Late-Model 701B

[WEBellSystemChristian]

I remember reading an old topic from 2013 about the transition from the 701B Princess to the 702B, and that no member knows of any 701B built later than December 1962. I happened to be examining a Pink Princess from my collection, and flipped it over. There I noticed the January '63 date stamp. I opened it up, and found that it's dates-matching January '63 and December '62, so it collectively had to be built around New Year's 1963. It has a 1963 chassis, and does not include a ringer (not stamped wrong).

Does anyone have a 701B later than this?

[zapper]

I have a beige 701B Princess  dated 4-60. Its missing the mounting cord.
Also from the same seller a Turquoise 701B Princess dated 2-60. The mounting cord is missing the spade tips.
Both phones have the screw in bulb and the mini terminal where the weight was added in later phones. The Transmitters and receivers are dated 4-60 and 2-60
Zapper

[unbeldi]

I have a beige 701B Princess  dated 4-60. Its missing the mounting cord.
Also from the same seller a Turquoise 701B Princess dated 2-60. The mounting cord is missing the spade tips.
Both phones have the screw in bulb and the mini terminal where the weight was added in later phones. The Transmitters and receivers are dated 4-60 and 2-60
Zapper

Early Princesses of 1959 and 1960 are nice of course.   Christian's point was that he has one of the very last made sets around the turn of the year 62/63.   We don't know exactly which month or week they stopped assembling 701B sets, but we DO know that the 702B was already in production starting at least in Dec. 1962, or even earlier.  I have a 12/62 stamped 702B.

[JimH]

I've never seen a 701B dated this late.  Everything I've read lists "1963" as the date they made the change-over.  I do know the 701Bs were refurbished for several years after the 702s came out.  You can imagine that the Bell System would not just dispose of the returned 701s.  I'm surprised they didn't have a program to convert 701s to 702s.  They seem to have converted everything else.  Makes me wonder how they decided who got the refurbished ones and had to put up with a baseboard-mounted ringer, and who got the new ones.

It looks like it's in excellent condition, and I would say that is a great find!  Congratulations!

Jim

[andre_janew]

Also, it is possible that the start of the 702B overlaps the ending of the 701B somewhat.

[unbeldi]

I've never seen a 701B dated this late.  Everything I've read lists "1963" as the date they made the change-over.  I do know the 701Bs were refurbished for several years after the 702s came out.  You can imagine that the Bell System would not just dispose of the returned 701s.  I'm surprised they didn't have a program to convert 701s to 702s.  They seem to have converted everything else.  Makes me wonder how they decided who got the refurbished ones and had to put up with a baseboard-mounted ringer, and who got the new ones.

Well, they did have conversion housings indeed.  The 701B and the 702B had the cord exits in slightly different locations.  Replacement housings had two molded positions where the plastic could be punched out to accommodate either base.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Not only is the phone in great shape, but it has the original box too! It's not saying much (I've seen many more Princesses with their boxes than any other phone), but the fact that it's there probably increases the value a bit.

[poplar1]

I've never seen a 701B dated this late.  Everything I've read lists "1963" as the date they made the change-over.  I do know the 701Bs were refurbished for several years after the 702s came out.  You can imagine that the Bell System would not just dispose of the returned 701s.  I'm surprised they didn't have a program to convert 701s to 702s.  They seem to have converted everything else.  Makes me wonder how they decided who got the refurbished ones and had to put up with a baseboard-mounted ringer, and who got the new ones.

Well, they did have conversion housings indeed.  The 701B and the 702B had the cord exits in slightly different locations.  Replacement housings had two molded positions where the plastic could be punched out to accommodate either base.

Slightly different locations? Actually, the mounting cord on the 701B is on the left rear, because the L1/L2 terminal block is to the left of the dial. On a 702B, the mounting cord is on the right, because the network is on the right. Also, no notches are needed for an original 702B housing, because the cord restraint is attached to a post, rather than a slot in the basepan, and the housing sits higher on the base.

Perhaps you are thinking of the earlier and later 701Bs, where the cord slot did move "slightly."

[paul-f]

I've never seen a 701B dated this late.  Everything I've read lists "1963" as the date they made the change-over.  I do know the 701Bs were refurbished for several years after the 702s came out.  You can imagine that the Bell System would not just dispose of the returned 701s.  I'm surprised they didn't have a program to convert 701s to 702s.  They seem to have converted everything else.  Makes me wonder how they decided who got the refurbished ones and had to put up with a baseboard-mounted ringer, and who got the new ones.

Well, they did have conversion housings indeed.  The 701B and the 702B had the cord exits in slightly different locations.  Replacement housings had two molded positions where the plastic could be punched out to accommodate either base.

Slightly different locations? Actually, the mounting cord on the 701B is on the left rear, because the L1/L2 terminal block is to the left of the dial. On a 702B, the mounting cord is on the right, because the network is on the right. Also, no notches are needed for an original 702B housing, because the cord restraint is attached to a post, rather than a slot in the basepan, and the housing sits higher on the base.

Perhaps you are thinking of the earlier and later 701Bs, where the cord slot did move "slightly."

I wrote an article on the Princess replacement housing for the August 2014 Singing Wires.

See "The Princess and the Mounting Cord" on page 6. There's more to the story.

Here's one of the photos.

[CanadianGuy]

I saw a pink Princess a couple days ago, but I was working in their home, got sidetracked and forgot to look at it closer. Maybe I can call back and ask them about it?

[Mr. Bones]

I saw a pink Princess a couple days ago, but I was working in their home, got sidetracked and forgot to look at it closer. Maybe I can call back and ask them about it?

No Problem,

Just do a follow-up Quality-Assurance check.

Best regards!

[Jim Stettler]

I saw a pink Princess a couple days ago, but I was working in their home, got sidetracked and forgot to look at it closer. Maybe I can call back and ask them about it?

Whenever I was working in a home and saw an interesting phone I would walk  over to it with my hands clasped behind my back and ask if I could examine their phone.  I usually got a strange look but they always said yes, I would then pick it up examine it closley and tell them tidbits about the phone. This was usually a good conversation starter about old phones.
JMO,
Jim S.

[CanadianGuy]

Just left another house with a handful of old phone stuff. A black 500 dated 63, and two loose dials. I got permission to take pics and gave them the forum name, so they may come here for some feedback at some point. I was reluctant to post them, but I don't think they'd mind. (Never mind, security check failed.) It's not like I'm looking to buy it to flip it.

The guy said he found the dials in the ceiling in the power company's building. He said he didn't keep the boxes, but probably should have. They're probably NOS, considering their condition. Gave my usual spiel about not being a collector, but just enjoy seeing this stuff.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post them.