WOW!!!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/152915190785?rmvSB=true
Can you tell the handset is actually solid colored plastic, or painted??
Looks like the whole thing is painted, including the number card holder & the fingerwheel.
Check out the other "unusual phone" this seller has. Terry might be interested!
Talk about "listed for failure"! Not putting the words Eiffel Tower or Ericsson Skeletal in the title but putting Cast Iron when I don't think there is any cast iron in it. Good start price for anyone who finds it at least.
Terry
The 205 is from an estate in West Orange, NJ. He found it in a box in the attic. There was no 684J subset, no 750A PBX, and no other phones. EBay seller said he almost didn't buy it because he usually doesn't buy phones.
I'm surprised to see it in ivory..... was this factory?, or refurb? almost looks like something from OPW.... powdercoating???
Wow, that 205 sure is something you don't see every day! :o
It looks like a factory refurb to me. The handset appears to be a brown F1, which would indicate not being a home brew. The painted fingerwheel, however, shows that it isn't original. If it were pre- '41, the fingerwheel would be polished Aluminum. 1941 or post '41, it would be clear plastic. The only exception to that rule would be if the set were painted in any of the metallic colors pre- '41.
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on February 21, 2018, 01:17:42 PM
Wow, that 205 sure is something you don't see every day! :o
It looks like a factory refurb to me. The handset appears to be a brown F1, which would indicate not being a home brew. The painted fingerwheel, however, shows that it isn't original. If it were pre- '41, the fingerwheel would be polished Aluminum. Post '41, it would be clear plastic. The only exception to that rule would be if the set were painted in any of the metallic colors pre- '41.
I think the paint was done at the WE repair shop. It's true that 4J and 5J dials had white cases and stainless steel (unpainted) finger wheels 1937-1940, and that 5Js on plastic 302s had white cases and clear finger wheels starting in 1941. However, I think a 4HB-4 (ivory case and ivory finger wheel) looks better on this phone than a 4J or 5J.
Clear plastic Fingerwheels in 1941? That amazes me! Really?
Terry
Quote from: AE_Collector on February 21, 2018, 02:41:56 PM
Clear plastic Fingerwheels in 1941? That amazes me! Really?
Terry
Yes. The color plastic 302s were introduced in 1941 with clear finger wheels.
So what is the driving factor for this phone? The fact that it's painted, or it's configuration? Just curious...
Quote from: Partyline4 on February 21, 2018, 10:28:07 PM
So what is the driving factor for this phone? The fact that it's painted, or it's configuration? Just curious...
Well, a little bit of both. The model itself is pretty hard to find, and anything ordered from Bell in any color from the '40s or earlier is desirable, regardless of a refurb or not. Color phones weren't popular at all at that time, so the fact that someone ordered a business set in color is pretty remarkable, especially since these early multilines weren't built in color from the factory.
now, this phone was designed to just work on a 1A key system, right?
Quote from: Babybearjs on February 21, 2018, 11:44:27 PM
now, this phone was designed to just work on a 1A key system, right?
Not at all. It is a 205 set to be used with a 750A PBX. There are only 8 conductors in the mounting cord: 4 as a 202 would have for connection to a subset + 4 control leads.
so, it kind of wired like a 211.... with a 6040 key switch attached....
Not like a 6040A key used with single line phone, because the 6040A has the T and R for each line extended to the 6040A, just as the 564, 464, etc. It's more like a 462 set, 466, or 566.
Rather, there is a common talk path, regardless of which line you are on. The 750A switches each phone to the appropriate line (1, 2, or 3) or dial selective intercom (L).
so it mainly like a 3 line intercom.... with all the signals come from the PBX.... Interesting....
Quote from: Babybearjs on February 22, 2018, 12:59:41 AM
so it mainly like a 3 line intercom.... with all the signals come from the PBX.... Interesting....
3 trunks + intercom.
Go to TCI library and search for
30Feb BLR P278
Went for $938.95, I had figured a grand. It is sure worth it. We will never see another again!.....Doug
Makes me fantasize about the rare treasures buried away at ex-bell employees houses and basements...It's out there, and this one will be too! One day leaving the hands of it's collector, to be passed onto someone like you and I...