Received a call from a new customer who said that they have a "really old" phone system in his house (er: mansion) that needed some repairs. The guy really couldn't elaborate much on what kind of system they have, and none of the numbers he gave made any sense, so I decided to go check it out.

Here's one phone in the kitchen that was having problems:

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

So I opened it up and took a look inside. No lamp on line one and no transmit:

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

Here's one that they had as a spare in case I needed parts:

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

Here's a transfer key, a ringer box and the original screw-terminal block where the phone connects:

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

Needed to trace out the lamp leads for one of the lines:

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

No lamp battery for that line on any of the phones apparently. Where is the KSU for the system, sir?

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i98.photobucket.com]

After an hour or two, everything is now working. I tried to convince the customer that they need to upgrade to a new system and they said that they aren't about to part with it. The system, along with most of the phones are original from when the house was built in 1951. This one was certainly a first for me. I guess the fact that the system is 60 years old speaks volumes for the good old Western Electric quality.

Ed Vaughn, MBSWWYPBX