atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Member Forums Buy/Sell - List your inventory and sell it or buy Wanted: WE 2851

I think 2851 is the right model, anyway. A wall mount, 6 button, Western Electric.

Would prefer any color other than beige or yellow.

Also if you have any WE 2565's in anything other than beige, blue (unless there is a model that isn't the "sky blue", I don't know if they offered anything in a deeper blue) or yellow.

Which I guess pretty much leaves white, black and red as my options. If it has to be beige... well.. OK.

Rotary or push button isn't that big of a factor.

Western Electric is a must though. Used is preferable, as long as it can be polished up. I know of sites where I can buy NOS or refurbs on all of these items, but man.... pricey.

Thanks
Matt

Matt -

Check ebay, they come up pretty regular. And if you want a real bargain, there's a guy selling Black Stromberg Carlson TT Wall KVs, Brand new for $5.00!

I bought two - one to use and one as a spare. The price was too good.

Not WEco but a good, solid phone.

Sam

OK -

I do a daily search on Ebay for: 1A2, KSU, 6 button, Western Electric, 2565 and 2851. Any particular terms you use? Lots of times I'll browse the whole WE catalog. Man what they get for some of those tubes blows my friggin mind.

Please lemme know if you find one. $5 beats WE most days of the week!

Thanks
Matt

Hey Sam -

I went ahead and bought one of those comdials, can't go wrong for $5.

Thanks for the tip!

Matt

Can you post a link, I am curious what this phone looks like...

Sure, here ya go:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290164994512&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=019

That's not even close to what a real WECO 2851 set looks like; WECO's version of a 2851 set has the handset sitting on top of the set.

ITT and Comdial tried to come up with an economical version of a wall phone without spending any extra money to do so. I think that ITT's and Comdial's excuse for a wall phone (an upside-down desk set) was a bit silly-looking. Their sets even came equipped with a 7' line cord! What do you need a line cord for on a wall set? The WECO 2851 was the real thing.

Jeff, just so you know:

2851A-XX: 66 block punch down block within the set for the incoming 25 pr. cable and a hardwired handset cord.

2851B-XX: 66 block punch down block within the set for the incoming 25 pr. cable and a 5-pin "Trimline" style handset cord connector.

2851BM-XX: 66 block punch down block within the set for the incoming 25 pr. cable and a standard 4P4C modular handset cord conection.
"Trimline"-to-modular adapters were often factory-installed to adapt to modular handset cord connections.

2851CM-XX: 25 pair Amphenol-"compatible" connector for incoming 25 pair female-ended cable and a standard 4P4C modular handset cord connection.

Note: The "XX" signifies the color code. Sorry, no pics available for now.

That's the one, Merritt. Hung many of them rascals....discount houses loved them, screwed them to the steel support pipes.

Thanks for the memories!! :dance:

Ed, thanks for telling me wayyy more than I ever needed to know

Ed -

You are absolutely right. It looks nothing like a 2851 set.

But......

It's brand new, fully 1a2 compatible, built solid, works real well AND ....

it's only $5.00. (plus shipping).

Can't beat that.


Sam

Matt:

When you get around to calling me (see my offer to help on another part of the Forum) I will let you pick out what phones you need from my collection. I have several new in box 2851's and 2565HK's.

When you go to remove the housing on the 2851 ("Cuckoo Clock Phone") you need to do it thusly:

Insert the dial remover (paper clip) into the hole at the bottom of the faceplate. Then unscrew the captive screws holding the housing onto the base.

To put the housing back on, use one hand to hold the two plungers up, one hand to seat the housing, one hand to get the two screws into their respective holes, and one hand to tighten the screws.

Lol....

I'm assuming it comes with some extra sets of hands?

Ain't that the truth. I like to back the cover screws out to the point where the threads start to catch a little bit. That way, at least they won't wobble around and miss the target. I can use my other three hands to deal with the switch hook plunger buttons. Problematic to install, yes, but the 2851 is a great phone and solid as a rock. I want one.

C'mon guys! Electronic Techs and Phone Guys, both are identifiable by the extra arms sticking out of their shirt fronts. Comes in 'handy' with the ladies, too! John C. (Not Garand)

Ed, I have a few used and NIB ones. Let me know how bad you want one.

Wait, Ed, you have 3 hands?

Matt -

A 2851 in Blue is for sale on ebay.

Sam

Thanks Sam.... it's on my scope, but "faceplate not original color" and "the rest of the phone professionally painted".... pretty much ruled it out for me. I'm also a bit scared by the ebay store this person has.... "nothing guaranteed, sold as is".... while at the same time making a start bid a bit too high, IMO) I want a real, W.E., original color (if I have to take beige, then I will).... 2851. Also, is it just me, or does that shade of blue (Even if it's fully stock) make anyone want to puke? I mean... the avocado green of the 70's we managed to survive somehow... but jeezy weezy......

But anyway, thanks for the tip Sam!

(PS: Why do people do what they do to these poor phones?)

Matt -

You didn't like Avocado? I made my mother-in-law's day (maybe year!) when I gave her an avocado phone to match her kitchen. She showed it to everybody that walked in the house.

As to your question of why people do that to those poor phones -

I was the foreman when we rewired the Park Lane Hotel in NYC (around 1980). They had a WE 701 Strowger switch with cordboards for consoles. We put in a Neax 22SA (the 1st Hotel/Motel package - a Beta - I worked with the engineers throughout the install). It had Caller ID panels for Hotel Services (room service etc). It was the first time I ever saw that feature when it wasn't on a console! We put in 1A2 sets for the administration and 2500 sets for the guests.

The late Leona Helmsley owned the hotel and lived there. Wiring her apartment and dealing with her will take up a full chapter (maybe two) in my memoirs.

However....She wanted a GOLD (not yellow) KV set on the reception desk in the lobby. We investigated custom jobs and she (or rather her secretary) told us that she didn't care how we got it, she wasn't going to pay for it. (you wonder how the rich got rich?)

In the end we took a Brown set and spray painted it gold using Krylon paint. We also spray painted a dozen cords, so repair could change them when the paint cracked off. It worked.

Another preview of my memoirs....

In the late '70s I did some work at Yankee Stadium and it so impressed George Steinbrenner that I got called back to handle a tough one for him.

He had an ITT Cocoa Brown 10 button (7 Line) Speakerphone on his desk. It came with the original Light Ash faceplate. He wanted (or so his secretary said [see a pattern here?]) a wood grained phone.

The company had investigated the possibility of custom work and were told that yes, George didn't care how we did it - he just wouldn't pay for it. (Again, that pattern.)

I ordered a wood grain face plate that was a minor item in the ITT catalog and installed it - would Mr. Steinbrenner accept that?

The secretary said Mr. Steinbrenner would accept a faceplate, and that I was close - but the faceplate's grain did not match the desk - could I do better?

In desperation I went down to the local Bodega and bought all the different types of wood grain contact paper they had and asked the secretary if one of them was close enough.

One was. A razor blade (another trip to the bodega) cut out the little holes for the touch tone pad, the key strip and the speaker and after several tries at getting all the bubbles out, the job was deemed a success.

Those are two "custom" jobs I have personal knowledge of. I'm sure there are thousands!

I also worked at International Arms Dealer Adanan Kashogi's Midtown Manhattan apartment with its' GTD-120 switch. And at the Saudi Arabian Ambassador's (UN) Duplex Penthouse and at....But those are stories for another time.


Sam

WOW, those are some pretty interesting stories

Jeff-

When you get to a certain age, all you've got left is stories.

Didn't Springsteen say that in "Glory Days"?

40+ years doing this stuff in the Big Apple. You see and do some really strange stuff.

Remembering it all is the challenge these days.

Sam

Sam, you're probably getting that CRAFT disease.


Can't remember a friggin' thing.


Carl

Well, I will be honest and admit to having used contact paper to make face plates to match the customer's request. Some were just plain ugly, but all that it took was a trip to the grocery store and a razor knife to make it happen. Many happy customers with many ugly phones and many Ben Franklins in my pocket for doing so.

I lived in an apartment that had a gas stove, yet I spray painted housings out on the terrace and brought them inside to dry on the kitchen table. I never used the stove (afraid of it), but it had pilot lights inside. All of those paint fumes and pilot lights....NO, there wasn't an explosion, but something happened to cause a disgusting smell. My apartment smelled like a cross between an auto body shop and kitchen grease. I had to move away after about a month.

I wish you could do these things now, but since nearly every phone is shaped like a football (thanks, Cisco!), all we can say is that "you get what you get".

Craft disease.....What did you say? Now that's a good one!

Hey Ed, I used to have a Bart Simpson phone, so I take offense to that!

I guess "reversible" things like contact paper don't bother me as much... but spray paint, etc... man for some reason I just hate that. I think in general changing things that are really "perfect" to begin with just rubs me the wrong way, and for me, it's not confined to just telephones.

I think I remember reading the guy who designed the 2500 got some sort of recognition for designing one of the most recognizable/functional designs of the 20th century, or something along those lines. Or maybe it was the Trimline model, I don't remember. I see phones out on Ebay that people have turned into lamps, or "customized" them with some god awful combination of colors/textures...makes me cringe and shake my head every time.

I'd love to hear some of those Leona Helmsley stories though!

The Leona stories should really be told over a beer (or three). Too long to write out and the moderator would bleep most of it. (Let's just say she had a mouth like a sewer, and I gave as good as I got)

I've worked for a number of very rich people over the years. Most just treat you like the hired help - which is OK, that's what we are. Some are extremely rude, some beyond rude. But some are absolutely fabulous, unpretentious people.

There was one guy named Coulicundus (Spelling is wrong) who owned all kinds of oil and oil tankers. What an absolute Gentleman.

There was Claude Arpels (from Van Cleef & Arpels)who was very nice and very polite.

I never met Oscar de la Renta, but when I bailed out his office on cutover, he gave me two suits and a sports jacket.

Most of the time you don't meet the principle, just their secretary, but sometimes you do and it's always interesting.

Here's one that I didn't experience first hand, but met the guy who did. I ordinarily wouldn't tell a second hand story, but this is a good one:

I was working construction at the AOL/Time Warner tower at Columbus Circle and was working with a plumber (I was running in a Building Management System that at one point tied into the hot water heaters for the Mandarin Hotel. The plumber was installing the heaters and my equipment told them when to cycle on and off.)

The plumber said that when Robert DeNiro opened his restaurant "Tribeca Grill" downtown, the construction work included his apartment "above the store". The apartment included a hot tub on the roof. DeNiro was having a party to celebrate the opening of the restaurant and wanted the apartment (and the hot tub!) done at the same time. There was a real question as to whether the hot tub would be ready by Saturday night and DeNiro came to talk to the young plumber who was doing the work. The young man said he'd do his best and DeNiro thanked him.

When the tub was completed Saturday morning, DeNiro had a taxi take the plumber to a nearby hotel to rest up (all on DeNiro) and then arranged to bring him back in time for the party. Not only did the guy get a VERY nice tip, but DeNiro had him at the party and introduced him to all the celebrities as "the guy that got the hot tub running in record time - if you ever need a plumber, call this guy."

The plumber said he didn't get home for two days and has done very, wery well on the recommendations and has never forgotten Deniro's kindness.

What the fellow said that impressed him most of all was that "Bobby" was a regular guy who tried not to let all the status, hype and BS get in the way of living.


And then there's the Marilyn story...

But then there's the Lucille Ball story......

Enough for now.

Sam

Moderator - I apologize. Waaay off subject. Any other blatherings will go in the Phone Booth.

Sam

I'll take the hit for that Sam - I'm the one who asked you to post about Leona. I've got many violations myself in this thread (for which I also apologize).... and I started the thing off to begin with!

Sam -

Roughly how long did it take for your phones to show up?

Thanks -
Matt

I don't remember for sure but I'd say a week to 10 days. The phones were perfect - New in the Box with all the paperwork. The guy must have a warehouse full of them - all comdial, all black, all wall, all 5 line.

Sam