atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Antique Telephones Wheelock signal used by Bell System

Does anybody know what this was used for?

https://cgi.ebay.com/BELL-SYSTEM-WH..._Fire_Protection&hash=item2a0e780c2d

Was it an auxiliary signaling device or bell? A town near me used to have a Western Electric ERTS (emergency reporting telephone system), and they had these devices mounted on telephone poles above each WE 570 call box (about 10 to 12 feet above the ground.) The call box telephones looked like this:

https://sc.infc.info/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=2819&Itemid=19

Lou

It was (is) a really loud buzzer.

It is ac powered w/relay. It provided loud amplified noise to alert you of ringing.
When i say loud i mean loud. It was when the bell or EBL ring was not efficent to catch your attention. Dont remember the DB level.It followed the ringing pattern of the line. LOUD!!!

The relay inside has separate input taps that will accept 24Vdc, 18Vac, 48Vdc, or generator (90V @ 15 to 30 Hz) to activate it. The relay switches line current (117Vac) to the Klaxon.

Not just loud -- it will make your gums bleed.

Little off topic. I had a boss who complained he couldn't hear the bell chime we had for common bell. We were fine with it and only saw him once a month or so at the most. So we wanted to make sure he could hear the phone ring when we weren't there. So we mounted one under his desk on a TK6 switch we threw when he was there. He never complained about the bell chime again. Didn't come around much after that either.

Bill, we did that with my partner and his desk was METAL. Rang into it just as he was lifting a full cup of coffee while on break. You can image the mess it made, and the never ending string of practical jokes that got played on each other.

As for being loud, yes they were/are very loud. In fact I just installed one a month ago.

In an extremely loud plant years ago, my dad was told they still couldn't hear it though, so he disconnected the bell or horn(forget which it was) and installed a light to it. Everyone was happy except the girl in the commercial office.....they didn't have a price code to charge the client, and she didn't have a clue what to do.

Back on topic, though....I fail to see why one would need those horns attached to a Fire Call Box, which were for out bound calls. :shrug:

Must have been one heck of a noisy neibourhood, if anyone ever got the line numbers for those

Yeah, I'm not sure why they used them in that application either. Possibly the police rang back the station to verify and/or deter false alarms? They had an all volunteer department back then, and most of the old timers who were involved then are long gone.

I distinctly remember when I was a kid that they had red indicator lights above them as well. Of course the area was somewhat rural back when they were installed. They removed the system over 20 years ago and took down the boxes and the lights, but many of these Wheelock devices were left in place (and are still up on the poles.)

Yes. It was JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH LOUD!

Of course not. They had all gone deaf by then! :rofl:

LOUD AS BELL (ha,ha, fooled you)

I'm with Dave's father, I've installed 2 as a tests, and wound up putting in revolving blue 'SUNs'. Just couldn't hear it reliably, it's tone and frequency were almost exactly the same as the machinery! That, and the last few I installed were not as loud as the older ones. And no, it wasn't my hearing going down the tubes, they were definitely quieter, confirmed in side-by-side tests.