Strange two tone(?!) transparent Trimline phone

[AdamAnt316]

Hello everyone. This past weekend, I was prowling around the local flea market as I often do, and what should I come across but a transparent plastic Western Electric Trimline phone. At closer glance, while both halves are transparent, they're made of two different colors of see-through plastic. The handset, a presumed 2220B bearing mold marks and component dates from 1969, bears a housing in what appears to be Western Electric's typical -29 transparent color; the base, an AD3 from 1978, is instead within a transparent housing with a much darker tint, which I've never seen on any of the photos of transparent WE phones available online. Here are a couple of photos:

 
As you can see, there is no handset cord included. The handset bears a socket for the usual 'maxi' handset plug normally seen on older Trimline phones, while the base has its presumed maxi socket filled with what appears to be a 227D modular adapter, plus a modular line cord jack underneath the base. Exactly what sort of handset cord would've been used to connect the two halves is unknown, as is what might've happened to said cord. In any case, I don't think I did too badly for $10.
-Adam

[Doug Rose]

Wonderful find! You done good.....Doug

[Jim Stettler]

That is a great find at a great price.

Years ago I was able to find the plastics for a smoke tint trimline at the Kansas show.
It came from a yard sale in Indy.
It was the only smoke tint trimline I had seen.

in 2018 I got a smoke tint trimline thru Craigslist for $40. That set came from CA.
Here is the thread about the purchase.
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20335.msg208284#msg208284


Your smoke tint base is the only other smoke tint WE I have seen
NT made a smoke tint 2500e and  a novelty set in smoke tint.
>>edit to add 1981 NT thread<<edit
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=24761.msg245411#msg245411

That is a really cool find.
Jim

[Jim Stettler]

I was also noticing that this set is an IC based trimline. You can tell by the grey plastic cover inside the handset.


The IC based trimlines had a variety of plastic (Faraday cages?) covers over the IC.

The early sets had none. Later sets had grey plastic, or thin clear plastic over the IC.
Early sets had a clear IC then the IC went gray and then the used black IC's,

The most common IC trimlines are round button rebuilt sets starting around 1975.
Originally they made some 10 and 12 button IC trimlines around 1968-69


Here is a photo of a 1969 clear IC based trimline.
They changed the inside configuration on the later IC based trimlines,
Jiim

[AdamAnt316]

Thanks for the replies!

That is a great find at a great price.

Years ago I was able to find the plastics for a smoke tint trimline at the Kansas show.
It came from a yard sale in Indy.
It was the only smoke tint trimline I had seen.

in 2018 I got a smoke tint trimline thru Craigslist for $40. That set came from CA.
Here is the thread about the purchase.
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20335.msg208284#msg208284


Your smoke tint base is the only other smoke tint WE I have seen
NT made a smoke tint 2500e and  a novelty set in smoke tint.
>>edit to add 1981 NT thread<<edit
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=24761.msg245411#msg245411

That is a really cool find.
Jim

Interesting! I didn't know there was a name for the 'dark transparent' color of this base, but "smoke" makes sense. Guessing it's something WE was looking into as an alternative to the plain black telephone, but it didn't make it past the testing stages.

I'm still wondering how this conglomeration got together. Obviously, the transparent/smoke combo wasn't an intended offering, at least as far as I know. My best guess is that a phone man found the smoke-colored base, mated it with a more conventional -29 handset which may have also been hanging around, and 'liberated' the set. Just wish he'd grabbed something resembling a matching handset cord to join the two...

I was also noticing that this set is an IC based trimline. You can tell by the grey plastic cover inside the handset.


The IC based trimlines had a variety of plastic (Faraday cages?) covers over the IC.

The early sets had none. Later sets had grey plastic, or thin clear plastic over the IC.
Early sets had a clear IC then the IC went gray and then the used black IC's,

The most common IC trimlines are round button rebuilt sets starting around 1975.
Originally they made some 10 and 12 button IC trimlines around 1968-69


Here is a photo of a 1969 clear IC based trimline.
They changed the inside configuration on the later IC based trimlines,
Jiim

Again, interesting! I'm fairly certain that the innards of this phone are from 1969, as both the receiver and transmitter bear dates from that year, as does the mold mark inside the transparent shell. The only other round button touch-tone Trimline sets I own are a pair of 10-button models, and I haven't looked too far inside to see what sort of circuitry is behind the dial. What sort of circuitry was used in the pre-IC models? Is there a way to take the gray cover off of the dial in this transparent Trimline to see what's behind there without destroying it? Once again, thanks!
-Adam

[Jim Stettler]

I use the term smoke tint. I don't know the official name.

Most of the round button trimlines and all the square button sets were made with standard 'potted' TT technology. There are 2 'pots' on the back of the dial to adjust the frequency of the row tone and the column tone.
IC based sets use a tone generating IC chip.

Most of the IC Trimlines I have noticed are rebuilt sets starting around 1975.





AS far as color of this set.
I think it was originally a smoke tint trimline and the plastic got cracked.
Someone used a transparent trimline to rebuild the set.

The other guess is someone got a transparent handset and eventually a smoke tint base housing and combined them together.

Just a guess.
Jim