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Is this a rare dial???

Started by Dan, October 29, 2011, 06:28:59 PM

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JorgeAmely

Broken as in missing the rubber insulator?
Jorge

GG


I was guessing $2,200. would be the final price.  Wrong-o! 

"Oh man, I took a clobbering in the stock market!"

"Not me, heh, I'm invested in old Western Electric stock..."

"Huh?  I thought they went out of business decades ago?"

"Precisely.  Stock, you know, in the stockroom!  A whole garage full of old Western Electric telephones and parts!  The value of some of it went up 50% in three years!"

"Well I'll be darned...!"

"Here, I'll give you a 1960 dial phone.  Sounds better than that thing in your pocket...."

"Hmm, these could go viral..."

rdelius

Broken such as snapped off
Robby

Greg G.

Quote from: GG on November 01, 2011, 01:13:52 AM
Hi Gary-  For the record, I have a warped sense of humor, and so does Dave F ...

Two guys after my own heart!  Much of my humor would get me booted before you could dial 1!
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Greg G.

Quote from: telcoguy on October 31, 2011, 10:54:23 PM
My first posting on this Forum:

Yes, the #1 dial is a rare dial.  I know of 14 of them in the hands of collectors at this time and I have a photo or two of most of them.  I also know there are basically three types and the types differ by the number of springs in the pileup and the wiring and function of each of the terminals.  The last known eBay sale of one of these dials was very high.

Though my initials are GG, I am not the person who contacted the seller, but I did contact the seller after he had already learned that the dial was valuable.  He was quite sure it was considering where he got it, but didn't know for sure.  I am always happy when someone does something that causes the seller to let the auction go to the end so that ALL OF US have a chance to win an item.  When I wrote to the seller, I confirmed that he had a rare dial.  Mine by the way is of the same type, D8083, with four springs in the pileup.  According to an expert on these matters, this particular configuration of dial was most likely used on switchboards that were converted from manual to automatic.  This particular dial would not have been used on a deskstand as there are not enough circuits for the receiver and the transmitter, etc.  One of the other configurations of this dial had a pileup with five springs and is wired like the #2 dials found mostly on W.E. deskstands.

By the way, if anyone is looking for an identical copy of the dial center on a #1 dial, I have some that are on photo film and look like the real thing.  They are $5 each to your door.

Gary Goff

PS:  For the writer who mentioned the 7001 dial:  This is purported to be the first dial designed by Western Electric, but perhaps not patented.  In any event, it was not the dial that Western E. and the Bell System adopted for use, and as a result was sent to Western Electric in Belgium where it became the 7001 and was used extensively in Europe.  There were many iterations of it before it was retired so to speak.  I would love to acquire a BTMC deskstand with one of these dials.  I think that many collectors in the UK may own one.

Welcome Gary!  When the other "GG" first joined, I thought he was you, but he quickly corrected that.  FYI, "GG" are my initials also.

Greg G.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Dave F

Quote from: Brinybay on November 06, 2011, 01:22:10 PM
Quote from: GG on November 01, 2011, 01:13:52 AM
Hi Gary-  For the record, I have a warped sense of humor, and so does Dave F ...

Two guys after my own heart!  Much of my humor would get me booted before you could dial 1!
Yes, it's a constant challenge to keep it all "family appropriate".  Anything we post here will remain available in cyberspace for all time, and it's easy to forget that what we say today could come back to haunt us later.

To heck with that -- I think I'll just go and listen to the rousing music of my Kohler Wellworth in action.  That's a song that could be a million-seller.  Could even go platinum, ya think?

GG



I also definitely prefer keeping it G-rated around here.  Mild naughtiness is OK, for example mild bathroom jokes, or mentioning a certain comedy duo from the late 60s - early 70s but not going into the subject manner of their humor.  Gary also said he was pleased about the lack of cusswords around here too.  (The one exception I can recall, being a posting from someone who received a smashed phone in the mail, and yeah most of us who've had that experience uttered the same word at that point.  Those words work best when they are that rare.)

There's something really cool about a "keep it clean" policy that's evolved from a social consensus of the community rather than being imposed top-down by heavy handed moderation. 

Gary also said the TCI list is pretty spicy stuff.  I wonder if we might be able to exercise some influence over there...?   "Hey guys, clean it up, OK?"

Stephen Furley

So, what sort of date would this dial be, and which models of telephone was it used in?

dsk

If we still are talking about the BTMC 7001, the B version was used in Oslo (Kristiania at that time) on the first 2 exchanges there. They were marked Western Electric on the frames, and bought from USA, but they were installed and put in service in 1920, so those 2  7A exchanges may be US made, or BTMC or a mix.  The had this last long pulse until 1946 when they were modified from 5 to 6 digits.
The BTMC dials were probably not installed after 1925.

It is actually a phone for sale with this dial now for NOK 500 or approx $57.  If the value of such dial is $4000 that will be a scoop, but I do not think so.

This link will die out, but her is the ad: https://www.finn.no/bap/forsale/ad.html?finnkode=183276607
It is a phone from about 1924, and the dial is looking like this.

dsk

dsk

OK I have this 7001B And I can not use it because of that looooong last break.

Now I have dismantled it, and that was not easy.  I really hope I may get it together again too.  ;)
Some pictures:
dsk

dsk

More:

dsk

When you look at that last picture it is only short breakes, far from 60% except for the last one who is so long that it works like hook switch or something. And of course when dismantling the hex nut and the other threaded cam wheel is threaded counter clockwise.

Shall I modify it for use or not? How shall I make the pulses longer?

dsk

MMikeJBenN27

This IS a rare one, as there is no divit in the governor frame for a screw driver, but I have never seen that contact set before.  Great find!

poplar1

Quote from: dsk on August 29, 2020, 04:00:00 PM
When you look at that last picture it is only short breakes, far from 60% except for the last one who is so long that it works like hook switch or something. And of course when dismantling the hex nut and the other threaded cam wheel is threaded counter clockwise.

Shall I modify it for use or not? How shall I make the pulses longer?

dsk

In he past, X-link has been willing to add features to their software -- for non-standard dial speed, higher ring current output, etc. Perhaps they could add this dial to their list. Personally, I would not modify the dial itself.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

dsk

I have kept it original, but I had another one pretty ruined ..
Maybe I could saved something by just sending them to Steve Hilz, bu I like to learn, and I had this worthless unusable old dial (I did actually not know what I had) It is marked 7001D so now I know. The number ring made of paper and cellophane was behind rescue, and the pulses sent was to short, except for the last that was to long.  The dial is almost impossible to take apart so I went on it with the Dremel, and i changed the pulses to be of equal length, then I bent a little here and there  on the contacts and springs and now it works great again 🙂 Pretty much tuning and fettling, and it was not far from totally ruined.