My haul from the biggest flea market in the country

[Matilo Telephones]

Yesterday I visited the yearly mega flea market in Den Bosch. The biggest in the country. We go there every year. The past years I returned with at least a big bag full of phone stuff.

This year I did see some phones. Run of the mill stuff, kitsch phones. Enquired about one or 2. Too expensive. So I arrived home with only this. An Ericsson Diavox, 1984 vintage. Nice color. It is a DTMF version. 5 euros. Little expensive, but they are hard to find, the DTMF-ones. I need it to convert my red Diavox (pulse).

Oh well. I have enough project to get me through the winter I suppose.

[Budavox]

Hello, I have my Diavox here but the rotary version. I have a question with the R button, does it mean to redial? I tried mine but it does not work.
There is a video a man was unboxing a special version of Diavox, and he said this is an earthing button https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGXiqCavj7E&t=153s
If yes.. why does it said R ?

(If it is to redial then i think my phone is broken..  )

[countryman]

I'd guess it is either an earth key or a hook flash key.
Normally a flash key is marked R. That said, these are not normally found on European rotary phones! In the rotary days normally earth signals were used to control functions of a private branch exchange.
When the Diavox appeared, touch tone phones and exchanges had become common. These mostly use a flash signal instead - an interruption of the line for a varying (short) time period. In America that would be typically 300 -1000 milliseconds, in Europe around 100 ms.
On various PBX or even VOIP routers the flash key is still useful.
It is not a redial button to repeat a number that was dialed earlier!

[rdelius]

This might be a diavox copy. I have a couple that were desert storm military surplus used by the US in Saudi Aribia  and the key is not wired in the circuit and does  nothing

[Budavox]

@countryman ahh I'm relieved.. thank you so much~!! I was intrigued when buying this phone with the R button, thinking that it is a redial button 'Wow this would save a couple seconds when re-calling a mobile phone number'