It's a (fat)Boy!

[LarryInMichigan]

I have been looking for a while for a SC1212 "Fatboy" for an affordable price, and when I saw one last week online for $20 plus shipping, I couldn't resist.  It arrived yesterday, and I have cleaned it up and given it a light polishing.  The bakelite is in near perfect condition, and the "Stromberg Carlson" decal on the rear is still all there though somewhat discolored.  The fabric mesh over the vents is still in place, but torn a bit.  I think that I made it worse when I washed the shell.  The phone works, though the ringer is a frequency ringer which needs to be replaced.  The rubber ring around the base is stretched out, so it is a challenge to fit the phone shell over it, but it is in otherwise excellent condition with no tears, cracks, or brittleness.  The handset which came with the phone has an unusual problem.  There is apparently a small break in one or both of the internal conductors to the receiver contacts.  The sound from the receiver would cut out and would not return until the transmitter was removed and replaced.  I am guessing that a hairline crack in the internal conductor was creating a capacitor or sorts.  I borrowed an almost identical handset from another SC phone, and the fatboy is now in business.   I think that I would like to replace the handset with one of the older curved type ones.




http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss74/LarryinMichigan/SC1212/Bottom.jpg


Larry

[Wallphone]

Larry, For some reason not all of the center plungers on the Fatboys are the same length. On the Fatboys that I have had the ones with the longer plunger couldn't use the older handsets because they wouldn't sit all the way down on the cradle. On the other Fatboy that you posted, that might just be a window that wasn't finished yet. Did you ask the seller?
Doug Pav

[LarryInMichigan]

DougPav,

Thanks for the info.  My phone has a very long plunger.  I will have to try setting my older handset on it to see how it works.

I did not ask the seller about the fatboy on ebay.  The picture looks like a big chunk was knocked out the side of the shell by the handset, but perhaps it is an illusion.  It's not likely to help sell the phone at any rate.

Larry

[LarryInMichigan]

I just did a test.  The older style handset, because of the shape of its grip, does not sit well on this phone's cradle, so I guess the fatboy will have to live with its current handset.  I still want an older style handset for my 1211 though.

Larry