Comparing British 706 and American 500 and AE 80 'phones.

[Stephen Furley]

Ok, let's start to compare these roughly equivalent models from the two countries.  I'll start off in this  post with a few general impressions of these 'phones, before moving on to a more detailed comparison when I get home.  I've taken some photographs, but probably won't get time to process and scan the film for some time.

The 706 was introduced in 1959, and was a dramatic departure from previous telephone design in Britain.  It's predecessor was the 300 series, not totally unlike the 302 in style, though made of Bakelite, not metal or thermoplastic, it was heavy, solid and nearly always black.  It was also made in ivory, red and green, though these were rare, I think I only ever saw one ivory one when they were in use, and I'd never seen a green one until about a month ago

The 706 was to be lighter, more rounded in shape, contained some new components, and was available in no less than seven colours, two-tone grey, two-tone green, ivory, yellow, blue, red and black.   A more restricted range than for the WE 500, but revolutionary at the time over here.  The GPO continued to have a monopoly on the supply of telephones to be connected to the PSTN, and they had to be rented, you couldn't buy a telephone.  Telephones were normally hard wired, though extensions were available with a rather complicated plug and socket system.  This was rarely used, I think the only place I ever saw it was when my father was in hospital in the late '60s, and there was a telephone on a trolley which could be wheeled around the ward, and plugged in by each bed.

I've only seen a few 500s, but the impression I get is that they're all pretty similar; this is far from the case with the 706, development started with the prototype 700, which contained new style components and handset, in a 300 style case.  The 706 itself was launched in two versions, called Mk.1 and Mk.2, though these were introduced at he same time.  The Mk.1 used conventional wiring, whereas the Mk.2 used the then new technology of a printed circuit board.  Within a fairly short time it was decided that the pcb was the way to go, and the Mk.1 design is far less common than the Mk.2.  Interestingly, the Mk.1 had a moulded plastic base, whereas the Mk.2, which was generally a more modern design, used a heavier metal one, which remained in use until the 746 model was introduced, in 1967.  Many changes were made to the 706 during it's life, chromed metal dials were used on very early ones, followed by coloured metal, coloured plastic and finally clear plastic.  The earliest dial plates had numbers and letters, but these were later replaced by ones with triangles pointing outwards towards numbers and letters on the surrounding ring, similar to the dots on the 500.  When letters were abolished numbers returned to the dial plate, and the surrounding ring became a plain one.

Both line and handset cords were replaced by thinner type.  A  plastic dust cover was later fitted o the back of the dial.  A carrying handle was fitted below the handset rest.  These modifications did not happen in a fixed order, you might well find an earlier dial, but with a handle, or a later dial, but no handle for example.  When telephones were refurbished by the GPO before re-issue there seems to have been much swapping of parts.  In general there is no dote mark on individual parts, but you would not expect to find a 706 with all parts of the same age, which seems to be quite common over there with the 500.

The 706 could be fitted with a single microswitch, which could be latching or not, depending on he type of button used with it.  Normal uses were call exchange for shared service use, PABX recall or bell on/off, but there were other possibilities.  If this feature wa no longer required then the switch and button could be removed, and the dummy button replaced. I've never seen a 500 fited with any buttons, and there's certainly no hole, covered with a dmmy button, where one could be fitted.  Were different models of the 500 made to provide these facilities?  A special model, the 710, was made wich could be fitted with up to four buttons.

Both the 500 and the 706 are made of thermoplastic, though the actual plastic used seems to be slightly different.  The first thing you notice when you pick up a 500 is that it's heavy, compared to a 706; it's also a rather more angular shape, and is longer and narrower than a 706.  The dial also sits at a lower angle that the 706, and with the way that the surrounding number ring slopes down towards the centre makes it look almost as if a stray elephant has sat on it, and squashed it.  The WE dial is also quite different to those we have here which are more like the AE one, larger in diameter, and with the finger stop at the five o'clock position.  The dial on the 500 is also quieter than the one on the 706, and has a different feel to it.  The dial on the AE 80 has a different feel to either of the other two.

Despie the 500 being heavier, and feeling very solid, the plastic case is actually thinner than that on the 706.  The handset used on the 706 is more ounded than that on the 500, which is actually quite similar to that on some 1980s telephones which we used here.  The 500 is provided with means to adjust the loudness of the bell, whereas no provision is made for this on the 706.

The 'Walking cradle' (I think that's what it's called) design of the AE80 is actually quite similar to that on the 706.  From the front the AE 80 looks more like the 706 than the 500 does, but when turned round the greater length at the back is quite different.

These are the most obvious differences between the models, but there are also some major differences inside.

[Dennis Markham]

Stephen, thanks for the analysis on the differences in "your" phones versus "our" phones.  You mentioned the thickness of the plastic housings of the model 500 being rather thin.  That is true of the "newer" 500 sets.  The earlier made housings of the 1950's soft plastic phones (Western Electric) were significantly thicker.  That is another clue that I use when determining if a set is hard or soft plastic.  Just turn the phone over and look at the edges of the housing.  Later, hard plastic sets are much thinner.

The triangles that you mentioned on the dial ring of the 706 then are similar to the AE 80 that has them under the finger holes.

[Stephen Furley]

I didn't notice them on my AE80 yesterday, but then I only looked at it for a few seconds before I had to dash to catch my train.  The AE80 does seem to be much closer in style to the 706 than the WE500 is.

Over here we abandoned metal for 'normal' telephones long ago; Bakelite was used for the Pyramids, and he 300s, and then thermoplastic for the 706 and later models; metal was used for certain special telephones, such as ones for use outdoors and in hazardous areas.

I think most people over here would think of thermosetting plastics such as Bakelite as being 'hard', and thermoplastics as being 'soft', though the material used for the 706 is quite a hard 'soft' plastic, if you see what I mean.  Over there you seem to use the words 'hard' and 'soft' quite differently, with both being thermoplastics, but soft being an older type.  Do you know what maerials these hard and soft plastics were?

[Dennis Markham]

So-called "soft plastic" phones were made of Tenite.  I believe the Eastman-Kodak company actually produced it.  Hard plastic is ABS plastic.

Attached is a photo of an AE80 I just cleaned up a couple of nights ago.

[HobieSport]

The AE 80s do look somewhat similar to the BPO 706s, don't they?

I also notice that most of the UK cords are on the right hand side, whereas in the US they are often on the left.  Does that have anything to do with the British tendency to drive on the wrong side of the road?

[Stephen Furley]

I'd never heard of Tenite; there seem to have been several versions of it, all various grades of Cellulose Acetate or propionate; Diacetate, Triacetate and Propionate have all been used for photographic film, though only triacetate has been used in the last fifty years or so, and even that has been replaced by polyester for many types of film.  That would explain why it was made by the Eastman Chemical Company; they would have been making lots of the stuff for Eastman Kodak.  They may well have used recycled scrap material for non-photographic uses like tool handles and telephones.

From that angle the two telephones do look pretty similar, though rather less so when seen from the side.  It's interesting that while the AE80 is rather more rounded, it looks almost like somebody attached a tyre pump to a 706 and inflated it a bit, the handset is more angular.  They would look even more similar if the 706 in the photo had been fitted with the later clear plastic dial.

Notice that this version of the British dial did have a 'Q', and also it's odd position, at the 0 hole.  If you look carefully, you can see two small marks on the inner edge of the number ring surrounding the dial on the 706, one close to the 8, and the other between the 1 and the 2; there are actually four of these, but only two are visible in this picture.  They are actually small metal clips which hold the number ring in place, and are part of a large metal ring which fits inside the case.  In another example of the simplification and cost reduction, both in manufacture and for servicing and repair, which took place in the design of British telephones which took place over the years this metal ring was later eliminated, the plastic ring being inserted through the hole in the case, and rotated slightly to loch it into place.  It was prevented from rotating to the unlocked position when in use by the finger stop.

Also note that this 706 has been fitted with a button; this one seems to say 'PRESS', which wolld make it a non-locking version, and therefore used for shared service, or PABX recall.  There were several versions of locking and non-locking buttons, plain and with text, each of which had to be stocked in the seven possible colours, though the switch underneath was the same in all cases.  In another example of cost reduction, the buttons for the later 746 model, which were a different shape, to enable two switches to be fitted to the standard telephone, were all made in clear plastic, to remove the need to stock several different colours.

This 706 also has the older style, thicker, cords.  This one is in 'Concord Blue', which should be about the same colour as the number ring, but this example has yellowed to a dark green colour.  Apart from being fitted with the button it looks almost identical to one I'm restoring at the moment, which had a badly broken case, with several holes where pieces of plastic were missing.

On the 706 both line and handset cords enter at the rear of the telephone, and the handset can therefore sit on its rest equally well either way round; it just depends on which way the last user happened to put it down.  We don't have those metal restraint things crimped onto the cords which the American ones do.  On our old Bakelite cords there were two short cloth 'strings', a bit like shoe laces, which were tied insidethe 'phone to secure the cord.  In another example of simplification, the 706 used plastic cords with a square grommet moulded onto the end of it.  this square had a groove running afound it, which just slid into a shuare hole in the telephone base.  I'm sure there can be no telephone in the World quicher and easier to dismantle than these.

[Stephen Furley]

Time to continue comparing the 706 and 746 with the WE 500 and the AE 80, with a look inside them; but I can't find how to include pictures in a post; can somebody help please?

[BDM]

See the "Additional Options..." just below the message box. Click that, and it allows you to pick a picture right from your computer.


   

[Stephen Furley]

Ok, let's start with a quick look at a 706 alongside the previous standard British 'phone, a 300 series:

I think this shows just how revolutionary the 706 was in its day; there's far more difference between these 'phones than there is between a WE 302 and 500.

The next two pictures show the 706, WE 500 and AE 80 side by side.  While from the front the 706 and AE80 look quite similar, from the side it can be seen that both of the American models are longer, and the AE80 has much more behind the handset rest.  The other obvious difference is that the WE 500 has the dial set at a lower, flatter, angle than the other two models.

Picture 4 shows two 706s which look almost identical, but they're not.  I bought them on Ebay recently, within a few days of each other, from different sellers.  They are both from 1964, but one is a Mk.1 and the other is a Mk. 2.  Let's have a look inside them, in pictures 5 and 6.

The Mk.1 has conventional wiring, and a plastic base, whereas the Mk.2 has a printed circuit board and a presed steel base, quite similar to that on the American models.  The capacitor and induction coil have swapped sides,  the capacitor is horizontal on one and vertical on the other, and the springset for the hookswitch is in a different position, but other than that, they are very similar.  Despite being called Mk. 1 and Mk. 2 they were both introduced at the same time, but by different manufacturers.  The Mk. 2 is by far the more common type.  Actually, this is a Mk. 2a, but the difference is too small to worry about.  I won't say any more about the Mk. 1, but will compare the Mk. 2 with the WE 500 and the AE 80; see pictures 7 and 8.

In all three models all of the main components are mounted on the base; the case can simply be lifted off with nothing attached to it.  The 500 has the least amount of space under the dial, but what space there is is largely wasted; only the hookswitch springset is placed here.  The 80 uses this space for the main circuit board, while the 706 places the gongs and ringer there, rather than at the back, as on the American models.  This means that all of the terminals on the 706 are at the back, and are very accessible.  The plastic plungers used to operate the hookswitch on the American models, and the similar metal ones on the 300, are dispensed with on the 706; the ends of the switch rocker itself turn upwards to protude through the case, and the handset sits directly on these.  This simplifies the design of the case, which can be moulded in one piece.  Only the AE 80 has the springset contacts exposed; in both of the other models they are enclosed in a protective plastic box.

The AE 80 and 706 share a similar two-coil ringer design, though the AE one is much larger; the WE ringer is a quite different, single-coil design.  The gongs are similar in all three models, though mounted i different positions and orientations.

I think it's time for bed, and I've used all eight of the allowed pictures for this post, so I'll coninue tomorrow.

[BDM]

Very interesting Stephen. Those are nice phones no matter what angle you look at them from. That 300 series looks nice. I've never seen one of those before that I can recall? Looks like it's built like a tank!

When did 300 production stop? There are American models that have also been cross produced, but not many. But, I cannot think of any American models whether W.E. or independents that produced one model in two or more ways.

[McHeath]

It's interesting how much simpler the inner workings of the WE 500 are from the 706s.  There really is not much in there on a 500, that potted network has all the goodies in it, while the 706 has several printed circuit boards, it seems.  When did printed circuit boards start being used in consumer goods?  Anyone know?

[Stephen Furley]

Very interesting Stephen. Those are nice phones no matter what angle you look at them from. That 300 series looks nice. I've never seen one of those before that I can recall? Looks like it's built like a tank!

When did 300 production stop? There are American models that have also been cross produced, but not many. But, I cannot think of any American models whether W.E. or independents that produced one model in two or more ways.

The 300 series are pretty much our version of the 302; they are Bakelite rather than metal or thermoplastic, but are otherwise fairly similar.  They were the first standard British telephone to have an internal bell.

I don't know when production stopped, but I would guess fairly soon after the 700 series became available; the GPO would have had plenty of old 300s available where where they needed to install them.  They were still being used in my mother's office in the early '70s.

After production stopped here the tooling was sent to India, where ITI continued to produce telephones to a similar design, but with some modifications.  I don't know when production finally stopped there.  They made these telephones in a range of pastel colours, which look really odd to my eye:

http://www.bobsoldphones.net/Pages/ITI/ITI%20332s.htm

http://www.britishtelephones.com/iti.htm

The Britishtelephones link seems to be down at the moment, but was ok yesterday.

The four colours in which the British ones were made can be seen on this page:

http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/phones_pre1960.htm#328

However, almost all were actually black, very few people had a coloured telephone until the 700 series came out.  The seven standard colours for the 700 series can be seen towards the bottom of this page:

http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/phones_1960-80.htm#706

The 746 when it came out added dark brown, and some mouldings were made in oher colours, but were not normally issued before production of these models stopped.  These mouldings have recently been used by a company who are selling 'phones in these colours, but they are quite expensive:

http://www.eurocosm.com/Application/Products/Teleph/tel5GB.asp

[Stephen Furley]

It's interesting how much simpler the inner workings of the WE 500 are from the 706s.  There really is not much in there on a 500, that potted network has all the goodies in it, while the 706 has several printed circuit boards, it seems.  When did printed circuit boards start being used in consumer goods?  Anyone know?

The 500 and 706 are similar in terms of complexity if you look at the circuits for them; I'll post details this evening, when I finally finish my comparison.  The Mk.1 706 had no main circuit board; the Mk.2 had one.  The small vertical board in both versions is the regulator, I'll cover that this evening as well.

When the 706 was designed PCBs were regarded as being a new technology, and manufactures were given the option of either using one, or using conventional wiring, That is why Mk. 1 and Mk. 2 versions exist.  After a few years the conventional version was dropped.  I would guess that PCBs were introduced during the mid '50s for general use.  I think they may have been used in military equipment at first.

[BDM]

Stephen, very interesting on the 300 design. The dial is without a doubt, an AE design. I know AE licensed their dial design world-wide. That's why most American independents and over-seas manufactures used it. Too my knowledge, W.E. didn't or wouldn't license their early dials, i.e. the numbers 2 4 5 & 6. I believe they licensed the later dials used in the 500, though I not all that sure.

[Stephen Furley]

BDM,

There are some aspects of the British dial which are clearly based on the AE design, the governor for example, however, in other ways they are very different, though I'm basing that statement on the one AE dial which I've seen, the one in my AE 80.  In that dial the mechanism, including the governor, is disconnected from the finger wheel when it is pulled round, and only connects to it when the wheel is released and runs back to the normal position.  Also, the AE dial uses a small cam which rotates once for each pulse; it has two lobes on it, but only one of these causes the pulse contacts to open.  I'm not quite clear as to the purpose of the other one, I'll have to take a better look.  In the British dial there's a single large, maybe 25mm, cam wheel with several notches cut into it.  This wheel is connected to the finger wheel, and turns with it, in both directions.  There's a small lever which moves to an alternative position when the dial is pulled round, and which prevents the pulse contacts from being operated when the dial is turned in this direction.  When the dial is released this lever is moved back to its original position by a small initial movement of the dial, and the pulse contacts will then operate as the dial runs back.

This is the 'Trigger' type dial, as described here:

http://www.britishtelephones.com/howdial.htm

The other type of dial described in this page, the 'Slipping cam' type, is an older design.  I'm not sure when the changeover took place, but all of my 'phones, including the 300 type, it's actually a 328, have the trigger type, so that must have been the standard for at least 50 years.

British dials vary a lot, some are quiet, with smooth movement, and some are very noisy and rough feeling.  I prefer both the WE and AE dials to our ones; of the two, I think I like the AE one better.