Great Vintage Phones with Dial Blanks

[Doug Rose]

I am really starting to appreciate the dial less phones. I think dial blanks are really cool. The latest two I picked up are a like new Leich convertible and an SC1243. The paint on the SC is amazing, usually these are beat. I love the cut corners. I am really surprised that collectors do not like these. The Leich is bakelite and near perfect....Doug

[liteamorn]

They look like they are brand new!

[AE_Collector]

Is the Leich marked on the base as a 901 or something else?

Leich, un-Leich Automatic Electric was pretty good at marking the base of their phones withthe model and date. (Leich is pronounced "Like" for those still pronouncing it "Leech")

Terry

[cihensley@aol.com]

Very nice phones Doug.

Chuck

[Doug Rose]

Terry....no marking on the bottom at all. I just know these as the Leich Convertable as you can spin it around and wall mount it.

Chuck....thanks....I was amazed at how well they cleaned up. They look new!


Doug

[AE_Collector]

I am pretty sure that the Leich is a 901, the one that is usually seen with a magneto in it. Unless it should be a different model number without the magneto.

Terry

[G-Man]

I am really starting to appreciate the dial less phones. I think dial blanks are really cool. The latest two I picked up are a like new Leich convertible and an SC1243. The paint on the SC is amazing, usually these are beat. I love the cut corners. I am really surprised that collectors do not like these. The Leich is bakelite and near perfect....Doug

I think you will find further information on you phone with this link from the tci library.
The Leich 900-series was convertible for magneto local battery, manual common battery, and dial common battery service:
                  
http://tinyurl.com/75wd8cr

[G-Man]

I am really starting to appreciate the dial less phones. I think dial blanks are really cool. The latest two I picked up are a like new Leich convertible and an SC1243. The paint on the SC is amazing, usually these are beat. I love the cut corners. I am really surprised that collectors do not like these. The Leich is bakelite and near perfect....Doug

I think you will find further information on you phone with this link from the tci library.
The Leich 900-series was convertible for magneto local battery, manual common battery, and dial common battery service:
                  
http://tinyurl.com/75wd8cr

Whoops! Wrong url, the correct link for a common battery wiring diagram is here:
http://tinyurl.com/7my7zhw

[Tom B]

Hey Doug
I picked up a manual SC 1243 from UK eBay for next to no money - about £5.00 if memory serves ($8.00). It has the original cloth handset cord as well. Its in my project cupboard as I still need to source a ringer for it.
I think its a cool phone - larger and more chunky than a 302, but I like it.

[Doug Rose]

Hey Doug
I picked up a manual SC 1243 from UK eBay for next to no money - about £5.00 if memory serves ($8.00). It has the original cloth handset cord as well. Its in my project cupboard as I still need to source a ringer for it.
I think its a cool phone - larger and more chunky than a 302, but I like it.

Tom...I think they are cool phones. Heavy Metal Beasts. Tough to find with good paint on them....Doug

[Tom B]

Doug... the paint on your phone is better than the paint on mine

[GG]

A 1243 with bad paint could be stripped to bare metal per Doug's 302 from last month.

At risk of starting a run on the market for phones with dial blanks, check this out:

http://www.dynamic-living.com/product/voice-dialers/#clear

Voice dialers, sold for use as accessibility technology for people with disabilities.  The more expensive model ($249) lets you speak digits into the phone, as well as pre-programmed names.  The less expensive model ($209) only dials from a programmed list.   

There are others available from other sources.  When I first researched this, the best I could find was made by a company in Israel and handles spoken digits.  The units above are made in Israel so they are probably the same ones.

So you take your phones with the dial blanks, and wire them into a branch of your house phone wiring that goes back to one of those boxes.  Then pick up the receiver of any of them and speak the name or digits to dial. 

The only thing that's missing is "Number, please?"  Though I suppose that if we wanted to make the effort, someone in the community could design one accordingly, that takes digits only, and also says "One moment please" as it dials the number. 

[rdelius]

That last SC telephone appears to be a 1222 not a 1243.Note the large feet. The 1222 might have pre-war but not sure,Has old style parts in it. No potted network
Robby

[Dennis Markham]

This post by Doug reminded me that I had a Red Bar wall phone sitting in a box (where it's been for a couple of years) and thought it was time to clean it up a bit.  I think this Master Phone 1100BA is a great looking phone.  I enjoyed  cleaning it and getting it in working condition.  The coiled cord appears to be original, marked Kellogg and dated from 1952.  This has a straight line ringer.  I connected it to the phone line and gave it a test drive.  The audio in the ear piece seems a bit low but otherwise it works great.

[GG]

Yow!, Dennis, that looks like new again.  Great job.

TomB, if your 1243 has a frequency ringer, do a search on "frequency ringers" around here and you'll find the item on "nibbling" the reed to de-tune them so they'll ring on regular 20 Hz.   

Or sometimes the situation can be solved by rotating the gongs all the way inward and adjusting the position of the clapper/weight (usually mounted to the armature with a set screw).  Ideally put the phone on a PBX and fiddle with the ringer while it's ringing.  The result, when it works, is usually a quiet version of a normal ring, making it suitable for a bedroom or other quiet area.