Hoping to identify this Dial Handset

[Cliff R]

Hi All.

Hoping for some help regarding identification of this handset.

Any information such as manufacturer, countries it may have been used in and age?

I purchased it at a market on a trip to Bangkok a few years ago.

The following is engraved on its base:   600-A2   NTK  73

cheers

Cliff

[FABphones]

I don't know much about these but model 600-A2 is Japanese. Year of manufacter most probably 1973 (taken from the marking you say is on the base).

I've read it will work fine with 110V (USA or Canada), but I'm not in either of those countries so you would need to test that one out. 

Iwatsu (pronounced 'E WAT ZOO') Electric made them ( we have a learning Japanese Manga fan in the family, guess it has come in useful for phones too  ).  Unsure if your NTK is another manufacturer, please add a photo of the base, any Japanese writing on it?

[LarryInMichigan]

The model 600 telephone was manufactured by numerous manufacturers to the same specification.  It was used throughout Japan and apparently some other countries like Thailand and the Philippines.  Many ended up in the USA being sold by Radio Shack in the 1970s.  They were made in a number of interesting colors, but the ones that usually show up here are either black or ugly beige.  The quality of them seems to be rather good.

Larry

[Cliff R]

Thanks Larry & Fab.

Here is a shot of the base.
Alas, no other writing.

The plastic casing is pretty chunky and phone appears well built.
I'd describe it as a step between the bakelite phones and the later plastic phones such as the 800 series.

Cliff