GPO No. 2

[Wallphone]

Thanks Dave, That might be the one I was looking for.
Doug Pav

[GG]

If you can find a base on Ebay, pounce on it. 

If you can't find one any other way, you could see if a local machine shop could produce one for you: for example by taking a piece of steel of appropriate thickness, cutting a circle of the correct diameter, sanding the edges smooth, and drilling a hole in the center.  That could be powder-coated black, and equipped with any kind of nonstick material on the bottom, and would serve the purpose and look OK. 

[LarryInMichigan]

The base cover on my GPO 150 is not a simple piece of metal.  It is very thick, and one section is thicker than the rest, presumably to provide a counterweight for the receiver.  It has a small notch in the back for a bump in the base to orientate it properly.

Larrry

[wds]

I had already thought of the piece of steel, but decided to purchase a correct cover for cosmetic and originality reasons.  However, the thought of using a piece of 1/4" thick steel brought back memory's - when I was a kid, we had the occasional problem of local kids whacking our mailbox on Friday night with baseball bats, so we made a mailbox out of 1/4" steel tube, 10 or 12 inches round, welded a back and a nice swivel on the front with flag, and mounted it on a section of railroad rail, and dug a 4' hole, mounted in concrete.  It stopped the mailboxing.  A few months after we installed it, I was across the street with some friends, and watched some idiot try to run the mailbox over with his car.  It completely stopped the car, with no damage to the mailbox. 

[LarryInMichigan]

If some juvenile delinquent tries to run down your GPO candlestick, He's in for trouble

[GG]

WDS - yes, when I lived in the rural parts, we had that problem too, so we got a post office box at the local post office (one that the pests in Congress probably want to close right now). 

However, the best solution short of what you did, was a neighbor who set up three mailboxes in a row.  In the center was a real one, to receive the mail.  The outer two were filled with solid concrete, and of course the doors to those were closed to hide what was inside. 

From what I heard, someone who tried to whack that one broke his arm.  Thereby putting an end to the entire local mailbox-whacking problem for a while anyway.

--

Meanwhile, I'm looking for a GPO 150 with Siemens ("bulldog") transmitter and #10 dial, all solid black except the dial could be black or chrome.  Found a very good candidate and missed it by way of goofing up the interpretation of the time from AM to PM.   

[wds]

I've been looking for one of those for a while.  I see them on the Ebay.UK website, but the shipping is a deal stopper for me.

[wds]

I found the correct base for the GPO, complete with a white rubber ring, and the side of it is nickel plated.  The phone it came off of was nickel also.  Had to go to UK for the item, so the shipping was a little high, but now I have a correct base.  Now I just need a diaphragm for the receiver. 

[wds]

I rounded up all the missing parts, and repainted the steel parts, and it looks pretty nice now.  I'm on the hunt for a good 150 to keep it company.  The receiver arm is marked "F".  I thought you Wolverines might get a kick out of this picture.  My phones are now encroaching on my small shrine to OSU - that picture is of the dedication of the Ohio Stadium, Oct. 21, 1922.  OSU 0, Michigan 19.  

[wds]

I picked up another GPO, but I haven't found any markings yet.  It's either a 150, or maybe just a No. 2 with the dial added.  Nice phone, and it came with a "Whisper It" glass mouthpiece.  I think the value of the mouthpiece pretty much equals what I paid for the phone.  The dial is either a #10, or more likely a #8.  Nice catch I think.  Anyone know where I can get the dial card ring?

[Wallphone]

There are snap on number rings used on some North dials like the ones on the Galion phones. Have you tried one of them yet? What is the diameter of the metal disk that it snaps on to?
Doug Pav

[wds]

I found some printing on the fingerstop, which I had to use a magnifying glass to read.  "Siemens Bros London"  The dial plate is 1 1/4" across - the smallest dial ring I have is the mercedes #23 ring, and it's 1 1/2" across.  

[Wallphone]

I don't have anything that small. The North's are even larger than 1 1/2" so that won't work.
Doug Pav

[GG]

That dial was almost certainly added to a nondial desk stand, per the adaptor cup under it.  GPO 150 had the dial mounting integrally stamped into the base, so what you have is earlier. 

The small number retainers are notoriously difficult to find; however, KTAS phones have them on their dials.  The problem is finding a KTAS phone that's wrecked out and suitable for parts only, and has one. 

The simple solution for the dial is to replace the fingerwheel & number retainer with the more recent variety that takes the larger number cards.  Keep the old parts around for whenever you can come up with the original retainer. 

Another possibility for where this phone came from:

I've never seen one of those glass mouthpieces on an actual GPO-UK desk stand; I've mostly seen them on US phones.  Those English desk stands (Siemens Bros., Ericsson) were used widely in Central and South America in the early 20th century; I once refurbed a batch that came out of Argentina or somewhere near there, for someone who was selling them at flea markets.  So it's possible this one was used somewhere in the Americas, and that may explain the unusual combination of parts. 

[LarryInMichigan]

Dave,

Can you show us how the finger wheel looks underneath the round center piece?

Larry