Could someone point me in the direction of a good forum for restoring antique telephones?
I have a Bell rotary dial phone with a separate ringer box from late 30s I believe. What voltages were ncessary to ring the bells? I understand the line voltage was 48 vdc?

:Could someone point me in the direction of a good forum for restoring antique telephones?
:I have a Bell rotary dial phone with a separate ringer box from late 30s I believe. What voltages were ncessary to ring the bells? I understand the line voltage was 48 vdc?

The normal line voltage leaving the centeral office is 48 volts dc. ring being the negative side. During a normal off hook condition much less will be across the telephone instrument. The older telephones needed 50 ma. of current for good transmission as the microphone, transmitter, was made of carbon grandules. Less current would give lower volume, and too high would cause the transmitter to self destruct resulting is static. Sometime a good bang on a transmitter that had static would cure it for awhile, as is would move the carbon grandules. The normal ringing voltage is 90 volts ac at 20 cycles leaving the centeral office, this would drop due to the line resistance by the time it reached the telephone.

::Could someone point me in the direction of a good forum for restoring antique telephones?
::I have a Bell rotary dial phone with a separate ringer box from late 30s I believe. What voltages were ncessary to ring the bells? I understand the line voltage was 48 vdc?
:
:The normal line voltage leaving the centeral office is 48 volts dc. ring being the negative side. During a normal off hook condition much less will be across the telephone instrument. The older telephones needed 50 ma. of current for good transmission as the microphone, transmitter, was made of carbon grandules. Less current would give lower volume, and too high would cause the transmitter to self destruct resulting is static. Sometime a good bang on a transmitter that had static would cure it for awhile, as is would move the carbon grandules. The normal ringing voltage is 90 volts ac at 20 cycles leaving the centeral office, this would drop due to the line resistance by the time it reached the telephone.

What you probably have is a 202. There is a site called "Telephone Collectors International", or something like that, or TCI for short. There, you can get schematics and links to other sites. Google "TCI" and see what comes up.
Lewis

:::Could someone point me in the direction of a good forum for restoring antique telephones?
:::I have a Bell rotary dial phone with a separate ringer box from late 30s I believe. What voltages were ncessary to ring the bells? I understand the line voltage was 48 vdc?
::
::The normal line voltage leaving the centeral office is 48 volts dc. ring being the negative side. During a normal off hook condition much less will be across the telephone instrument. The older telephones needed 50 ma. of current for good transmission as the microphone, transmitter, was made of carbon grandules. Less current would give lower volume, and too high would cause the transmitter to self destruct resulting is static. Sometime a good bang on a transmitter that had static would cure it for awhile, as is would move the carbon grandules. The normal ringing voltage is 90 volts ac at 20 cycles leaving the centeral office, this would drop due to the line resistance by the time it reached the telephone.
:
:What you probably have is a 202. There is a site called "Telephone Collectors International", or something like that, or TCI for short. There, you can get schematics and links to other sites. Google "TCI" and see what comes up.
:Lewis

Correction: Google "TCI library" that took me right to WE schamatics.
Lewis
:
:
:
: