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There are several variants to the Feldfernsprecher (FFS) 1917. For this The hinge used for the lid was store‐bought piano type hinge. I used a
project, I chose a simpler version which uses fewer metal fittings and portion of the lid hinge from the Bundeswehr phone to hinge the
ventilation plates than other models to make it easy as possible. One internal lid covering the electronics.
concession to authenticity is the dimensions. The reproduction box is The battery is made from cardboard with a wooden block in the top
1/2 inch wider than the original to accommodate the Bundeswehr to hold the terminals. A plastic double C‐cell battery holder is pushed
fieldphone electronics that we are using for this project. Also this up inside the bottom of the battery shell.
plan varies from my first reproduction in that the box is one inch
longer. After building the reproduction, I got access to an original The crank handle is made of ½” round stock, notched on one end to
hand‐set and saw that my hand‐set was about an inch shorter. The connect to the crank generator. The other end of the round stock is
plans have been adjusted to accommodate a original sized hand‐set. cut and ground to form a square tenon. The handle arm is made of ½”
This isn’t a comprehensive step‐by‐step plan on how to make a bar stock that has a hole drilled and filed square to accept the tenon
reproduction field phone, but it’s enough information to help jump‐ end of the round stock which is then peened.
start any efforts by a crafty sort of person.
The shoulder strap should have a steel roller buckle and keeper,
At least of modicum of basic electronics knowledge is needed to redo which I have yet to add to the first iteration of our reproduction.
the wiring. Not too much, but you have to be attentive to circuits and
shorts. Also, I have yet to make the box latch. There is nothing I have found
off‐the‐shelf that will work. When that is completed I will update this
To help make it fit in the box, the bell dampening lever was removed guide.
from the phone. To keep the bell ringing, the bell switch needs to be
shimmed or bypassed. Kind of hard to explain here. Again electronic I will not describe how to make the hand‐set at this time. I used
knowledge comes in handy. Fortunately the Bundeswehr phones antique phone parts to build our first one. Now that I have an original
have a schematic inside their lid. to look at, I am figuring out how to make a decent copy of that. The
hand‐set from the Bundeswehr phone has the critical switch needed
The Bakelite hand‐set receptacle was cut from the Bundeswehr case. for keying the handset. Hopefully there is enough information here to
The panel of Bakelite used for securing the wiring terminals was cut encourage someone to convert BW phones over to the 1917 Model.
from the side of the Bundeswehr phone case. The wiring terminals
were taken from the case as well. Version 1.0, 29 January 2014.
Feldfernsprecher 1917
9 IN
6-3/8 IN
12 in 4-3/8 in
WOODEN RECEIVER
DISK HANDSET PLUG RECEPTACLE
USES BAKELITE FROM BOX
HANDSET PLUG
TOP RECEPTACLE
HINGE
GENERATOR
BOTTOM
CRANK HANDLE
TO BE FABRICATED
BELLS
MISC ELECTRONICS
BATTERY FROM BUNDESWEHR
PACK FIELD PHONES
POSTS TO SUPPORT
ELECTRONICS
5 T. Apple, Version 1.0, 29 Jan 2014
Feldfernsprecher 1917- (re-created)
BOX CUTTING PLAN
BOTTOM SIDES
2 EACH BOTTOM ENDS
12 IN X 6 IN 2 EACH
4-3/8 IN X 6 IN