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BT Answering and Recording machine 101A....

Started by JubileeCompact, March 29, 2014, 02:21:42 AM

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JubileeCompact

Hi Guys
I know it's not a phone but obviously it's related lol. Won this on Ebay and as the seller says this is BT's first answering machine that also recorded a message from the caller despite the fact other companies had done them for several years..... Wonder why it was never issued.........
Seamus
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GPO-Telephones-Answering-and-Recording-Set-No-101A-unused-/201057287263
Seamus

JubileeCompact

Seamus

Matilo Telephones

What year was this made? Looks like 90ies to me? Wouldn´t that be late for issuing an answering machine for the first time?

PTT had them since 1980 or thereabouts.

Great find by the way!
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

Matilo Telephones

Never mind, I read just now it was introduced in 1980. :-\
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

twocvbloke

I was looking at that myself (was more interested in the pair of electronic magneto phones they had, they went way beyond what I'd pay!!), it's funny to think that it took the GPO/BT so long to issue a recording TAM to customers considering they had been available in other countries for so long, but I guess it's cos they just liked having a closed system that they controlled, and frivolous gadgetry wasn't allowed because they said so... ???

Matilo Telephones

Yes, in the good old days the post office was god.

I have a PTT folder explaining the you could get an extra extention for your one phone, but only I you wanted to move your phone around from one room to another. Of course you were not supposed to connect up a phone you bought yourself.

Another folder from 1972 states that you needed special permission to connect up extra equipment like a recording device of an answering machine.
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

twocvbloke

Quote from: Matilo Telephones on March 29, 2014, 03:53:24 AM
Yes, in the good old days the post office was god.

I have a PTT folder explaining the you could get an extra extention for your one phone, but only I you wanted to move your phone around from one room to another. Of course you were not supposed to connect up a phone you bought yourself.

Yep, it was a rather dictatorial time, but, I guess it helped keep the lines working, unlike today where BT (or technically Openreach, who now runs the copper & fibre lines) only seem to care when a customer is completely disconnected, like we were a couple of times due to old, worn out copper wires snapping recently... ???

As for the extensions, that's basically like how the Plan 4 option worked here, you had one phone on a plug 420 or 505, and the appropriate jacks located round the house, with a bellset permanently wired in so the line always had a load when the phone was unplugged, you could add extra phones, but that requires more complicated wiring, as it was all wired in series, unlike today where it is all parallel with the BT type socket... :)

I keep meaning to set up a Plan 4 demo with my Ivory 746, I just need to get myself a Bellset no. 50A or C to match, though the N4506 diagram states the use of Bellset No. 26, the 50 series, being based on a 700 series phone itself (think of a WE302 converted to a Subset with a custom cover, it's that sort of setup), matches the 700 series phones better in my opinion... :)

JubileeCompact

Hey guys
Got a message back from the seller - although it was refurbished in 1983 it's still fitted with a plug 420 so he's finding a socket ( I actually have one but wasn't saying lol). I'd love to know if this was ever branded Post Office Telecommunications as I believe the British Telecom branding was introduced in 1980 although it didn't split from the PO until the following year...
Seamus
Seamus

twocvbloke

That's pretty good of the seller to find you a 95A to go with the machine, I'm watching a few of their other items, just to see if I can get something... ;D