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Signal Corps Camp Telephone M1913


Garth Thompson
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Garth Thompson

I don't know a thing about this item and could use some information from you communications gear guys. It is a hefty fellow about 12 pounds. The case is wood with metal end caps.

Here are some pictures.

Thanks in advance,

Garth

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Garth Thompson

Just what you see in the pictures. The only thing with any numbering is the wire connection block.

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The nomenclature is misleading in a way; this is basically a portable phone (like the later EE series) which was used in camp and in field when needed. It was superseded later of course, and you will find 1917 models which are pretty much identical externally, but very different internally. Prior to 1917, the signal buzzer (M1914) and phones (M1913) were separate things. In 1917 they combined them.

 

 

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Garth: Nice catch, the Camp telephone model 1913 is VERY hard to find. Evolution of these phones is as follows;

Camp Telephone Model of 1913 light stamped hang up hook on end of case, light handset.

Camp Telephone Model A: ( produced in 1917) moved the hang up hook from side to front of phone, sturdier hook and more substantial ("dog Bone") style handset. Mfg. by Western Electric

Field Telephone Model 1917 : doubled battery capacity, stoughter iron bound oak case, added Morse key. All examples I have seen mfg. by Kellogg Switch and Supply Co, Chicago This is the most common phone used in the AEF.

EE-3A and EE-3B Phones are Field Telephones Model 1917 modified just after WW1 at NY and Pennsylvania Signal Depots. Most visible mod is removal of the Morse key and replacement of Chassis top plate. This made the phones voice transmission only. If you remove the data plate from one of these and flip it over you will see the original data plate "Field Ttelephone Model 1917' x'ed out - the Signal Depots re-cycled the data plates and cut new ones using the EE nomenclature.

The 1375 set mentioned in posts above was originally a Western Electric commercial leather cased phone designed for Forest Service use. It is referred to in other period documents as the WE 1375 set. The Army adopted it in large numbers and called it the Artillery Phone. It was later given the nomenclature EE-5. Army contracted Artillery Phones differ from civilian models as follow; case buckles are bright plated on civilian, Black Japanned on Artillery phones. More signicantly Army Artillery phones have two additional terminals on the chassis top plate for attaching auxiliarry batteries. These phones used a European style flat flashlight battery. The handset incorporates a push to talk button and is far different than the Dog Bone style handset used on other field phones. The phone is significantly lighter than any of the wooden cased field phones. Instead of a bell ringer it produces a quieter click/ chirp when rung.

The Service Buzzer, Signal Corps U.S.Army Model of 1914 ( mentioned in above posts) will transmit both voice and morse, many collecters assume it is a morse only unit, because of the nomenclature. Instead of transmitting over twisted pair wire the Servce Buzzer was designed to use "Ground Return". This made them less secure as earth telegraphy units could be listened in on easily, twisted pair meant an eavesdropper had to physically cut onto the line. Finding a set with the correct ground rod and cable took me years. Though 1914 Buzzers were still in the system they are very rarely seen in use in the AEF. Hope this helps, Steve McG

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  • 4 years later...

I am responding to the postings of "Administrator". I recently obtain 2 EE-5 units and I am trying to learn as much as possible about them. I am familiar with the EE-8, but these are quite different. Internet searches have been a challenge, especially since most inquiries link to the WWII EE-8 instead of the EE-5. What I did find recently was United States Training Manuals No. 20 and 21, titled "Basic Signal Communications." These will be a great help. However, looking at your posting about the Camp Telephone, I see you have found information about field phones from this era that I haven't seen.

 

What is the source that you copied into your postings above? I would very much like to locate it and see what is contained therein about the EE-5 sets. Thank you, and I hope you see this some 3 years after your post. If anyone else has located sources of information, I would like to hear from you too.

 

Thank you,

Gary

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I want to clarify my last post. The Basic Signal Communications training manuals I located are the 1923 versions. As such, they still cover the EE-5 field phones. There are later versions of these manuals but I assume that they are focused on later units. The No. 20 manual is the student version and the No. 21 is the instructor version.

 

Gary

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I might have found the answer to my own questions. An internet search for "Camp Telephone" didn't give me what I needed. Thinking outside the search engine box I entered the description of one of the line drawings shown above: Telephone, Camp, Dismantled. This led me to Manual No. 3, Technical Equipment of the Signal Corp, 1916. It appears that the posts by Administrator above came from this manual, although slight differences lead me to believe that it was for a different year. There is nothing in this manual on the EE-5 phones, but I downloaded and kept a copy anyway as it has a lot of great information for anyone interested in the electronics of communication systems for this time.

Gary

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Hi, sorry I did not see your question. I don't have the exact title handy (to be absolutely sure which one it came from), but it you look for "Technical Equipment of the Signal Corps" (1916-1918 editions) and "Military Signal Corps Manual" by James Andrew White (copyright 1918), they should have pretty much what I posted. I think it came from one of those books.

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  • 2 months later...

I am truly sorry to hear about Garth passing away. I wish I had joined earlier and could have shared some interesting experiences that I have had with this equipment. I will provide an update, which I wish he could have read. After cleaning these EE-5 units I first tested the crank generator and received a nice little shock which showed they were working. I attached wires between the units and found that they would indeed ring the "bell" on the other unit when you turned the crank. After finding plastic battery holders on-line that would hold 3 "C-cell" batteries and had the wiring to use these as a 4.5 volt system, I hooked these up to the terminals on the top and discovered that the handsets worked as well. At first, they were barely audible through the 25' of phone line that I used to connect them. However, the more we spoke the louder they became with the result after just a minute or so being that could hold a regular conversion through the sets, although certainly not quite as clearly as a modern landline. So, it was a success. Cranking the generator will activate the solenoid in the other set, and conversions work with the attached 4.5 volt system made our of c-cell batteries.

 

Having the EE-5 and the EE-8 has spurred some interest in the Signal Corps, so I recently purchased a hardback version of Rebecca Robbins Raines book Getting the Message Through which should prove interesting when I find the time to read it. I'll also look for your suggestions "RustyCanteen."

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