Heemaf 1955 variants

[Matilo Telephones]

Better start a new thread about this. The title is more fitting to what actually is being discussed.

So first my Heemaf Philips 1955, front, back, schematic.

Added bonus: someone put a box of matches on a piece of string inside. Hmmm. With a fake diagram drawn on it.

On a more serious note, production date 1956, so a very early one.

Note the mesh over the sounding holes.

[Matilo Telephones]

Next, my GDK version.

GDK Gelijkstroom (direct current) druk (push) kiezen (to choose, to select)

This one is almost mint. Never been installed. Original pristine cords and bakelite connection box. That has never been attached to any wall.

Again, note the mesh over the sounding holes.

[Matilo Telephones]

Another desk version, with dial.

Please note on the dial PEM (Provinciale Energie Maatschappij, Privincial Energy Company) Hoorn (a town in Holland).

The mesh was removed, but an imprint remained. I have taken the mesh of another phone. It is taped to the phone to keep them together. Now to figure out how to attach it.

Other variants I have seen have the mesh attached by means of a metal frame. I do not have a version like that, yet.

[Matilo Telephones]

Another GDK

This time with some home made pedestal with a switch.

Bought it out of curiousity and I wanted a closer look at that dial.

My other GDK has a cap over the dials mechanics which is sealed. I did not want to break that seal.

Please note the one at the museum, picture in the other thread, has the Philips logo on the dial filled in with white paint.

[unbeldi]

I see how your wall phone looks on the back... one of these days I have to face the task of removing mine from the board. I have been suspecting a manufacturing date there as on the pictures you showed. I do have a manufacturing date on the capacitor, 12-62, and there is also a "12  62" stamped on the base inside, so I don't know what else I am waiting for.

The cradle plungers have Heemaf logos, not Philips. The earth-button switch is present in the circuit, but no pushbutton was provided, and therefore the set was correctly marked as NF 000 12. But it is also marked /20, wonder what that means, GDK ?

The phone does also have a metal mesh over the sound holes in the back, that much can be gleaned from the holes.

You can see how the phone was attached to the backboard. There is some kind of glue in the mounting hole.  But it does not have rubber grommets like yours.

I wonder how mine has come to be found in the States. Did Philips market the UB49 here? It's hard to conceive they would have, with a different signaling system, but on the other hand, it appears to me the system also accepted pulse dialing telephones, as can be seen from the pictures, the system console has a rotary dial.  The all English language label might support that idea, as yours show a combination of English and French, and others in Dutch.

This is the only phone I can add to your showcase here.

[Matilo Telephones]

Hmm, must take a closer look at those NF numbers. Perhaps 20 means GDK.

By the way, do you see those rivets near the sounding holes? It means in your case the mesh is not simply stuck on, but fastened with a metal frame.

I know that Philips sold these UB49's all over the world, but I do not know if and how many ended up in the USA.

These UB49's were delivered with only some GDK units on the extentions, not all.

I did see a Spanish/French label, by the way.

Mine does not have rubber gromits (you mean the spacers for mounting the phone on the wall, right?). They are bare metal. Most, if not all, of the wall Heemaf 55's I have seen have them painted black.

[unbeldi]

Hmm, must take a closer look at those NF numbers. Perhaps 20 means GDK.

By the way, do you see those rivets near the sounding holes? It means in your case the mesh is not simply stuck on, but fastened with a metal frame.

I know that Philips sold these UB49's all over the world, but I do not know if and how many ended up in the USA.

These UB49's were delivered with only some GDK units on the extentions, not all.

I did see a Spanish/French label, by the way.

Mine does not have rubber gromits (you mean the spacers for mounting the phone on the wall, right?). They are bare metal. Most, if not all, of the wall Heemaf 55's I have seen have them painted black.

Ah, I was wondering what those rivets were for and didn't make the connection with the mesh, not sure that I saw the mesh at the same time even.  Looking at pictures make it a actually easier to connect the dots.

Do the desk top GDK models from Philips also have an NF number?  I have zero information about Philips telephones or whom else they bought phones from.  I suspect they also bought from Siemens or other German makers, since Philips always had a big presence in Germany too.

Since you confirmed that they sold the UB49 worldwide, I would expect also in the US, it being at the time the largest market.  Ericsson and Siemens also sold into that market and it is not uncommon to find an Ericsson PABX here, for example.

Yes, one of your pictures shows some rubber spacers with a brass insert for the mounting screws. Good to know that they were not just removed on my unit. I think you can see the glue or cement that was used to mount mine.

[Matilo Telephones]

Heavens, I completely missed those rubber gromits! Thanks for pointing that out. I did notice on the other side they were bare metal.

I must keep my eyes open for phones with this detail. See if I spot another one. Perhaps in my own stock of phones (I have about 10 wall phones ex PTT to restore. I sell restored phones, besides collecting them).

By the way, I did run across a table H55 made in june 1970. It was in my section of damaged phones, which I keep for parts.

Heemaf stopped making phones in the beginning of the 70s. Philips started making their own phones in the 60s. They had their own line of grey desk phones, rotary and later push button. You do not see those too ofthen.

I know in the 70s Philips worked together with Siemens. They made some Siemens models under licence and Siemens produced phones for Philips under the Philips name in Bocholt.

I opened one of my desk phones up and there is indeed an NF nr on the label, but it is crossed out with ball point pen. I can make out NF 000 and the last 2 digits may be 07.

[unbeldi]

By the way, I did run across a table H55 made in june 1970. It was in my section of damaged phones, which I keep for parts.

still got you beat with my October 70, lol.  There still may be a few thousand out there that were made after mine in November and December 1970, so it's worth to keep looking, that is if indeed they stopped making this phone in 1970.

On the other, I really need to find a 1955 vintage.
No easy task here in the States, but I found two treasures already.
I do keep looking on eBay.nl and eBay.de.

[Matilo Telephones]

Yes, you have the youngest. I'll see if I can find when Heemaf stopped making phones.

The strange thing is that on my 1970 phone the capacitor is dated 1960. Perhaps they were blowing off old stock.

I have been looking for a first issue too, but not very hard I must say.

For telephones in Holland, you'd better check marktplaats.nl

It's the biggest 2nd hand website here. It's much cheaper than ebay. Prices are about 1/3rd. The problem is that most people do not photograph the bottom and there are virtually no outward clues to distinguish it as an early one.

The earlies one I have (in one piece) is the Phillips wall phone from 56. I checked my stock of table phones (6 of them) and the are all from the 60s).

I do have 2 wall versions form 56 (ptt)