Western Electric 600 (1924–1931)

Name: Western Electric 600
Brand: Western Electric

Not much is documented about the Western Electric 600. It shows up in period equipment directories and collector references as the 600-A, a carbon double-button push-pull microphone from the earliest years of broadcasting. What the record shows comes mostly from two later magazine profiles of surviving units.

The 600-A was made from roughly 1924 to 1931. Carbon microphones were still the standard for radio and public address then. EQ-Magazine (September 1994, p.20) described it as a carbon double-button push-pull design that needs a 20 to 45 milliamp supply. The same source listed the frequency response as 50-10,000 Hz and the impedance as 200 ohms, with each button measuring approximately 100 ohms. A second profile in EQ-Magazine (February 2001, p.40) gave a slightly different frequency response of 30-10,000 Hz and an output level of 5 millivolts across a 200-ohm load. It also called the polar pattern non-directional, while the 1994 article had called it cardioid. The discrepancy likely comes from variations in measurement or in the condition of surviving specimens. Both sources agree on the double-button carbon type and the basic output impedance.

The 1994 profile placed the unit in the Don Miller Collection, on display at Airborne Audio in Kansas City, originally from the collection of longtime Western Electric employee Walter Turner. The 2001 profile listed a specimen from Bob Paquette’s Microphone Museum in Wisconsin. These are among the very few known surviving examples.

Known specifications, drawn from the two magazine sources:

Type: Carbon double-button push-pull
Power requirement: 20–45 mA supply
Frequency response: 50–10,000 Hz (one source); 30–10,000 Hz (another source)
Impedance: 200 ohms
Output level: 5 mV across 200 ohms
Polar pattern: Cardioid or non-directional (sources differ)
Manufactured: 1924–1931

Almost nothing else is recorded about the Western Electric 600. No original price, no brochure specifications and no contemporary reviews from the period have surfaced.