Telephone Dry Cell Battery
Marc Meyer
I have a battery that was apparently once upon a time used for the telephone
service in my house. The battery is gray in color and triangular in shape
(when looking at it from the top). It is about eight inches tall and there
are two spring terminals on the top of the battery (positive and negative)
to which there are still wires attached. There is a nasty rat's nest of
wires, so at this point I have no idea where the wires come from or go to.
The battery is affixed to my basement wall right next to the telephone
service terminal. The printing on the side of the battery casing is as
follows:
KS-6700 DRY BATTERY
(4.5 VOLTS)
DATE INSTALLED (blank)
DATE OF MANUFACTURE JUN 23, 1962
FOR TELEPHONE SERVICE
MADE IN U.S.A.
MANUFACTURED BY
UNION CARBIDE CONSUMER PRODUCTS COMPANY
DIVISION OF UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION
...and in the middle of all this text is a BELL SYSTEM logo, around which
are the words:
AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH
AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIES
At your site I found that this particular logo was used from 1939 to 1964.
My house was built in 1962, so I'm thinking the battery is original
equipment.
I called the local phone company inquiring about it, and they told me
that it was (this is a direct quote), "probably for a Princess phone."
So I did some more Internet research, and all of the information I
found on Princess phones said that they came with a transformer, but I
never once found a mention of a battery for them. I also found at
your site
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/tribute/the_bell_system_tel
ephone_story.html that early phones were voice powered, then wet
battery, then dry battery, and then common battery -- which was dated
to 1900. This makes me curious in that if the common battery was a
technological breakthrough in 1900, why would my phone be powered by a
dry cell?
Do you know what this battery was used for? Does my phone system
still need it (I'd think it would be dead by now)? Are there any
collectors who would pay money to have such a thing? Would it be
worthy of donation to a museum? Or should I just drop it in the
recycle bin with spent 9-volt and D-cell batteries? Also, how is it
affixed to the wall (in other words, how can I remove it)?
It is in relatively good shape, with only two small rust spots.
You have a very cool and thorough web site, and from reading your
introduction it sounds like you know a thing or two about Bell System
telephone stuff. I know I have lots of questions here; any answers or
information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Marc Meyer
Michael Muderick
intercom/interphone system and provided voltage for the talkpath. It
could also have beenused for the signalling buzzers. This may be
evident if you see more than the traditional three wire or four wire
cables through the house. I don't know if they have any "collectors"
value. But you can try on ebay, or maybe even in this group.
L Winson
the power source.
Originally, they used a "local battery" system, which meant every
telephone had its own battery (usually a few dry cells) to power
the voice circuit, and a hand cranked magneto to power the ringer.
When a subscriber wanted to make a call, he'd crank the magneto.
If there was a central switchboard, it'd cause a tiny metal
"drop" to fall, alerting the operator to a call. (That's why
in old movies, people would crank the phone to make a call.)
In WW II, the field telephones used this type of system.
The advantage of such a system was simplicity. The disadvantage was
batteries at the subscriber's end had to be periodically replaced.
(They may have also worked better when the phone is a considerable
distance from the central office, as in rural lines or on railroads.)
The newer system used today is known as "common battery". All power
comes from the central office. To make a call, the subscriber simply
lifts the phone from the hookswitch. A relay at the central office
detects the off-hook and either alerts an operator or sends out a dial
tone. When the call is completed, going onhook will again signal a
relay at the central office. (IIRC, local battery required the
callers "ring off" at the end of a call.)
Local battery systems used in a great many places for many years.
There are modern looking phones with a magneto built in for such
service. Many railroad line phones were of this design.
Regarding the original poster's question, I'm surprised the phone
company would install a battery for anything at such a late date
(1962) since it would require periodic replacement. But as someone
suggested, it may have been for an intercom system. I wonder if
perhaps a prior owner of the house made his own modification and got
the battery somewhere.