Interesting Photo

LarryInMichigan · January 22, 2014, 07:42:03 PM

I got my Soviet VEF "Bagta 50" phone today and while I was marveling at the pathetic quality of design, materials, and workmanship, I wondered how the leaders of the great Soviet socialist workers' paradise enjoyed their Bagta's, so I did a bit of web searching. I found this very interesting photo for sale on ebay. It's no wonder that Lenin is looking so glum in the picture by the phones

Larry

Contempra · January 22, 2014, 10:24:44 PM

Hi Larry.. I've never seen a soviet phone but if you want to put a picture of yours, if you have one, on this thread, cool !...

LarryInMichigan · January 22, 2014, 10:34:58 PM

The two phones to the side of comrade Krushchev look British, not Soviet. Am I wrong?

I finished reassembling my Bagta 50 tonight and hope to post some pictures soon.

Larry

Contempra · January 22, 2014, 10:38:02 PM

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on January 22, 2014, 10:34:58 PM
The two phones to the side of comrade Krushchev look British, not Soviet. Am I wrong?

I finished reassembling my Bagta 50 tonight and hope to post some pictures soon.

Larry

I don't know if these phones look British, however, I'm hurry to see yours

.....

LarryInMichigan · January 22, 2014, 10:42:46 PM

QuoteI'm hurry to see yours .....

OK, here is a link to the one that arrived today: ebay link.

Larry

twocvbloke · January 22, 2014, 11:57:30 PM

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on January 22, 2014, 10:34:58 PM
The two phones to the side of comrade Krushchev look British, not Soviet.

They probably are british, though may have been supplied as part of a PAX or PBX, and only to those who were "more equal" than the general populous in their communist era, and before they started making their own copy-engineered phones...

david@london · January 23, 2014, 05:17:10 AM

....looks like a rather swish ivory gpo 300 series + a matching 706..... mr k was premier until 1964.
there seem to be buttons + switches in front of the phones.

Matilo Telephones · January 23, 2014, 06:01:53 AM

One of these days I'll try to get me such a Bagta 50. It is clearly heavily inspired by the ericsson 1931.

Very curious about its inner workings.

I do not understand why this is a pathetic design. Why is that?

LarryInMichigan · January 23, 2014, 06:56:55 AM

I called the phone pathetic because it is made so crudely. The bakelite is coarse. The parts do not all align properly. Cheap materials were used. The quality differences between this phone and a Dutch PTT phone are enormous.

There are some pictures of the innards in the ebay listing.

Larry

Matilo Telephones · January 23, 2014, 08:31:42 AM

I understand that, Larry. But that is workmanship and quality. But why is the design pathetic? It seems to me like a typical rugged Sovjet design: rugged, simple, easy to fix.

twocvbloke · January 23, 2014, 08:51:16 AM

A lot of soviet things were roughly made, some surprisingly well, others dangerously bad (like aluminium brake discs on their Lada cars!! Hit the brakes hard in those and you had to change what was left of the molten mess), but this was just a part of their society, making things for the people, by the people, whether they liked it or not...

But like I said earlier, those who were "more equal" than the general people, they got all the good stuff, from imported electrical gadgets to the best foodstuffs, because it was fair and equal, at least for the leaders, all the people got was the scraps, and no money for what they worked for, hence why the USSR collapsed...

LarryInMichigan · January 23, 2014, 09:33:27 AM

The mention of Lada cars reminded me of an incident in 1986. I was living in the Washington, DC area at the time, and my mother came to visit. She stayed in a hotel on 16th Street which was right by the Soviet embassy. As we were walking down the sidewalk past the embassy, a few embassy staff were exiting the gate and walking toward a waiting car. I took a look at the car, and it was a Lada! I then said to my mother "Look, there's a Lada. Wouldn't you be embarrassed driving around Washington, DC in a Lada? isn't communism wonderful?" One of the Soviet embassy people was a few feet away from me at the time, and she gave me a really nasty look. Now, capitalists in the formar Soviet Union are selling off relics of the glorious socialist past online. Lenin would be turning in his grave, if he had one and weren't dead.

I don't think that Ladas were ever legally sold in the USA. I doubt that they would have satisfied the government automotive safety requirements.

Larry

Contempra · January 23, 2014, 09:55:31 AM

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on January 22, 2014, 10:42:46 PM
QuoteI'm hurry to see yours .....

OK, here is a link to the one that arrived today: ebay link.

Larry

well . nice phone ... on EBay he says the phone is heavy hmmm !....2 parts for shipping, I suppose that the housing is in metal but the phone seems to be in a great shape anyway. thanks for the photo Larry.

twocvbloke · January 23, 2014, 10:33:51 AM

Quote from: LarryInMichigan on January 23, 2014, 09:33:27 AMI don't think that Ladas were ever legally sold in the USA. I doubt that they would have satisfied the government automotive safety requirements.

Yeah, I don't know how they were legal here, but they were, and there's still peope enthusiastic about them, so they're still occasionally seen on our roads...

poplar1 · January 23, 2014, 11:56:07 AM

My friend Paul had a Lada in Québec in 1984. It had an electric starter but still had the hole in front for a crank.

News:

Interesting Photo