atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Antique Telephones Western Electric 500 C/D to RJ11 conversion

Thanks, it sounds too easy. I'll put the order in on ebay and hopefully try it out by the end of the week. I can buy a cloth cord later from the sandman website if I want to make it more "authentic".

to the forum!

The cord you have is actually the original cord, made by Western Electric and fitted to the phone by the Bell System installer who installed it. Your phone would not have been installed with a cloth cord.

At the wall end, the cord most likely attached to a small plastic block [about 2" square] known as a 42A block. These can still be found [ask your local phone guy to look in his junk box], and if you can scare one up, it would actually be a quick and easy way to get hooked up.

There is also a series of jacks, also made by WE, that take a "4-Prong" plug. Depending on how old you are, you may remember them as they were still very common 20 years ago. They are also still around, and are a viable option.

Sorry if we sound anal about authenticity [we kind of are]. The flat modular cords just look bogus coming out of a 500 set.

Jim
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Speaking from a secure undisclosed location.

And using a knock out tool to cut the cases to retrofit them for full modular cords is something I wish I could go back and undo.

When you hook up your new modular cord, you'll need to take that black wire on the terminal with the yellow line cord wire (it's going to the ringer), and move it to the terminal that the green line cord wire goes to.

dave, i think i know what you mean, mod to spades, no need to modify the phone, here in the great white north, dave can vouch, we never had modular 500's, they just had silver spade to modular cords put on them

Sorry, Jay, you're wrong. Sherbrooke & Guelph, Ontario were traditionally the test locations for anything new for Bell.

When Bell was testing the "Modular" change, installers were transferred in from all over to blanket each city. Went over well in Sherbrooke, not so well in Ontario. Jacks were installed and cords were changed.

Once the test was complete Bell introduced the "QSQM" designation to phones with a modular cord. For example, a traditional 500 set was "D-500-(colour code)" while the modular equivalent was QSQM 500-(Colour code)".

My point was that the true value for the OP's set would be diminished with whatever conversion made to it.

i meant dave, they were "modular" in the sense they plugged into jacks, but the phones were never full modular like the ones south of the border, the user couldnt change the line or the reciever cord himself. i was a bit un clear.

as for the OP's phone, ive gotten a few like that in my collection, luckily they werent cut off, so i put one of those old 4 pin plugs on it, available at radio shack to this day. i was lucky enough to find sets that still had that little grommet on the end of the wire.

Jeffery C,

Looking at your 500 set again, you might want to give it a little polishing to make it shine! I like to use "Magnolia Glayzit Telephone Refinisher" but perhaps "Armour all" would suffice.

Arthur, your thoughts on this?

Thanks for all the help guys. I swapped out the original cord with a spade to modular connection. I also had to move the black wire from G to L1 to make it ring. I can hold on to the original cord if I want to get more adventurous later, but I really don't have the time or tools to repair the old cord. I know it doesn't have a fully antique feel, but I have a functioning, and apparently indestructible telephone that is worth the $30 I now have invested in the project. More importantly, my wife loves the rotary dial and the way it rings. This was fun.

I'll check my supply and find you a 3-conductor black cord. It may take a while, because I'm lazy.