Model 202 telephone
Encyclopedia
The Model 202 telephone (D1 mount/set) was a desktop telephone produced by Western Electric
from 1930 through 1936. It was a modified version of the Model 102
, and contained newly created anti-sidetone
circuitry to prevent audio from the earpiece from being picked up by the mouthpiece
, which would result in an acoustic feedback loop, and a squealing noise from the receiver. Like its predecessors and competitors, the Model 202 contained no ringer or induction coils. These were contained in an external subset (ringer box
) that connected between the phone and the wall.
The first Model 202s were produced simply by installing the anti-sidetone circuitry into existing Model 102s. Shortly afterwards, however, a new elliptical base was developed for the 202, referred to as the D1 mount. This base was designed to resolve issues with the 102's circular B1 base, such as stability when dialing. The new D1 base would remain the mounting paired with the same E1 handset from the 102 for the remainder of the 202's production run.
At around the time the D1 mounting was introduced, Western Electric began assigning production codes to their subscriber sets. Until then, phones were only referred to by the parts used to make them: The 202 was the "D1 Mount/E1", the 102 was the "B1 Mount/E1", and so on. At first, the assembly codes specifically referred to the electrical capabilities of the set, as well as giving it a more handy designation. The "202" designation referred to the inclusion of anti-sidetone circuitry, while the 102 was retroactively applied to refer to the desktop set without such circuitry.
The E1 handset was originally manufactured with a dome-shaped transmitter known as a "bullet transmitter" which was mounted inside a hollow enclosure known colloquially as a "spit cup" which would focus sound more effectively to the transmitter. This feature was eliminated about halfway through the handset's production run, when the transmitter element was changed to a more sensitive model, which was covered by a simple plastic screen.
The vast majority of the original 1930–38 production run of Model 202 phones were produced in a single color — black — but for an extra fee, telephones and subsets could be ordered in numerous other colors, both metallic and flat. Barbara Stanwyck
talked on an ivory Model 202 phone in the 1948 motion picture Sorry, Wrong Number
.
In 1954 Western Electric reissued the 202 in an effort to use up existing parts, and to keep up with demand for color phones. The "Continental" line was made up of the D1 base with the newer F1 handset, and was available painted in ivory, moss green, gray, red, brown, beige, yellow and blue. The "Silver Continental" was made up of a D1 base plated in silvery rhodium and coupled with an ivory painted or solid ivory plastic handset. The "Imperial" was made up of a rhodium-plated base sprayed with transparent gold lacquer, which was also coupled with an ivory painted or solid ivory plastic handset. Conspicuously absent from the reissue color lineup was black.
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
from 1930 through 1936. It was a modified version of the Model 102
Model 102 telephone
The Model 102 telephone was Western Electric's first widely distributed telephone set to feature the transmitter and receiver in a common handset. Prior models had been of the "candlestick" type, which featured a transmitter fixed to the base, and a receiver held to the ear...
, and contained newly created anti-sidetone
Sidetone
Sidetone is audible feedback to someone who is speaking. The term is most used in telecommunication contexts.-Telephony:In telephony, sidetone is the effect of sound that is picked up by the telephone's mouthpiece and in real-time introduced at a low level into the earpiece of the same handset,...
circuitry to prevent audio from the earpiece from being picked up by the mouthpiece
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
, which would result in an acoustic feedback loop, and a squealing noise from the receiver. Like its predecessors and competitors, the Model 202 contained no ringer or induction coils. These were contained in an external subset (ringer box
Ringer box
The ringer box is an external phone ringer housed in a bell box or subscriber set, and was used with most early desk stand type phones including the candlestick telephones, and the Western Electric model 102 and 202 telephones, which were too small to hold a ringer or other needed electrical parts...
) that connected between the phone and the wall.
The first Model 202s were produced simply by installing the anti-sidetone circuitry into existing Model 102s. Shortly afterwards, however, a new elliptical base was developed for the 202, referred to as the D1 mount. This base was designed to resolve issues with the 102's circular B1 base, such as stability when dialing. The new D1 base would remain the mounting paired with the same E1 handset from the 102 for the remainder of the 202's production run.
At around the time the D1 mounting was introduced, Western Electric began assigning production codes to their subscriber sets. Until then, phones were only referred to by the parts used to make them: The 202 was the "D1 Mount/E1", the 102 was the "B1 Mount/E1", and so on. At first, the assembly codes specifically referred to the electrical capabilities of the set, as well as giving it a more handy designation. The "202" designation referred to the inclusion of anti-sidetone circuitry, while the 102 was retroactively applied to refer to the desktop set without such circuitry.
The E1 handset was originally manufactured with a dome-shaped transmitter known as a "bullet transmitter" which was mounted inside a hollow enclosure known colloquially as a "spit cup" which would focus sound more effectively to the transmitter. This feature was eliminated about halfway through the handset's production run, when the transmitter element was changed to a more sensitive model, which was covered by a simple plastic screen.
The vast majority of the original 1930–38 production run of Model 202 phones were produced in a single color — black — but for an extra fee, telephones and subsets could be ordered in numerous other colors, both metallic and flat. Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
talked on an ivory Model 202 phone in the 1948 motion picture Sorry, Wrong Number
Sorry, Wrong Number
Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a plot for murder. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson and William Conrad.The film was adapted by Lucille...
.
In 1954 Western Electric reissued the 202 in an effort to use up existing parts, and to keep up with demand for color phones. The "Continental" line was made up of the D1 base with the newer F1 handset, and was available painted in ivory, moss green, gray, red, brown, beige, yellow and blue. The "Silver Continental" was made up of a D1 base plated in silvery rhodium and coupled with an ivory painted or solid ivory plastic handset. The "Imperial" was made up of a rhodium-plated base sprayed with transparent gold lacquer, which was also coupled with an ivory painted or solid ivory plastic handset. Conspicuously absent from the reissue color lineup was black.
External links
- Western Electric Telephone Models — A look at the evolution of Western Electric's dial telephones