554 - Black with Clear Fingerwheel - Fully Functional and Restored.

History

The 554 is the wall version of the famed model 500. Both the 500s and 554’s became so popular that the designer, Western Electric, licensed out the manufacturing of the phones to other companies in order to meet demand.

This phone comes fitted with a chrome switchook. We have installed a modular line cord to facilitate connection to your phone line. The phone may come with either a hardwired, non-removable handset, or a handset that connects to the phone via a cord with modular plugs on either end. There is also an option below to have a modular wall plate installed to connect the phone to an existing wall mounted jack.

The Restoration Process

Dial – The dial has been fully disassembled, cleaned, lubed and timed to ensure years of trouble free service. The number plate has been cleaned and hand polished. A brand new plastic fingerwheel and die cut dial card have been added as well

Cords – The phone has been outfitted with brand new cords.

Shell & Handset – The shell has been painstakingly put through a multi-step restoration process which includes sanding with 400, 800, 1000, 2000 grit. This ensures that there are no scratches, dents or dings. The shell is then either buffed to a high gloss sheen, or professionally painted using a very durable and scratch resistant paint that will hold up for years. This is the same process the phone companies used to refurbish their own telephones.

Handset Cradle - We have had this chrome plated, the mirror finish is unsurpassed in both appearance and durability.

The phone goes through extensive testing before to ensure it is in perfect working condition prior to shipping.

Do you currently have any rotary phones? If the answer is no, it is always a good idea to call your local phone company and check if they still support “pulse” dialing. If they do, you are all set to go. If they do not, your phone will not be able to place calls without a converter. We have internal converters for this type of setup available for $79.95 (installed during assembly)

- Dials * and # from your rotary phone to access computerized services.
- Use legacy equipment on tone-only lines.
- Compatible with VOIP services.
- Provides last number redial functionality.
- Adds 7 programmable speed dial locations

As an alternative, we provide an option to use this phone as an extension of your cell phone. The XLink Bluetooth gateway is an device external to the phone that gets it’s power from a standard AC outlet. The cord from the phone will then connect to a phone jack on the gateway. When you pair the gateway to an active Bluetooth enabled cell phone, you will be able to use the vintage phone just like it was connected to a traditional landline. When someone calls your cell phone, the vintage phone will ring, and you will be able to dial out using the dial on the vintage phone. If you want to be able to call # and * using your rotary dial, you will also need to add the pulse to tone converter option.

We have also have provided two connection options for the phone. If you have an existing wall jack located where you plan to install the phone, you should select the modular wall plate option which will allow you to hang the phone directly on a compatible wall jack. If, on the other hand, your phone jack is located elsewhere, you should select the line cord option which will give you a cord that will run from the phone to the nearest wall jack. (Note - the modular wall plate option is not provided with the bluetooth gateway since the phone needs to connect to the gateway via a line cord)

If you have any questions about this product or any other telephone inquiry, please feel free to reach out to us. We have a full restoration facility dedicated to restoring and modernizing vintage and antique telephones of all makes and models. We can also restore your telephone, simply message me with pictures for a quote.