W.E. 516W W.E. 716-B W.E. Signal Corps P11
Western Electric made some of the best headphones
in the teens and twenties. They were rugged, sensitive, and not too
hard
on the ears, comfort wise. The 509-W's were
among
the favorite of the early radiotelegraphers and were used extensively
in
military applications. The internal construction of the 194W, 509,
509W,
CW-66, CW-834, CW-49003, and P11 all look very similar and the
performance
is quite similar. All are excellent for DX reception on crystal radio
and
in my opinion are the gold standard of the old magnetic style
headphones.
They are surpassed only by the Navy soundpowered headphones with the
balanced
reed armature mechanism and impedance matching transformer.
I believe the P11 headphones and the 194-W
were used in WW I followed by the 509-W, which was patented in
1918,
but continued in production several years after that. They cost about
$12
in 1921 which was a week's wages of the average worker, and were at
least
triple the price of the cheap consumer headphones. Brandes were about
$8
at that time and Baldwins were $14-16. Cheapie brands such as Tower and
Scientific were about $3. No wonder most of the old Western Electrics I
find nowadays are in working condition and rarely do you find a pair of
Scientific Navy Types or Little Spitfires that work.
The 509-W and similar types are among my favorites
for crystal set use and rival Baldwins for sensitivity on weak
stations.
The impedance is given in AC ohms at 22,700 ohms
as well as DC resistance at 2,200 ohms for the CW-834 and the CW-66
headsets,
same specs as the 509-W and 194-W.
W.E.
516W
W.E.
716-B
W.E.
Signal Corps P11
W.E.
CW-834
W.E.
Type CW 66 2200 ohms DC
W.E. CW
49003
W.E.552-W
low impedance, very heavy duty, with metal and bakelite
earcaps,
these weigh about twice that of the 509-W, very interesting set.
WE 509-W, this set was marked with the model information on the rim
of the housing rather than on the back of the housing. This is the only
one I have seen marked in this way, and the housing looks like cast
aluminum
rather than nickel plated brass.
Western Electric D 1607
This is the only pair of these headphones I have ever seen. Must have
been around 1918, since that is the year the patent was granted. These
are identical to the 509-W headphones and must have only had a small
number made as I have never seen another pair or a reference to them.
Western Electric 400, very early 800 ohm radio model
Probably circa 1916
Western Electric 147-W, very early 140 ohm radio headset
Probably circa 1914 has the early style ball and socket joint
194-W: I believe this model was the immediate predecessor of the
509-W,
and probably dates to 1918 or 1919,
516-W This was a 1920's WE headset with an aluminum housing not
the milspec type like some of the others.
509 This was later than the 509-W but very similar construction.
716-B: This is a later 1950's headset for either telephone of medium
to low impedance communications gear
P-II: These were the WW-I military signal corps headphones 2200 ohms
like the 509-W
CW-834, CW-66: both of these look and have same electrical specs as
the 509-W
CW-49003: This is a military version similar to the 509-W.
552-W: This pair was marked as laboratory calibrated and are super
heavy duty, and I think were calibrated for an audiometer or hearing
test
machine.
509-W: These were made in several different styles circa 1920
to 1925, one with the print in straight lines across the back, and a
less
common one with the type in arcs across the backs. I have one example
of
the aluminum housing 509-W, which is very rare, maybe even a prototype.
The
400: These are early WE headphones of 800 ohm resistance, 400 ohms
per side.
147-W: This model number was stamped on the edge of the earcap, and
the impedance, 70 ohms was marked by a 70 on the upper back of the
housing.
These are very early circa 1912 to 1916.
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