American EL double button

This is an EL4 double button microphone made by the American Microphone Co. Inc.. This model was advertised in The Radio Master's Handbook between 1945 and 1947. By this point in time, carbon microphones had been superseded by moving coil and ribbon microphones, which were far superior in terms of noise floor and frequency range. However, the telephone system was built around double button carbon mics, which stayed in production for longer than would have otherwise been expected.

The EL4 could be mounted either within a suspension ring, or with a mounting yoke.

One of our EL microphones does not have the American brand etched on it but otherwise seems to be identical to specimens which do, including the six bot arrangement, tensioning arm and terminals stamped E and G. It may have been made for a third party company such as Lifetime Corporation, who sold an identical looking microphone, known as model 88.

From a contemporary advertisement:

"EL4 CARBON MICROPHONE. Double button. Semi-stretched diaphragm. Good quality. Mounting yoke included. No ring or springs necessary. Code: LITEG; List Price $8.00"

According to The House of Chrome, this style of otagonal desk stand was made by Bud Radio.