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Dial-less phone - what to do....

Started by EdTel, June 18, 2016, 03:06:36 PM

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EdTel

I've seen a few posts here regarding dial-less phones but I haven't seen anything about this particular topic, I'm hoping someone has some good advice.

One of the phones I inherited from my Dad is a dial-less, magneto crank wall phone.  When it was manufactured, it looks like it had a spot for a dial to be installed, much like many of the other dial-less phones I've seen here.  So my question is, how many of those here have installed a dial onto these phones successfully? Or, in the interest of keeping them as original as possible, do you keep them in their original form without the dial? 

Just curious as to how others have approached this.  Thanks all!

TelePlay

Please post some pictures, inside and out.

EdTel

Quote from: TelePlay on June 18, 2016, 03:12:54 PM
Please post some pictures, inside and out.

Yes indeed, I shall :-)  I'm out of town right now but I will certainly do that this coming week when I get back.  I'd love to see this phone working again!

andre_janew

I'd see if I could get it working in its dial-less state before attempting to add the dial.

poplar1

If you are talking about Northern Electric 1717 sets, whenever these had dials, it was only on a particular type party line system. The magneto was used for calling other parties on your line, and the dial for calling others. These phones were not compatible with standard dial lines.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

EdTel

Alright, back home and I have my good camera. Here's a couple of  shots of the phone.  I haven't opened it up yet since I'm not entirely sure if I should try to modify it for a rotary dial.  Because the phone belonged to my Dad, it has a lot of sentimental attachment, I certainly would not want to ruin it.  But yeah.....I would love to hear it working again. So in the opinion of the phone experts here, would it be better to put some kind of external dial pad on it and leave it as-is? Or would you take the time to install a dial?
Thanks so much for any input you might have, much appreciated.

Ktownphoneco

Ed  ...   Here is a link to a British web site called "Britishtelephones.com" :   http://www.britishtelephones.com/ericsson/n2122.htm  .   It provides a fair amount of information on your Dad's set, and I would assume that it was probably in service in Saskatchewan based on the details provided for the various models.     There is also a schematic diagram for the set near the bottom of the web page.
The information may help you decide what you want to do with the set.   

Jeff Lamb

unbeldi

I would keep the set as it, and just clean it up.

Even if you add a dial to this set, the electrical design of the set was not intended for telephone lines that work like ours today.  It used a method call simplex signaling, I believe,  which is a combination of D.C. dial pulse and A.C. magneto signaling, used in rural communities, primarily, I believe.

I would opt for originality over adaptation.
There is nothing wrong with a dial-less telephone set !
Cleaned up and polished, it would make a great contribution to any collection.  Very nice.

EdTel

Quote from: Ktownphoneco on June 29, 2016, 10:45:37 AM
Ed  ...   Here is a link to a British web site called "Britishtelephones.com" :   http://www.britishtelephones.com/ericsson/n2122.htm  .   It provides a fair amount of information on your Dad's set, and I would assume that it was probably in service in Saskatchewan based on the details provided for the various models.     There is also a schematic diagram for the set near the bottom of the web page.
The information may help you decide what you want to do with the set.   

Jeff Lamb

It's British?  Wow, had no idea...that's very interesting.  Thanks for the link, I would have never thought to guess.

EdTel

Quote from: unbeldi on June 29, 2016, 12:30:41 PM
I would keep the set as it, and just clean it up.

Even if you add a dial to this set, the electrical design of the set was not intended for telephone lines that work like ours today.  It used a method call simplex signaling, I believe,  which is a combination of D.C. dial pulse and A.C. magneto signaling, used in rural communities, primarily, I believe.

I would opt for originality over adaptation.
There is nothing wrong with a dial-less telephone set !
Cleaned up and polished, it would make a great contribution to any collection.  Very nice.

Yeah, I might just go for that.  I've been thinking of putting it on a nice oak or fir mounting board and hanging it off the wall, maybe with a picture or two to go with it. I have to admit, as I get more into these phones, I do admire the "art" aspect of them.  Thanks!

Greg G.

Quote from: unbeldi on June 29, 2016, 12:30:41 PM
I would keep the set as it, and just clean it up.

I would opt for originality over adaptation.
There is nothing wrong with a dial-less telephone set !
Cleaned up and polished, it would make a great contribution to any collection.  Very nice.

Ditto all that. 
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

EdTel

Quote from: Brinybay on July 03, 2016, 02:27:07 PM
Ditto all that.

I appreciate the advice and yes, I think that's what I'll be going for. 

Babybearjs

hope you can get it working.... these type phones I've knicknamed "Childproof" because kids used to play with the phone and call who knows where and get into trouble.... when I was a kid, I had a freind call the operator and almost got me into trouble.... these are the "Answer-Only" type and kids can't really "play" with these.  and yes... it can take a dial, but only if you know how to convert it.
John