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Only wanted two 50's or 60's desk phones and a pay phone but phoneitis kicked in

Started by ramegoom, August 10, 2017, 02:19:47 PM

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ramegoom

I'm new to this whole phone thing. I recently found a beautiful 551A switchboard that's intact, and want to make it work.

SO

I am looking for two black phones, nothing special, but got to look decent and be fully functional. And, I'd also like to add a pay phone with a bell setup, again, not museum quality  but something that looks decent - and MUST have keys for every lock. Also, I'm trying to find a red WE handset that goes on a "Fire" phone (there's a black handset on it now). Must be functional.

Talk to me if you have what I am looking for.
John

Alex G. Bell

Look for local thrift shops.  Often there are rotary and Touch Tone desk sets there for little money.

ramegoom

I did stop at two different places, and the stuff I found looked like they had been in the battlefield during WWII. Had to really look at them just to determine if they were actually phones....terrible condition on both counts. SO,

Hoping someone here on the list has an overflow of run-of-the-mill stuff that they'd want to part with.


ramegoom

Considering Ebay. There are a few that caught my interest...but no one seems to have "tested and working" in their description. I'm a little leery about something that I admittedly don't know a whole lot about.

Still, this is hanging me up, so I am in pursuit. Ideally, someone here will come through.

HarrySmith

The majority of them will work just fine. Most people do not have a landline anymore to test them or do not know how to hook one up. If you stick with Western Electric they are pretty much bullet proof. A model 302 or 500 should fit your needs.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Alex G. Bell

Quote from: ramegoom on August 10, 2017, 05:52:05 PM
Considering Ebay. There are a few that caught my interest...but no one seems to have "tested and working" in their description. I'm a little leery about something that I admittedly don't know a whole lot about.

Still, this is hanging me up, so I am in pursuit. Ideally, someone here will come through.
You will pay much more for something described as working because of the time and effort required by the seller to make that claim and be able to stand behind it.

Alex G. Bell

Quote from: ramegoom on August 10, 2017, 04:01:38 PM
I did stop at two different places, and the stuff I found looked like they had been in the battlefield during WWII. Had to really look at them just to determine if they were actually phones....terrible condition on both counts. SO,

Hoping someone here on the list has an overflow of run-of-the-mill stuff that they'd want to part with.
Patience (as usual) will be rewarded.  Stuff dribbles into thrift shops completely unpredictably.  Don't judge by what you saw in a single visit.  I've seen junk and I've seen gems.  Antique shops too, though black 500 sets are considered "retro" and people sometimes ask outlandish amounts for them.

If you really want to do it right, get something "period" like a 202 set and a desk stand.  You might find a common 20AL or 40AL manual desk stand at a moderate price on eBay because phones which do not have dials are less attractive to people who want to use them.  On a manual switchboard with no CO trunks connected a manual phone is actually "correct".  Even with a CO trunk, in hospitality installations the attendant ("operator") always dialed the calls for the guests anyway.  You need to be aware though that desk stands and 202 sets require a separate subset, so it's more complicated than hooking up a 302 or 500 set.

Greg G.

The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

ramegoom

Well, since August, I had managed to find ten phones, all various types, and most of them Western Electric. I have also gotten the switchboard to work - PERFECTLY - so now all of the phones are connected and networked thru a 66 punchdown block.

Just this week, I found a very cool Kellogg phone with a subset and a crank. Supposedly, I can use this one on one of the CO lines as an outside caller.

Learned an awful lot in a short time about how these phones work, and it's all looking real good now. Added a couple of 80's touch tone phones only because they were inexpensive and fill the gap. Here's what my game room looks like with the phones positioned in various places. And, there's more lines than can be used....



.....


Pourme

Yep!

Definitely Phoneitis, positive diagnosis.

Nice looking display in a nice game room! Enjoy!
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

RB