hidden surprise

[rdelius]

Has a D8  mount (IV 37), red handset wires go through a set of break contacts when hung up. Note clock springs (paystation?) instead of gongs. Sorting telephones while moving . 
Robby

[HarrySmith]

Strange. It says 684A on it but it does not look like any I have seen before.

[Phonesrfun]

I remember reading something a while back that the Bell system used to have various sounding gongs in crowded offices so that people could hear the differences and have sort of an individualized ringing so they could tell whose phone was ringing.  THat catually is what PBX systems offer today.  In my office, we can choose from about a half a dozen different ringer sounds.

I think this is a real deal.

[bingster]

The specs list several different gong styles and gong frequencies that can be used to replace standard gongs, so that one's A-OK. 

Robby, do you have any means of recording and posting the sound of those gongs ringing?  I've always wondered what they sound like.

[rdelius]

no way to record the sounds but the wire gongs appear to be the same as the paystation quarter gong.
Robby

[Russ Kirk]

Has a D8  mount (IV 37), red handset wires go through a set of break contacts when hung up. Note clock springs (paystation?) instead of gongs. Sorting telephones while moving . 
Robby

Those clock spring are amazing! 

Geeze,  now there are 1001 items I'm looking to add to my collection.

Russ...

[K1WI]

      That realy is a nice "hidden suprise" . I've seen very similar , though not as nicely done as yours, a long time ago.  Back in the "old days"  A boards (operator positions) used a series of distinct sounding ringers as a night alarm. One operator would cover the calls on five or six positions and the tone would tell HER which pos it was coming in on.
    Commonly different shapes of brass gongs , "tea" bells both in brass and coin silver , bells that looked almost like sleigh bells , and even wooden gongs were use to provide very different sounds.
    Have a few of the different types ,and will try to dig them out and and post pix. Do have one ringer with wooden "gongs" on shelf now.

[K1WI]

  Heres a NA (night alarm) box with what was always reffered to on prints and specs as "COIN SILVER" bells. I was told that they were made in the early 1920s from melted  down silver dollar.  No way to prove it but a nice story. They do sound awsome!
  Think I may still have a ringer similar to yours that came out of a PBX switchboard.
       Again ....NICE FIND !   and thanks for sharing it.

[Dennis Markham]

Those tea bells are very cool.  It would be great to hear them.  Could you strike them with something and using your computer's microphone record the sound and post it?  You can attach a wav file just like a photograph.  It would be nice to hear the first set of gongs you showed as well.

[K1WI]

  Both sets do ring . I'll try and borrow a computer with a mike and post the sounds as soon as I can.
   
      Andy   K1WI

[Greg G.]

I remember reading something a while back that the Bell system used to have various sounding gongs in crowded offices so that people could hear the differences and have sort of an individualized ringing so they could tell whose phone was ringing.  THat catually is what PBX systems offer today.  In my office, we can choose from about a half a dozen different ringer sounds.

I think this is a real deal.

What kind of sounds?  You mean like a different combination of short/long rings?  I know my PBX will do two short rings when dialing an extension, but incoming calls are the standard one long ring.  Is there a way to change that?

[Phonesrfun]

Greg:

I was talking about the one that they have at the bank where I work.  Those are actually different tones and cadences. 

I just looked in the 308 manual, and the distinctive ring you described for incoming calls versus internal calls is hard-programmed and is not changeable.  I guess they did not think it was necessary when they designed it.