Bell System Practices

For those of you wondering what the "BELL SYSTEM PRACTICES" are/were, they are/were the technical documents used by Bell System employees who did repair and maintenance of the telephone system including payphones, central office equipment, the telephone and wiring of your home, cable installation, etc.

This Site contains links to complete BSP manuals and also selected "sections" from various BSP manuals of Western Electric telephones and other Western Electric products and parts. These sections generally have schematics, mechanical drawings, photos and technical information that was used by the "telephone man" of the Bell System days to install, test, and fix Western Electric telephones and associated circuits. Remember those "Ma Bell" days before 1984 when the Bell System owned your phone(s) and they made house calls to repair your phone for free? These sections should be a great help in repairing, testing, and identifying various Western Electric telephones and related products. Or perhaps you have a payphone you have no idea how to put to use - well, there are two complete BSP's on this Site on payphones!

Master Index of BSP Sections - Contains descriptions and BSP Section number for all BSP sections available as of 1979. Note: This index is for reference use only and is NOT an index of BSP sections on this Site. Only a select number of BSP sections of common telephone equipment have been scanned and made available on this Site.

Here are the BSP sections on this Site categorized by product/part name or topic:

Princess Telephone - Rotary Dial Model (7XX)
	502-721-402 (Oct. 1981) 702B AND 702BM	C38.670.40 Date unknown Model 701 wiring	502-710-200 (January 1963) 701, 702, AND 711	C38.670.00 (October 1960) 701 and 711

Princess Telephone - Touch-Tone Dial Model (27XX)
	502-723-401 (June 1981) 2702B, 2702BM, and 2702BMG	502-723-401 (Oct. 1981) 2702B, 2702BM, and 2702BMG

Trimline Telephone
	502-303-102 (Oct. 1981) 220, 226, 2220, and 2226	502-303-102 (June 1982) 220, 226, 2220, and 2226	502-320-100 (Nov. 1967) 220A and 1220A	502-322-400 (July 1981) AC- and AD-Type Telephone Bases with 220-, 226-, 2220-, AND 2226-Type Hand Telephone Sets
	502-322-400 (June 1982) AC- and AD-Type Telephone Bases with 220-, 226-, 2220-, AND 2226-Type Hand Telephone Sets

"Hang-up" Telephones (A.K.A. Hand Telephone Sets)
	D353.252 (May 1938) Mechanical drawings, no schematic	C38.337 (Aug., 1957) Model 211A, B, C, D	C38.351 (Aug., 1957) Model 212A, B, C	C38.473 (Aug., 1957) Model 211E, F, G, H
	211J and 211L (August 1957) 211J, L	502-320-401 (Feb. 1971) 212L

634YD - Local Battery - Connections
	C38.253 (Aug., 1957) 634YD Local Battery Connections

Model "200" series - Rotary Desk and Wall models
	C38.323 (May 1959) Identification and Assembly of Parts	C38.325 (Sept. 1957) 200 Series Maintenance	C38.443 (August 1957) Models 202E, F, G, H

Model "300" series - Rotary Desk and Wall models
	C38.545 (March 1958) Identification and Assembly of Parts	C38.549 (March 1960) 300 Series Maintenance	C38.567 (August 1957) Model 309A, C

Model "304" and "5304" Rotary Desk model
	C38.555 (April 1958) 304A, C, 5304C

Model 5300 SERIES
	C38.685 (Sept., 1957) 5300 Series Identification and Assembly of Parts	PLANT LETTER

Model "500" series - Rotary Desk and Wall models
	502-501-120 (Aug. 1978) 503B, 503C, 503CM, and 513B	502-521-402 (July 1979) 500C/D and 500DM	502-521-402 (June 1982) 500C/D and 500D/M	502-521-410 (Nov. 1980) 554A/B, 554F, 554AM, 554BM, 554AMP, and 554BMP
	502-580-412 (May 1981) 514B and 514BM	502-580-408 (May 1977) 500R/S and 500SM	502-580-408 (July 1979) 500R/S and 500SM	502-580-411 (July 1981) 500W/Y and 500YM
	502-531-410 (May 1977) 558F AND 558FM

Model "2500" series - Touch-Tone Desk and Wall models
	502-543-405 (Dec. 1980) 2565HK, 2565HKM, and 2565HKMS	502-523-401 (May 1982) 2500D, 2500DM, and 2500DMG	502-523-401 (June 1982) 2500D, 2500DM, and 2500DMG	502-523-402 (May 1982) 2554B, 2554BM, 2554BMP, and 2554BMPG
	502-523-402 (June 1982) 2554B, 2554BM, 2554BMP, and 2554BMPG	502-503-120 (July 1982) 2503-Type Telephone Sets	502-543-403 (Dec. 1980) 2565GK, 2565GKM, AND 2565GKMS	502-533-403 (June 1977) 2511F/H/HM

Information on Modular Connectors, Adapters, etc.
	503-100-100 (April 1979)

581A Telephone Set Bases Used in many Design Line Telephones
	503-100-120 (Aug. 1978)

P-Type Ringers - Identification and Maintenance
	501-259-101 (June 1979)

C-Type Ringers - Maintenance
	501-250-303 (Sept. 1978)

Selecting Outdoor Locations
	502-120-202 (Jan. 1971)

Selecting Outdoor Locations - Patios and Swimming Pools
	502-120-202 (August, 1962)

Selection of Indoor Locations
	502-120-200 (Sept. 1980)

Telephone Booths
	508-230-201 Issue 1 (April 1960)	508-230-200 Issue 2 (August 1964)	508-230-100 Issue 3 (August 1964)	508-230-100 Addendum Issue 2 (November 1967)

Plugs for Portable Telephone Sets - Identification and Connections
	461-630-105 (February 1967)

Transformers - Identification
	501-136-100 (Nov. 1979)

Dial - Type 72 (this is the newer Touch-Tone dial replacing the type 35 series. The buttons had a shorter stroke and clicked when pushed.)
	501-165-117 (Sept. 1982)

Handsets type G6-, G7-, G8-, G13-, G66-, & K6 (Amplifier types) Identification, connections, conversion, and maintenance
	501-211-102 (May 1982)

Radio Signal Supression for Telephone Sets
	500-150-100 (January 1974)

"TOUCH-A-MATIC^®'' 12 AUTOMATIC DIALER - Models 1200AR 1 AND 1200AT 1
	501-164-203 (September 1982)

"TOUCH-A-MATIC^®" TELEPHONE SET, S SERIES - Model 5001T01A
	503-400-100 (July 1982)

"TOUCH-A-MATIC^®" TELEPHONE SET, S SERIES - Model 5011 T01A
	503-400-200 (July 1982)

"TOUCH-A-MATIC^®" TELEPHONE SET - Model 2872A1M or 2872A2M
	503-603-101 (Oct. 1980)

Key Service Units 550- AND 551-Type 1A2 Key Telephone System
	518-215-407 (June 1981 & May 1982)

Console Sets
	C38.721.00 (November 1962) Models 1A and 2A	C38.723.00 (February 1963) Models 5A and 6A

Outdoor Telephone Set - Model 325
	C38.816.00 (March, 1958)


CROSS REFERENCE LISTS
Cross Reference List - B Series to Plant Series
	000-020-002 Sept. 1960

Cross Reference List - C Series to Plant Series
	000-020-003 Feb. 1964

Cross Reference List - E Series to Plant Series
	000-020-006 March 1967

Cross Reference List - G Series to Plant Series
	000-020-008 July 1961

Cross Reference List - M Series to Plant Series
	000-020-011 Dec. 1966

Cross Reference List - 950 Series to Plant Series
	000-020-025 May 1961

TOOLS AND GAUGES FOR MAINTENANCE PURPOSES IN LOCAL MANUAL CENTRAL OFFICES AND MANUAL P.B.X.'S
	X-65518-01 APRIL I, 1932



DESIGN LINE Telephones
	Candlestick	503-200-109 (Jan. 1976)
	Mickey Mouse	503-200-111 (March 1977)
	Sculptura	503-200-102 (June 1977)
	Celebrity	503-200-104 (Feb 1975)
	Coin Decorator Set	503-200-113 (Sept. 1975)
	Cradle Phones	503-200-108 (March 1976)
	Coquette	503-200-110 (Dec. 1975)
	Country Junction (see below)


PAYPHONE Manuals (Complete BSP manuals)
	Public Services Crafts Manual for Station Network and Testboard If the above link does not open properly on your computer, it is probably due to the fact you are using FireFox for your default browser rather than Internet Explorer, If this is the case, click on this link to view a more compatible but lower quality version of this document which FireFox can properly open or find the file PublicServices1.pdf and open it with Adobe Acrobat directly rather than using your browser.
	Public Services Station Manual If the above link does not open properly on your computer, it is probably due to the fact you are using FireFox for your default browser rather than Internet Explorer, If this is the case, click on this link to view a more compatible but lower quality version of this document which FireFox can properly open or find the file PublicServices2.pdf and open it with Adobe Acrobat directly rather than using your browser.


The following scans were sent to me by others:

LINE AND RINGER CONNECTIONS MAIN AND EXTENSION STATIONS
	C63.269

Country Junction
	503-200-115 (July 1980)

2960A01M "TOUCH-A-MATIC" 16 TELEPHONE SET
	503-301-101 (July 1982)