British GPO 162

[tubaman]

... There were grooves worn into the trigger lever where it contacts the pulse wheel, and therefore the lever was not moving into the proper position, ....

Larry

Wow, that dial has seen a lot of use then. I assume the lever (trigger) was not getting pulled out of the way of the pulse springs when pulling the dial wheel round. I'm surprised it wasn't jamming up and making nasty noises.
Good to hear it works again now.

[LarryInMichigan]

I assume the lever (trigger) was not getting pulled out of the way of the pulse springs when pulling the dial wheel round.

That is correct.  The trigger lever was bouncing around while the dial was being pulled, causing the contacts to pulse when they shouold have remained closed.  I expect that the finger wheel on this dial is not original, because it does not show much wear.

I am attaching pictures of the transmitter.  After taking the pictures, I tried peeling back the sticker a bit, and it appeared that there was "68/1" printed on the metal.  Perhaps the transmitter was made in 1968 (so it is younger than I).  It would be interesting to know something about the history of this phone, who made all of the modifications to it, and how it made its way from London to Allentown, PA.

Larry

[LarryInMichigan]

BTW, I soaked the cord a few times in cleaning solutions, and it it appears that is might actually be ivory beneath the filth.  It is probably still too ugly to be presentable on this phone, so once the mail service returns to being moderately reliable, I might look into getting replacement cords which will do better justice to this phone.

Larry

[tubaman]

That transmitter is a very late replacement - the sticker suggests a 1972 refurb date. I didn't know they were still issuing that type as late as that.
The finger wheel is stainless steel so won't wear as such. It's usually the numbers underneath that wear, but if you have a plastic number plate then they are pretty robust (the numbers could wear from the enamel ones).

[Owain]

That transmitter is a very late replacement - the sticker suggests a 1972 refurb date. I didn't know they were still issuing that type as late as that.

There were a few extension plans and other circumstances where the new 706 telephones couldn't be used and which still had to be offered using a 200 or 300 series phone. I remember 300 series phones were still in use in primary school in the 1970s. There was not a massive programme of replacement of old phones.

[tubaman]

... There was not a massive programme of replacement of old phones.

That's certainly true. My first Bakelite phone, a 232 'King' which I still have, was taken out of service in the mid '80s by a friend working for BT. I think it was a case of "Oh Madam, let me replace that nasty old phone for a nice new one". And that wasn't because there was anything wrong with it at all!