Another "Fake" Princess

[compubit]

I picked up this phone off of eBay - I could tell it was different, but...

(I also picked up a Gray Trimline as part of the same auction - it's the missing piece in my Trimline original color collection )

First the pictures...

Jim

[compubit]

The rest of the pictures. 

<RANT>
I've just spent almost an hour trying to upload these stupid pictures...

First as original photos from the iPhone, then resized from the iPhone, then transferred to the PC and resized in Photoshop as JPEG, then Re-saved using Windows Paint as JPEG, then finally saving as PNG from Photoshop.  Please fix the uploader!!!!!  You're getting 600kB PNG files vs. 100kB JPEGs...
</RANT>

Jim

[compubit]

Initial Thoughts (just from original eBay pictures...):
- No markings (WE, NE, SC, ITT, etc...) on handset
- Dial has red and black numbers and letters
- Bottom has a different look
- No switches or light holes

After looking inside:
- Handset has a generic receiver and an electret microphone (mic is soldered in...), nothing across the receiver
- The dial is a WE 6J-3 dial
- The coil is a 101A with a capacitor soldered to it
- No ringer - but the device has some weight to it...
- Only one of the plungers disconnects - the other has a spring-type mechanism to pop it up, but doesn't do anything
- The dial is connected by 2 pegs which fit into the holes on the base, then screws use friction to hold the dial into place.

Any insight into who the "manufacturer" might be or the source.  There are no markings on anything other than the WE Dial and the coil.  I haven't connected it to my switch yet - the cable was cut and I need to add a plug onto it.

Thanks,
Jim

[unbeldi]

The induction coil appears to be made by Northern Electric; I take the type of date stamp on it as evidence.

Of course someone had to make the base and housing, but the assembly appears to be from some kind of aftermarket outfit.

[rdelius]

There were  refurbishers that built these out of what ever parts were around and were sold for retail
.Might be from Fold a phone in NYC.Another seller might be a Harriett Carter catalog.These sets were before deregulation and not FCC regestered.Seen the same set with an induction coil from an AE type 40 and type 24 dial

[paul-f]

Congratulations on filling in the Trimline color gap!!

Thanks for taking the time to upload the photos.  It's interesting to see one with WE parts.

There are some more photos here:

   http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11549.msg123079#msg123079

   http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11549.msg123109#msg123109

And a few more with 701-type (probably Kellogg) and SC Petite bottom plates below. One has a Fold-a-Fone sticker.

[andre_janew]

Whoever built that Fake Princess should've at least put a mini ringer in it!

[cloyd]

Jim,
My condolences.  Getting your ebay package is a little like Christmas morning.  When it is faked or grossly NOT what you were expecting, it is depressing.  You are in good company.  I hope you aren't out much cash.  I am waiting for three phones that I bought on ebay right now.   

On the bright side, well done on completing your set!

Tina

[compubit]

I knew from the get-go that it wasn't a real "Princess" - my goal was the gray Trimline. I've let a couple get by me, so I wanted to go ahead and finish that off.  (Now for the remaining "new" colors...) The other two phones from the auction are "gravy".

The "Princess" will probably be stuck in a corner - not even sure if it works (the Trimline does!); the second phone was an AT&T 210 Trimline (using it on my VOIP setup right now) - it's not bad (the handset feels right when I use it), but it's not the original!

Jim

[compubit]

I also picked up on eBay a "red" Trimline phone which looked to be a "bright red" vs. Cherry Red.

Got it today and it's...

Rust

I guess people don't know the difference between "Red" and "Rust"/"Dark Orange"...

You win some, you lose some...

Jim

[markosjal]

This base looks a lot like The Litton BTS Princess I bought. My Litton however has the old original WE Princess network that did not allow space for the bell. It also has an old terminal block where the line comes in that seems to be of the same era but maybe more from a WE300 era.

Since then I have seen pics of othe Litton BTS Princess phones with all different kinds of components in them . One I saw had only a capacitor and a resistor (no anti-sidetone), like a butt set network.

Mark