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What is the Largest Amount Of Telephones You Found at One Location

Started by Doug Rose, September 14, 2010, 08:49:32 PM

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Key2871

What a great find you guys have had...
I remember I had a couple, in about a two month span. It was about 15+ years ago. I was looking at yard sales in the local paper, and happened to see one advertising a telephone system, so I thought my wife and I would go take a look.
I had been looking for an affordable 1A2 Key System, maybe with some phones. Well That's what it was, an ITT 501, with a 207C rotary intercom inside, and it included about 20 or 30 mostly 831 sets. I was in heaven, just what I've been looking for, but what was the price?

I asked one of the nice guys running it, (oh it was a benefit yard sale, to raise money for a charity.) Anyway, I said how much for the telephone system?, And are all the phones included? Make me an offer he said, I thought boy for this amount of phones and a great system... I thought he would want a lot of money. So I said take $20.00 for it? He said... SURE! I darn near jumped. Then he started yelling to all his other people I sold the telephone system.. For $20.00!! And every one cheered.
I couldn't believe my luck, I have been making what amounted to 1A systems for a while, all the time improving it, but wanting a REAL key system.

Well I got it home, all the wires were cut (of course) But a few feet of 25 pair, and punch tool got the key system part working, on to the rotary dial intercom. It took a while to figure it out, but got that working too.

Well a month goes by, and I want more phones, touchtone would be great I thought. So I called a telephone company near by, I had bought a 564 from a few years before. I was told by the gent on the phone, he was in the process of selling out, and I said well I'm interested in some 1A2 key stuff, to that he replied oh I have that stuff in a warehouse and don't even do anything with it anymore. What did you want? He said, I'm looking for phones I said... A bit of quiet, and he said tell you what Since I'm outta here in a few weeks, and I know the company buying mine doesn't want any of that old stuff, Ill make you a deal. Ill sell you everything I have. I said how much, another quiet moment $200.00 he said. I thought for a bit and said how many phones and parts?
I said, A LOT he said, I stared off this company installing and repairing that equipment, so its fifteen plus years of stuff. I asked where it was located, he said a storage place in Meredith. He said when you coming to get it...  I said let me talk with my boss about some time off and Ill  get back with you in an hour.

I talked with my wife, and then decided we could go on vacation The following week, so I called the guy back and said Monday, next week. He said good, because I'm closing that week, so I won't even mention that stuff. So Monday morning comes, I'm excited as a kid in a toy store, I had a big mini van and was trying to decide to take it the seats in the back. Well I'm glad I did, because I filled it to the brim. I don't think I could have fit another set in there.
I ended up with over two hundred 10 button desk sets, wall sets. Some 554's and 2554's the six button sets amounted to around 75 or 80.
Brand new sets KSU's and parts coming out the windows of my basement.

The bumper or my mini van was dragging on the road every little bump I hit. What wasn't good for whole sets, I parted out. Made several dozen good phones, and offered them to the ATCA crew, Cheap. Because I was so inundated with equipment I just wanted to dwindle the pile as quick as I could.
I still have parts from that hoard, the cream of the crop. It was a LOT of work cleaning and listing and packing the phones. But what a BLAST!
KEN