One of the First Answering Machines!!

[Doug Rose]

This was the the guy who left my collection when I added the ITT Kellogg Payphone. It is really heavy, even has the manual. Just needs a power cord...Really cool but takes up too much room for me to keep....Doug

[Key2871]

Wow, that's huge. They sure have come a long way since that was made. I bet that cost some $$$.

[rdelius]

These were built before you could connect equiptment directly to the telephone lines.It tales the telephone off hoook and used an acoustic coupular  to record and  to reel tapes. I do not know tf these provided the record beeps to be legal

[AL_as_needed]

That's a really neat piece hardware. Bet that was a real game-changer back in its day, especially for business applications. 

[FABphones]

Back when I first started collecting I bought an old ansamachine. Dated (I assumed, no internet back then) from the mid-late 1970's, maybe earlier. It was a business machine and a huge rectangle - about 3 1/2 - 4ft long and a foot deep, no handset. It took small cartridges, I think for outgoing messages (I remember more than one outgoing message could be recorded), and it worked a treat.

I bought it for a few pence at a jumble sale and rang the manufacturer to see if they had any tapes. The guy on the phone was really surprised that I had it as it was so old and said he would send me the tapes for free, which he did. He said the tapes were in an old store cupboard gathering dust and I was welcome to them. I remember it could answer two incoming lines and the messages had no cut off time so they went on, and on, and on, with a number counter for each message. But I can't remember anything else about it, not even the make.

I have tried to source what it was but never found out. I vaguely remember what it looked like, that's it, so if this vague discription jogs anyones memory of a huge long ansamachine it would be interesting to find out what I had.

It disappeared during a house move.

Apol, a bit off topic but 'that's huge' reminded me if it as that's what folks used to say about mine.