1912 American Tel & Tel Candlestick Phone

[FedoraGent]

Folks,

As some of you know from another thread I have a candlestick telephone or more officially a deskstand telephone on my desk at home. After acquiring it at an antique shop in Alameda, CA in 1996 I used it once and then disconnected it noting that people said that I sounded like I was in a tin can. The joke "Well I'm here with Prince Albert in a can" didn't go over well so I gave up years ago. After quite some time of it being a pretty desk piece I decided to give her a try again. So, I rewired her and still the same effect...but when I tell the bell mouthpiece of and get closer, people say it sounds better. Now, my understanding of these phones over the years has become better and I know that the transmitter is made of a carbon composite. Even after the rewiring the echo is and 'tin can' effect is still there. Perhaps over time this transmitter has become brittle. Has anyone ever experienced this?

Thanks,

Jon

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I think they all sound a bit tinny. You were supposed to get your mouth right up to that mouthpiece, almost touching, and the carbon transmitter needs to be angled upward to work properly.

Most of the "Candlestick" desk stands got converted to the "Bulldog" transmitter somewhere along the line, which used a WE 302 style transmitter in an adapter.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Consider putting in a "mini-network". That would probably reduce the echo ("side-tone") effect.

Here are the websites of the two big 'phone collector clubs in the US:


They might help.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The main phone in my house is a WE 202, with the original transmitter, and it gives the same effect. I've long since gotten into the habit of keeping my mouth directly over the mouthpiece, but visitors using the phone for the first time always have trouble adjusting.

My ringer box is the early "sidetone" type, and has never been rewired, so I imagine that might improve the sound quality. But the directionality of the transmitter is just part of the territory in dealing with old phones.

When carbon mikes were used in radio, it was common to tap them with a pencil before a broadcast, to keep the carbon granules from packing. I do this with my phone from time to time, just in case...