 624-A10 CALL DIRECTOR® telephone
set is used for recording and checking the
quality of announcements. The set has 12 keys,
each one assigned to an individual announcement
channel. Therefore, the set can be associated with
two recorded announcement frames. Each key has
an associated announcement lamp which lights when
the frame is ready to accept a new announcement.
The 624-A10 telephone set should be located in a
noise-free room remote from the No. 2 ESS to
prevent the possibility of ambient noise being
superimposed on the voice announcement. The
procedure required for recording and testing an
announcement can be found in Section 232-024-501.
Refer to COST DATA for hardware requirements
for routing calls to remote announcements.

http://telecomarchive.com/docs/bsp-archive/232/232-190-023_I1.pdf

It would be nice to find 232-024-501.

[G-Man]

It would be nice to find 232-024-501.

Paul-
I believe Sam has it on his site, however, as you are probably already aware, he is currently experiencing problems.
Below is the current message that is displayed on it.
Also, is the 624 equipped with a dial or a blank faceplate? I understand that some sellers may have replaced the blank with a dial faceplate in an attempt to pass them off as a regular Call Director, but I am not certain.

STATUS 2023-11-09: All files are currently unavailable due to a hosting provider issue. I am working on restoring files ASAP.

STATUS 2023-11-10: Files are being restored. May take a few days.

[paul-f]

Paul-
I believe Sam has it on his site, however, as you are probably already aware, he is currently experiencing problems.

I believe Sam worked out the issues with his provider. I was able to get the file linked above with no problems and browse his directories.

I didn't see a copy of 232-024-501.

I haven't seen a reference yet that shows photo or technical details of the 624. Hopefully something will turn up.

[segaloco]

Thanks for the information G-Man and paul-f! Seeing as there isn't a whole lot of info on this one, I'll do my best to turn up the wiring pieces I need from some of the "surrounding" documentation.  While in the guts I'll try and take some pictures for the record.  I went ahead and removed the little headset sidecar thing but didn't modify any other connections, figured it wouldn't hurt to just leave the remaining connections floating until I figure out which terminals to screw them down to.  Shame this isn't a 1A2 though, that's what I was fishing for, but lesson learned, gotta check the BSPs for model numbers better.

[HarrySmith]

We LOVE pictures. Especially when it is a rare, interesting item. Do you have any of this beast?

[G-Man]

I went ahead and removed the little headset sidecar thing but didn't modify any other connections, figured it wouldn't hurt to just leave the remaining connections floating until I figure out which terminals to screw them down to.

I suspect that what you are referring to is a Pacific Plantronics headset jack appliqué.

Here is a link to a GTE practice that provides instructions for installing them on AECo instruments; however, Bell used them on WECo sets as well.

Other manufacturers offered similar products.

• https://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/browse/document-repository/gsps-gen-tel/13152-gsp-gtep-028-736-100-i1-mar79-plantronics-js-180-headset-jack-applique?highlight=WyJwbGFudHJvbmljcyJd

[segaloco]

Alright photos incoming, hopefully I've figured out whatever cropping requirement is in place, I don't have all the fancy photo editing tools so just have to rely on plopping down a scale factor in Imagemagick and hope that does the trick.

So the shots here you've got:

121725 - Full shot, you can see in the key columns the lack of a red Hold key like 1A2 and other key telephones.  The seller did not send me the modular spring cord, so one is not installed.  I don't have a grey one and am pressed for spring cords at present so whoever eventually gets this will need to supply their own.  The handset itself was shipped without any guts, just the plastic shell, so I filled it with the working guts of an otherwise unused G handset I had lying around.

121744 - Closeup of a spot where a sticker once was, highlighting the yellowing of the case.  I don't consider myself experienced enough in plastic restoration to risk this one, so I'm leaving the case as is.  Also visible in the shot is some moisture, I suspect non-aqueous, under the front plate.  When I received it there was quite a bit more, the card under the plate seems to be impregnated with whatever oil it is by this point, I've "dried" it the best I can but I don't know that I can fully remedy the situation, this could probably benefit from a card replacement to be honest.

121809 - Shot of the branding.  The phone itself is dated 1978, so well past the use of this logotype, so probably was just provided with an old card or someone put an older one in.

121831 - Shot of some damage to the main cord.  I don't see any breaks in the actual leads, but the insulation is ruptured at this one point.  Hopefully this doesn't belie any further damage to the cabling.

121916 - Shot of the connecting end of the cable, showing the dual heads.  Number on the sheath is 78 80 D56A best I can make it out.

121945 - KS number on one of the connectors.

[segaloco]

Secound round:

122058 - Shot of the baseplate with model number and year.  624A10M 8-78.

122107 - Shot of one of the two screws holding the body together.  This one unfortunately was broken on arrival, likely due to the poor mounting of the headset adapter on the side.  The other back corner is intact.

122148 - Shot of the front with the face plate and card removed.  More of the original grey color of the plastic is visible here.

122319 - Upper housing removed, inside view.  At the bottom you can see two metal tabs that insert into two slots in the baseplate for anchoring the casing down. These can technically be removed to make pulling the cover off a little easier, but this isn't required.  The rear screws are the crucial ones.

122344 - Closeup of the casing without the bottom face plate bracket installed, further demonstrating the yellowing.

124402 - Shot of the back of the dial assembly.  The dial is held on via a square metal plate with a few screw mounts, you kinda have to twist it in and out of place rather than just setting it down and putting the screws on.

[segaloco]

And more:

124437 - This is part of the dial mounting assembly, attached near the back of it.  The text indicates "Mount Buzzer This Side Buzzer Coils This Direction" with an arrow pointing to the left.  No such buzzer was installed, nor does this unit have an actual ringer where one is positioned in others using the same base plate, so presumably since this was for use in a 1ESS office any needed ringing signal was delivered to some other apparatus instead.

124455 - Shot of the network, 4228 I believe is the model number.  Note, any rewiring was done in accordance with information from the 623A1 which serves similar purposes but does not, for instance, have a dial.  In any case, I can make no guarantees that this network or any other connections are stock as the phone was in a modified state when I received it, I restored it as close as other BSPs would allow, but I obviously don't have a 1ESS to 100% confirm this works with nor an exact BSP to check it against.

124524 - Shot of the switch hook mechanism.  Not sure if there's anything noteworthy about it, probably standard Call Director fare.

124556 - Small terminal block situated behind the network, I suspect this is particular to these 1ESS-supporting units as I saw this in the wiring diagram for the 623, but don't see this in photos and diagrams of conventional Call Directors (not that I went exhaustively looking, the common ones didn't show it where I looked)

124602 - Shot of the back of the key unit, showing three columns of keys connected via 50-pin connectors in the body.

124958 - Another, I forget why I took this second one, I don't think it shows anything different than the preceding.

[segaloco]

Next, some shots of the a key module itself, in this case all three are type 656A, dated 7-78.

125135 - Left side (looking face on).  These keys are of the more rounded variety, compared with those with sharper edges I see on other key telephones, but are of the expected clear plastic with mounted lamps next to them.

125140 - Close up of the type number.

125154 - Close up of the 50-pin connector with KS number.

125306 - The key-specific contact sets, 3 of them, in this case in the open state.

125323 - The same key but depressed, showing the three key-specific contacts being made.

125330 - A small hook at the top of the module that articulates with a metal plate in the back of the mounting assembly.  This plate is then articulated to all three key modules in this manner such that a key press in any column triggers a reset of any other depressed keys in the panel.