Stromberg Carlson 17xx & 18xx 6 Button Key Sets

[dhilarious]

I bought these a couple of months ago.  The cool thing about it is that they have never been used.  New old stock.  I am not a fan of 70s phones... but these were cool for some reason.  I think Stromberg Carlson designed some great phones.  I prefer the orange, it has alot of character.

[AE_Collector]

Beats me! (why there is a Poll, not why you bought the phones) I tried everything I could to get rid of the Poll. I can edit it but there should be a "Remove Poll" red button at the very bottom of the page but I don't see one. Then I reset the votes to "0" just incase it can't be deleted after there are votes but still no go.

Dennis: HELP!

As for the phones, I have the oronge one though not brand new.

Terry

     

[Dennis Markham]

Terry, I have the "Remove Poll" button on my end but it gives me an error when I try and remove the poll.  I'll have to look deeper into the issue when time permits.  The Forum software did need an upgrade.  I did that this morning.  We are using the current version of the software.  I still can't get rid of the poll.  Glitch of some sort.

[AE_Collector]

Yeah probably not worth fighting with any more. Must be a 1 time glitch of some sort. I don't have the "remove Poll" red button on the very bottom for some reason.

Terry

[Adam]

I own one of these in black.  It's a really neat key set.  I wish I could find one in the older button style.

[dhilarious]

yea it was messed up, it would not let me post the thread without making a poll.

yea that black one is cool.  SC made awesome phones, even in the crappy 70s.

[AE_Collector]

Adam:

Have these been seen in captivity with the older style keys? Presumably the smaller buttons with line labels beside the button like old Call Directors?

What model are these and does anyone know what SC called them? Mine has 1704 on the base and it is dated July 1973.

Terry

[Babybearjs]

I've got a green one.... wall mount... don't mind them but SC made cheap phones... the inside terminal strips break very easy if you are trying to unscrew a torked screw. I can get the 1800 3 line from phonecoinc.com but am hesatant because of the poor design. the one thing I do like about these is that the faceplate has a paper mat on it and they can be customized very easily. (I scanned mine of onto some red paper..) anyway.... the design is cute but I don't like the engineering of the inside.....

[xylenol15]

Dhilarious, I'm going to have to approve of that purchase just because one of them is new and orange!

[Adam]

NOTE: POST EDITED TO ADD INFO AND CORRECT BAD INFO:

Have these been seen in captivity with the older style keys? Presumably the smaller buttons with line labels beside the button like old Call Directors?

Yes, that's what they look like, and yes, I have seen them, but not on eBay recently.

What model are these and does anyone know what SC called them?

According to the attached document I just found on the TCI library, the older style model was 1700.  So, I guess they went from 1700 to 1800 when they changed the button style.

Also, as you can see in this catalog, these key sets had no marketing name, like "Call Director" or "Call Commander", etc.  They were just "6 and 12 button Key Telephones".

[Adam]

SC made cheap phones... the inside terminal strips break very easy if you are trying to unscrew a torked screw. I can get the 1800 3 line from phonecoinc.com but am hesatant because of the poor design.  the design is cute but I don't like the engineering of the inside

I just feel the need to post this in the hope that others won't necessarily be swayed away from acquiring Stromberg-Carlson sets for their collection.

I hear what you're saying Babybear, and I respect your experience.  It's not my experience, however.  I installed many SC sets during my work in the interconnect telephone industry in the 70's, and we had very good service records generally with SC sets.

Yes, they're not ultra-mil-spec the way Western Electric sets of the same period were.  If you're expecting guts that look like a Western Electric set when you open an SC, you might be disappointed.  But, in my experience, Stromberg-Carlson made nice, reliable telephone sets.

[twocvbloke]

I like the green one...

[AE_Collector]

So far it is 3 votes for "I don't know what I am doing" to only 1 vote for "website needs upgrading updating"!

So Dhilarious, if you figure out "what you are doing" be sure to let us know too!!

Just in case anyone wanted to know  

Terry

[dhilarious]

LOL, someone is complaining about the quality of a 1970's phone?  Lets face it 60's 70's quality was crappy all around.

Phones are not the only thing I love.  Me and my family restore sewing machines as well.  I see the same thing that happen to the phone happen to the sewing machine...or really the other way around since the sewing machine predates the phone by around 30 years.

1930's virtually every part is metal/porcelan.  40's same thing but starting mid 40s and complete by the 50's, you start seeing plastic.  The case is plastic.  Then in the 60's they make the dial plastic, then they get rid of the porcelean dial and make it plastic...etc.

as time went on quality got worse.  Todays sewing machines are junk.  Sure they have alot more features, but they are plastic junk.  Phones today are boring and not made to last.

I like those stromberg phones from the 70's because I think the design is nice...most 70's stuff I hate.

As far as design goes I think overall stromberg has nicer looking phones than WE.  WE, AE and SC all have some beautiful phones but I probably think S/C overall look nicer.

JMO.

[AE_Collector]

I own one of these in black.  It's a really neat key set.  I wish I could find one in the older button style.

Adam: How badly do you want to find one with the old button style? Since you have a black one, how about a nice Oronge one? Finally caught up with my SC Keyset and guess what....Old line button style.

Pictures coming soon......

Terry