Ringer boxes

[Steve]

Exactly right.  5XX subsets are sidetone, while 6XX subsets are anti-sidetone.

The 684 went through numerous revisions, and the older ones contained a different ringer from the 302-type ringer.  They sound a bit more tinkly than the later ones with the 302 ringer (if that makes any sense).  Very nice melodic sound, though--my 202s are wired to the older versions.

Bingo Bingster, It's that tinkly sound I'm after.

[Steve]

Foots, the Continental sets came out in the mid 1950's.  They were refurbished stock to meet the demand for color sets.  Here are a couple more.  Pekin Red and Moss Green.  Most have a 5J dial.  All had clear finger wheels.  Both of these were pre-cords.  I still don't have a handset cord on the red one.

Dennis, we need an adult section methinks for posts like this one.

[Dennis Markham]

Adult section??

[Steve]

Sexay pics of fantastic phones I will, most likely, never have.

[Phonesrfun]

Yes, if you want something to sound like a 534, then you do need a 634.  The 634 has a ringer like the 534.  Like was already said, you do not want a 534 or 584, because they were sidetone.  Your 202 will work on them, but you will wind up with the sidetone.

By the way, in the way of terminiology, a ringer box only contains a ringer.  A subset contains both the ringer and the speech circuit (induction coil and condensers).  The 5X4's and 6X4's are subsets, or even more properly called subscriber sets.  Probably why they shortened it to "subset".

-Bill

[foots]

Dennis, them's some neat phones. I heard about Continental sets before, but was unaware of the clear fingerwheel. If I'm not mistaken, I think Gloria Swanson had one in her mansion in the movie Sunset Boulevard - minus the curly cloth cord. 

[Steve]

Dennis, I cant take my eyes off that red Continental since you posted it! shes not even wearing a cord! the vice dicks are gonna raid the joint for sure.

all kidding aside, what are some of the realistic prices one would be looking at on a continental? I messed up a few months ago on an ivory in good shape, with subset, it was $100.00 or a little less IIRC as a buy it now.

also, can more than one desk set be connected to the same sub set?

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks Steve.  I do like that color (Pekin Red).  At first when I bought it I thought it may be a back yard paint job.  A friend brought his Pekin Red Continental over to my home and we set them on the table. Side by side they were identical.  That pretty much confirmed that it was a Western Electric refurb paint job.

I have seen varying prices.  I have paid as little as $40-45 plus shipping and as much as $120 for a green one, both were without subset.  The red ones don't show up as often.  I just checked the listing from that purchase.  I paid $48.55 plus $10 shipping when I bought that one.  It came out of Livingston, MT.  It had a piece of station wire for the handset cord.  The 3 conductor mounting cord that comes out of the base now is an original matching cord.  I STILL haven't purchased a Pekin Red handset cord from OPW.  I will need a 4 conductor desk stand cord too to properly wire it to a subset.  It has a nice #5 dial.

Sometimes you'll find the Ivory D1's with an Ivory plastic handset rather than the painted Ivory (formally black) handset.  The pure plastic handsets are nice to have.  I picked up an Ivory D1 (Continental) off ebay in the $55 range a while back that had a #4 dial inside.  That is the one I showed in the photograph.  I also got burned by paying over $80 for an Ivory one once only to get it and discover it had been so freshly painted that the paint was still kind of sticky.  It was worthless.  The dial blank was actually the front of an old A.E. dial and had a computer generated dial card.  The cord was an electrical cord.  The seller wrote that inside the F1 handset was brown, so I thought it may be brown Bakelite.  The brown paint was so thick on the inside of the handset caps that it looked like it had been poured in and brushed with a small paint brush. I'll attach a couple photos.  It was part of the learning process--it was a total fraud.  The listing said things like untested, I don't know anything about phones, not sure, what you see is what you get, etc. and I swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

[McHeath]

Gee what a fraud!  I can't believe they even painted the inside of the caps brown, that's seriously wrong. 

[Steve]

Thats such a fraud. I hope you reported them.