gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
It's virtually identical. The FF33s were produced for the German military by a bunch of companies. Looks like they made them for Italy as well. Never knew about that before. Thanks for posting.
Feldfernsprecher 33 - Field Telephone 33
- Thread starter gummipuppe
- Start date
It's virtually identical. The FF33s were produced for the German military by a bunch of companies. Looks like they made them for Italy as well. Never knew about that before. Thanks for posting.
jhv 41
Well-known member
I have the manual on pdf, but it is too big to post. If you guys want it, I may be able to email if the size isn't too large for your email service limits. Shoot me a PM if you'd like it.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
PM me and I will give you my email. I'd really like to see that.
If you're interested, here is a link to a couple of cool German websites that have a lot of information about German wired communications equipment:
Die Nachrichtentruppe
http://nachrichtentruppe.de/18-alle-kategorien/technik/drahtgebundene-nachrichtentechnik/18-fernmeldetechnik-drahtgebundene-nachrichtentechnik
der-Fernmelder
http://der-fernmelder.de/
Web browsers like Google Chrome have a built-in translation feature which can be used to convert the content of these sites into English. Chrome does a poor to fair job, but it's enough for me to understand.
One thing I found rather interesting on the latter site is how the FF33 field telephone continued to be manfactured into the early 1960s for the Bundeswehr. The FF33 is fully compatible with the postwar designed FF54 phone switched to OB mode, so why not?
Apparently the German small, 10-line switchboards continued to be produced after the war as well. They are electronically passive devices that are fully compatible with all FF54 phones in OB mode, or a mixture of OB FF54 and FF33 phones.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Feldfernsprechervermittlung
Just for grins, I recently set up this Feldfernsprechervermittlung (field telephone switchboard station) in the woods behind my back yard:
Just for grins, I recently set up this Feldfernsprechervermittlung (field telephone switchboard station) in the woods behind my back yard:
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Thanks, mrfarb. Yep. Not only is it fun to display it, but it's also fun to operate it. Since I took this photo, I managed to find another FF33. I also have an Amtszusatz on the way:
This will enable me to connect my switchboard to our civilian phone system. I am looking into electronic devices that would enable me to make and receive calls with the Amtszusatz and FF33/switchboard over my cell phone and my Skype telephone number. Really fascinating stuff.
BerlinerLuebecker
Senior Member
Very cool! Thanks for sharing.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Here's an interesting animated GIF of an SS grenadier talking on an FF33 in 1943 during Operation Zitadelle:
I found it on this website:
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/archive
Lots of other generally interesting German WW2 photos and animated GIFs on there
I found it on this website:
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/archive
Lots of other generally interesting German WW2 photos and animated GIFs on there
Shootin Shack Guns
Well-known member
I just found this thread. Very cool. I retired from the telephone company so have always had an interest in phones. I have a number of working early civilian telephones but have never looked into military phones. I'll have to see if I can piece together a working set.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Welcome. There's lots of information here to help you get started. Feel free to post if you have any questions.
BTW, my mom, aunt, and one uncle worked for Ma Bell. My mom and aunt were telephone operators back in the '40s, '50s, and '60s. I've always been interested in antique phones, switchboards, etc.
jhv 41
Well-known member
Here are a couple links with some interesting stuff:
http://fykse.dnsalias.com/bilder/album2/
http://www.stolly.org.uk/ETO/capturedgermantelephoneequipment.html
http://fykse.dnsalias.com/bilder/album2/
http://www.stolly.org.uk/ETO/capturedgermantelephoneequipment.html
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Indeed. Thanks. This switchboard doesn't look German in origin:
Perhaps it was captured Soviet equipment? The Germans were famous for using captured equipment. I read, for example, how panzer ace Michael Wittman was using a captured British armored car in Normandy to make his rounds. I've also seen Sherman and T-34 tanks painted with Balkan crosses to be used against their former owners.
BTW, notice the German message center clock on top of the switchboard? These were used by the operators to fill out message forms. I'm still looking for one at a decent price.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Amtszusatz
I finally have my amtszusatz restored and connected up to my kleinen klappenschrank:
I still don't have it connected up to the civilian telephone exchange yet. From what I understand, the La terminal is connected to the green (tip) wire, and the Lb terminal is connected to the red (ring) wire on the North American telephone system. For the amtszusatz to function properly, the jumper must be connected to the ZB/SA terminal.
I'm still doing research on viable options, but I hope to someday hook the switchboard up to a suitable analog telephone adapter (ATA) so make/receive calls via Skype. What would be cooler yet, would be to make/receive calls via a cell phone.
This stuff is loads of fun!
I finally have my amtszusatz restored and connected up to my kleinen klappenschrank:
I still don't have it connected up to the civilian telephone exchange yet. From what I understand, the La terminal is connected to the green (tip) wire, and the Lb terminal is connected to the red (ring) wire on the North American telephone system. For the amtszusatz to function properly, the jumper must be connected to the ZB/SA terminal.
I'm still doing research on viable options, but I hope to someday hook the switchboard up to a suitable analog telephone adapter (ATA) so make/receive calls via Skype. What would be cooler yet, would be to make/receive calls via a cell phone.
This stuff is loads of fun!
bjarne
Senior Member
.......................
wow nice you finally got one
I finally have my amtszusatz restored and connected up to my kleinen klappenschrank:
I still don't have it connected up to the civilian telephone exchange yet. From what I understand, the La terminal is connected to the green (tip) wire, and the Lb terminal is connected to the red (ring) wire on the North American telephone system. For the amtszusatz to function properly, the jumper must be connected to the ZB/SA terminal.
I'm still doing research on viable options, but I hope to someday hook the switchboard up to a suitable analog telephone adapter (ATA) so make/receive calls via Skype. What would be cooler yet, would be to make/receive calls via a cell phone.
This stuff is loads of fun!
View attachment 110260View attachment 110261View attachment 110262View attachment 110263
wow nice you finally got one
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Yes. It wasn't easy, either. If you can find them in the US, they are usually insanely overpriced.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Feldfernsprecher 43
You don't see these too often:
In the face of bombing attacks on German war production and materials shortages, the Feldfernsprecher 43 (FF 43) was developed in 1943 by the Wehrmacht as a cost/material reduced alternative to the Feldfernsprecher 33 (FF33). It had simplified metal hardware, no rubber weather seals for cables, no brackets for attaching a sling, no sling, no sockets for patch cords, no test button, no wiring diagrams or phonetic alphabet guides, and cheap plastic terminals. The receiver also does not have a plug. It's permanently wired into the phone through the battery compartment. The FF 43 was intended to be used only inside fixed fortifications and buildings, not out in the elements on a battlefield. Once replaced with FF 43s, the more durable and weather-resistant FF 33s were sent out on the battlefield to replace phones damaged or lost in combat.
Since FF 43s were so cheaply made, few of them survive. Most of them were discarded after the war. This one is in excellent working condition and the bakelite housing is in great shape. I was pretty lucky to get this example and at an excellent price to boot!
BTW, since I don't have the original type battery for it (no longer sold), I power it off one D cell in a plastic battery holder stuffed down into the battery compartment.
You don't see these too often:
In the face of bombing attacks on German war production and materials shortages, the Feldfernsprecher 43 (FF 43) was developed in 1943 by the Wehrmacht as a cost/material reduced alternative to the Feldfernsprecher 33 (FF33). It had simplified metal hardware, no rubber weather seals for cables, no brackets for attaching a sling, no sling, no sockets for patch cords, no test button, no wiring diagrams or phonetic alphabet guides, and cheap plastic terminals. The receiver also does not have a plug. It's permanently wired into the phone through the battery compartment. The FF 43 was intended to be used only inside fixed fortifications and buildings, not out in the elements on a battlefield. Once replaced with FF 43s, the more durable and weather-resistant FF 33s were sent out on the battlefield to replace phones damaged or lost in combat.
Since FF 43s were so cheaply made, few of them survive. Most of them were discarded after the war. This one is in excellent working condition and the bakelite housing is in great shape. I was pretty lucky to get this example and at an excellent price to boot!
BTW, since I don't have the original type battery for it (no longer sold), I power it off one D cell in a plastic battery holder stuffed down into the battery compartment.
gummipuppe
Señor Member biatch
Blue Tooth Cellular Gateway Meets WW2 Technology
As stated above, I purchased an amtszusatz (rotary dial module) for my kleinen klappenschrank (small switchboard). Since I don't have a land telephone line, I had no way of using the amtszusatz and my switchboard as a PBX (private branch exchange) on our civilian telephone system.
After doing a lot of research, I discovered a Blue Tooth Cellular Gateway, produced by a company called X Link. You can check it out here:
http://www.myxlink.com/xlink_bt.aspx
It is a device that enables the user to connect land line telephones to up to three cell phones using Blue Tooth. Best of all, it supports rotary dial telephones! It costs less than $50.
It arrived today. Although the instructions suck, pairing the gateway to my cell phone's Blue Tooth was a piece of cake. I connected a modular telephone plug to one end of a length of military telephone cable, and on the other end of the cable, I crimped on spade terminals. I connected green to La and red to Lb on the top of the amtszusatz. I connected the modular plug to the socket in the back of the gateway.
It worked! I can now make and receive cell phone calls through my WW2 German switchboard.
When I get an incoming phone call on my cell, the amtszusatz buzzes and the little indicator door flops down. I press the lever down to the "Abfragen" position to answer via my operator's FF 33. When I am done talking, I move the lever to the center position and hit the "Trennen" button to disconnect the call.
To make a call, I move the lever down to "Abfragen." When I hear the dial tone on the operator's FF 33, I start dialing. The call goes through just fine. When done talking, I move the lever to the center position and hit the "Trennen" button to disconnect the call.
One thing I notice is that if I don't answer an incoming call just after the first ring, the amtszusatz hangs up. Gotta play around with it a bit more to see what's up with that.
The really cool thing about the Blue Tooth gateway is that it's powered by a 120 volt adapter that puts out 9 volts DC at up to 1 amp. So, theoretically, the gateway can be powered by a large capacity battery out in the field during, for example, a reenacting event.
As stated above, I purchased an amtszusatz (rotary dial module) for my kleinen klappenschrank (small switchboard). Since I don't have a land telephone line, I had no way of using the amtszusatz and my switchboard as a PBX (private branch exchange) on our civilian telephone system.
After doing a lot of research, I discovered a Blue Tooth Cellular Gateway, produced by a company called X Link. You can check it out here:
http://www.myxlink.com/xlink_bt.aspx
It is a device that enables the user to connect land line telephones to up to three cell phones using Blue Tooth. Best of all, it supports rotary dial telephones! It costs less than $50.
It arrived today. Although the instructions suck, pairing the gateway to my cell phone's Blue Tooth was a piece of cake. I connected a modular telephone plug to one end of a length of military telephone cable, and on the other end of the cable, I crimped on spade terminals. I connected green to La and red to Lb on the top of the amtszusatz. I connected the modular plug to the socket in the back of the gateway.
It worked! I can now make and receive cell phone calls through my WW2 German switchboard.
When I get an incoming phone call on my cell, the amtszusatz buzzes and the little indicator door flops down. I press the lever down to the "Abfragen" position to answer via my operator's FF 33. When I am done talking, I move the lever to the center position and hit the "Trennen" button to disconnect the call.
To make a call, I move the lever down to "Abfragen." When I hear the dial tone on the operator's FF 33, I start dialing. The call goes through just fine. When done talking, I move the lever to the center position and hit the "Trennen" button to disconnect the call.
One thing I notice is that if I don't answer an incoming call just after the first ring, the amtszusatz hangs up. Gotta play around with it a bit more to see what's up with that.
The really cool thing about the Blue Tooth gateway is that it's powered by a 120 volt adapter that puts out 9 volts DC at up to 1 amp. So, theoretically, the gateway can be powered by a large capacity battery out in the field during, for example, a reenacting event.
Last edited:
bjarne
Senior Member
................................
Very impressive
As stated above, I purchased an amtszusatz (rotary dial module) for my kleinen klappenschrank (small switchboard). Since I don't have a land telephone line, I had no way of using the amtszusatz and my switchboard as a PBX (private branch exchange) on our civilian telephone system.
After doing a lot of research, I discovered a Blue Tooth Cellular Gateway, produced by a company called X Link. You can check it out here:
http://www.myxlink.com/xlink_bt.aspx
It is a device that enables the user to connect land line telephones to up to three cell phones using Blue Tooth. Best of all, it supports rotary dial telephones! It costs less than $50.
It arrived today. Although the instructions suck, pairing the gateway to my cell phone's Blue Tooth was a piece of cake. I connected a modular telephone plug to one end of a length of military telephone cable, and on the other end of the cable, I crimped on spade terminals. I connected green to Lb and red to La on the top of the amtszusatz. I connected the modular plug to the socket in the back of the gateway.
It worked! I can now make and receive cell phone calls through my WW2 German switchboard.
When I get an incoming phone call on my cell, the amtszusatz buzzes and the little indicator door flops down. I press the lever down to the "Abfragen" position to answer via my operator's FF 33. When I am done talking, I move the lever to the center position and hit the "Trennen" button to disconnect the call.
To make a call, I move the lever down to "Abfragen." When I hear the dial tone on the operator's FF 33, I start dialing. The call goes through just fine. When done talking, I move the lever to the center position and hit the "Trennen" button to disconnect the call.
One thing I notice is that if I don't answer an incoming call just after the first ring, the amtszusatz hangs up. Gotta play around with it a bit more to see what's up with that.
The really cool thing about the Blue Tooth gateway is that it's powered by a 120 volt adapter that puts out 9 volts DC at up to 1 amp. So, theoretically, the gateway can be powered by a large capacity battery out in the field during, for example, a reenacting event.
Very impressive