My GPO Rotary Telephone Collection

[vacerator]

What does the smaller

redial button do, or rather, the large bottom R button?
Love the Snoopy phone.
I have a Mickey Mouse phone somewhere packed away in my dads things he left me.
I don't know who made it. I don't think Western Electric, or AT&T.

 

[alexhoovers94]

The "R" button...

Is a recall button, used when on a phone call to some one to bring back the dial to make another call which basically puts the other person on hold.

The Snoopy and Woodstock phone, as well as the Mikey Mouse phone, in the UK were suplied by British Telecom and made by the EET company for BT, in the very late 70s and early 80s, they were part of BTs TSR phones (Telephone Special Range) also named "Design line" by AT&T which these were part of in the US...Not sure what comapny made them in the US, but they were suplied by AT&T.

The only difference between the UK and US MM phone and the S&WS phone is the dial and internals.
The US one had a gold finish Western Electric 500 type dial, where as the UK one had a regular GPO type dial, the US one had a Trimline bell ringer, where as the UK ones had a Trimphone electronic ringer.

Also, both companies in both countries made them in push button varients as well as rotary dial...Although the UK push button model was pulse and not DTMF, like the US push button one, not sure why, I think many exchanges didn't supprt the digital tones back then, although the 782 phone, shown above, ^^ is DTMF and from around the same kind of time, so, who knows.

Here is the base of my BT Snoopy and Woodstock phone.

 

[vacerator]

Ok,

they call the recall feature call waiting here. Older phones used the star or asteric keys. Now you just touch the hang up button to switch over.

 

[alexhoovers94]

Yep, do that hear too, just tap the switch hook and it restores dialtone.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I was WAITING for the "automatic redial".

 because, "I won't have it if it doesn't have automatic redial".  lol LOVED that show.  I've been called, "the male version of Hiacynth".  Also been called "Jackie Kennedy".  I figured, others have been called WORSE!


  great phone collection there.

 

[alexhoovers94]

My Current Telephone collection!

It has grown a bit since the start of this thread! Lol.

 

[davetranter]

GPO Telephones

Nice to type at you again, Alex

It's nice to see a thread about something I understand!!! ;-)

I'm an Ex-GPO Engineer, and am familiar with all the types of instrument you have in your collection. I have a fair collection of spare parts, internal diagrams, etc. as well as exchange equipment parts.

Reading this thread (apart from the digression into automotive territory) has been a bit of a 'trip down Memory Lane' for me. It's nice to see that a few of the rising generation are still collecting this old junk... Ahem.. I mean desirable equipment.

All best

Dave T

 

[gottahaveahoove]

very nice stuff.

Isn't it nice to hear, "you have nice equipment"?

 

[alexhoovers94]

David...

I find these old telephones facinating and how they were once such an over used item of the home that is now becoming almost completely unused. I think they deserve to be well preserved in a collection.

I think it is fascinating that they still work on the same old system as they always have, with just a slight switching around of the line cords to have the latest BT fitting. Fortunately BT and Sky which we keep juming between, (due to costs increases/decreases) still accept pulse dialing! So fully functional in my house.

John, you have seem it yourself? Do you like my equipment?!

 

[alexhoovers94]

Here is a very iconic phone..The Tone Ring Illuminated model

Named the Trimphone...With the infamous radioactive glowing dial and the very shrill cricket chirp electronic ringer. (First phone to do aways with a traditional bell ring)

Never the less, still a very nice phone and VERY 60s/70s!

This one is converted and ready to plug in and use.

 

[vacerator]

That's

really cool looking! Farenheit 451-ish. Right off the Alton Estate.

 

[davetranter]

'The infamous radioactive glowing dial'

.... Properly referred to as the 'BetaLite', Used a thin glass tube, lined with a green phosphor, and containing a tiny amount of Tritium. Sadly, none of them still glow, as the phosphors have long become exhausted. The Tritium will still be going strong. Beta radiation is not particularly harmful, unless you inhale the gas. I still have a few Trimphones (and a BetaLite tube), which emit a just detectable glow in a darkened room.. (where I spend most of my time, of course!!).. ;-)

Get yourself a 'Compact' if you can.... Of the 'common' telephones, they were the rarest. Needs a separate bellset, btw....

With reference to the 'weightiness' of these old instruments, they certainly were well engineered, but the handsets of the 200 and 300 Series are particularly heavy because they contain a lead weight to ensure disconnection when replaced on the instrument.

Have fun!!

Dave T