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Neutered Design Line Phone

Started by compubit, February 13, 2015, 05:21:14 PM

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compubit

I just received my first "neutered" designline phone off of eBay.  The auction stated "Working", but when I plugged it in with nothing, I opened the case and it was empty...

From the outside, it looked fine - Touch Tone pad in place, modular jacks working, coiled cord dirty but functional, plungers responded.  First indication was nothing in the ringer volume slot...  Once opened, it was a nice big shell. 

It did have 2 drill holes in corners of the handset (guess they ran the drill through to damage the received elements so you couldn't use the handset elsewhere).

I got in contact with the seller and explained what happened and he refunded the money, but I'm keeping the shell for the shipping costs.  Will try to merge it with a princess - since it looks to have that form factor inside (with the translucent keypad - but with clipped wires  >:( ).  I guess it'll become a "frankenphone"...

Now to get the handset opened (it has the K1A handset - the other one I had from my Exeter had a small screw hole just below the received in the indent for the wall mount clip) - not sure how to open without destroying the plastic...

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

compubit

At lease it came with the original "AREA CODE 311  555-2368" phone number card - I've seen them for years in the ads, but never in real life.  Makes me wonder if this was a display model at the Bell Phone Center Store...

The drill holes on the handset line up with 2 on the base...  The wicker is around a nice copper sheath...

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

Adam

I'm sure some else will also chime in on this, but what you got there is the Design Line phone in it's original condition.  You see, when these were first introduced, you still had to rent your phone from the phone company, and the phone company only let their own instruments to be connected to the phone network.  So, how these worked was, you bought the Design Line phone, and then the company came to you and installed the official, Western Electric working guts to your shell.  They came with a dial filler so you would see what it looked like, the handsets were empty because the handset guts were part of the Western Electric working components that were supplied later.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

Adam

Here are some pics of the typical Western Electric guts that would be installed in these designer shells by the phone company.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

WEBellSystemChristian

I bet that was a display sample direct from Bell System. The empty internals and dial card point me to believe that.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

unbeldi

#5
Quote from: Adam on February 13, 2015, 05:37:19 PM
Here are some pics of the typical Western Electric guts that would be installed in these designer shells by the phone company.

The package with the electrical components that completed the customer supplied housing was at first (ca.1969-70) known as the F-56659 (chrome) or the F-56660 (gold) telephone kit, and later as 581A, starting ca.1971.

The kit you are showing has the gold-anodized dial, which is the F-56662 or 6U (later).

There are BSPs for that:  Section 501-410-400  and Section 503-100-120

paul-f

Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

.

compubit

The bottom has
2921A22-093
9-74
stamped on it in red, along with a big "D".

The serial number field is blank - not rubbed away - but blank.

Inside, it does have the entire metal framework with
BELL SYSTEM PROPERTY
NOT FOR SALE

2921A
stamped in red on the metal base.  No screw marks/rivet marks where the network should be.  Even has a heavy weight, similar to the old 701B Princess phones.

I'm sure it will be nice once I restore it/clean it up - just gonna have to unrivet parts from another device to get it into this phone and working...

Guessing it was a display - with the handset screwed on to the base to keep it from walking away in the store... 

I'm sure the Phone Center Store folks loved kids like me who would come into the store and insist on touching every phone on display...  ;D

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

Adam

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on February 13, 2015, 05:59:41 PM
I bet that was a display sample direct from Bell System. The empty internals and dial card point me to believe that.

No, as I said, that's the way the designer phones came when you bought them, mocked up to look complete, with non-functional dial filler and rubber (but no wires) handset cord.  These components were replaced by the phone company when they installed the guts, that I believe they also rented to you, not sold.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

compubit

I don't think any of those will fit - there's not enough space for a network and a bell in one area, due to the metal structure.  Here are pictures of the base, the inside base, and the space for the network and bell...

It's a working handset and cable (just tested it on my Cisco phone at the office), and there's a full Touch Tone network installed (with cut cables) as well as functioning line switch assembly (with cut cables) and modular jacks (with cut cables).   Looking at the BSP, if it were a phone with the innards removed, it wouldn't have the entire base - just the side panels screwed into the bottom.

Must have been a display phone...

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

jsowers

Why must it work? You have a very rare display phone there. Don't ruin it by adding back what the phone company took out. Clean it up and keep it the way it is. It's a piece of history from the Phone Store.

By the date on the bottom, it's an early example of an Accent, which makes sense. I think you're correct that it's a display model. The number card and screw holes are very good evidence. I guess they didn't stamp a special F-number on it like they did earlier display phones. Please post a pic of the complete phone once you get it cleaned up.
Jonathan

unbeldi

It's hard to tell the overall shape, because of the close-up view, but is this the ACCENT model?
The hand set was positioned over the TT dial, almost like a Princess, but the case was more brick shaped with rounded corners.

Adam

#12
OK.  Now that we see the pics, I can't tell now.  It does appear to have originally had Bell System guts since it looks like the WE guts set wouldn't fit inside it, and could have, indeed, been a floor model demonstrator.  However, in my experience, these sets were usually very clearly marked "Non-functional".
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

unbeldi

Quote from: jsowers on February 13, 2015, 07:04:59 PM
Why must it work? You have a very rare display phone there. Don't ruin it by adding back what the phone company took out. Clean it up and keep it the way it is. It's a piece of history from the Phone Store.

By the date on the bottom, it's an early example of an Accent, which makes sense. I think you're correct that it's a display model. The number card and screw holes are very good evidence. I guess they didn't stamp a special F-number on it like they did earlier display phones. Please post a pic of the complete phone once you get it cleaned up.

Ok, you are confirming my guess.  Thanks.

I agree..... why not be satisfied with the way it was intended to be used?

unbeldi

The ACCENT was among the set of five initial phones in the Design Line series.  These phones were field tested in 1973 after only a few months of design and engineering. In 1974 three model were added and by 1975 all were available across the country in phone stores.
So it seems you have a case that is very close in date to the first manufacturing batches.  It would make sense it being a sales display item.