News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Not so “RARE” phones, phony items and other such fakery on eBay

Started by Phonesrfun, March 17, 2011, 01:36:48 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

wds

I guess I drew the short straw and didn't know it!  I'll let you know about the cord when the phone arrives.
Dave

TelePlay

Here's another one to straighten out. The seller listed it as a "BRASS HANDSET HEAD ANTIQUE VINTAGE WESTERN ELECTRIC Candlestick Telephone PHONE" with a BIN price of $550 and described it as "Connect yourself with the past with this amazing antique Candlestick phone from Western Electric. A great piece of history and a remarkable condition for the age display piece. This amazing piece has been checked out by my vintage electronics repair specialist, and while he did not have a phone jack to test all its working abilities did verify both transducers are fine. I hooked up a jack on it and after taking it home I took it to a neighbors to verify operation I found that the ringer box did ring and I was able to hear the other person on the phone... I was not able to verify that they could hear me; however, I may have hooked up the jack on the wrong terminals.  At any rate this looks like it was updated at one time as the capacitor in the handset looks newer. The cord is in great shape as well for the age. WINNING BIDDER WILL RECEIVE EVERYTHING PICTURED. PLEASE SEE PICTURES FOR CONDITION."

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281153662215

Some of it is WE but some of it is not. I'm sure our members can help the seller, who put a lot into listing this stick, as well as any potential buyer know what this phone really is. So, what do we have here?

AE_Collector

His "BRASS HANDSET HEAD ANTIQUE VINTAGE WESTERN ELECTRIC Candlestick Telephone PHONE" or whatever the heck it is looks just like my GPO 150 Candlestick phone!

This amazing piece has been checked out by my vintage electronics repair specialist, and while he did not have a phone jack to test all its working abilities did verify both transducers are fine.

You sort of have to feel bad for his vintage electronics repair specialist since he doesn't have a jack to thouroughly test everything out. I guess he just connected it to his oscilloscope for awhile, then tested it thoroughly with his VOM and finally ran an insulation breakdown test on it before giving it his stamp of approval. Then he headed off to his next job patching pot holes in the road conveniently located just a couple of blocks away.

Terry

TelePlay

 ;)

The WE parts seem to me to be the subset sans cover and maybe the receiver element, based on what seems to be the letters WE on the back side bottom of the receiver element, just below and to the left of the green capacitor?

wds

With the exception of the receiver element, it looks like a nice GPO candlestick- although the price is about $450 too high.

Got the phone with the extensicord, and it's in real nice condition.  The cord seems to be made for that style handset, and since I don't have any phones that take that handset it's going on Ebay.  I can make use of the other parts, so I'm still on the hunt for a good cheap extensicord for my old style handset.
Dave

AE_Collector

So it is a 3 conductor cord, right? On the handset end does it have a short conductor for the transmitter, a long conductor to go up to the receiver and the third conductor is long but also has a spade at the transmitter end? IE, two spades on the common conductor at the handset end.

That is how the early cords were on the early type 81 handsets which this one looks to be. Well, except that they were usually vinyl cords with green, red & yellow conductors. This must have been used as the first retractile handset cord on AE 80, 90 etc when they still normally had straight handset cords. I haven't seen an Extensicord set up for the type 81 handset before.

You looked closely to confirm that the two receiver leads aren't short jumpers to to the handset cord terminated on screw terminals under the transmitter cap?

What do you want for it, with or without the handset?

Terry

wds

I'll try to describe it - two short leads for the transmitter side.  One of the short leads splits and has a long lead to go to the receiver.  Then a 3rd long lead for the transmitter.  Very nice cord - wish I could make it work on the AE40 handset without modifying the cord.  
Dave

AE_Collector

So they crimped two conductors into the one spade so that it could continue to the receiver or does it actually "Y" into two leads, a short and a long (that sounds like someone's Magneto party line code) one? The slightly newer cords had a special in-line spade crimped onto the green conductor which travelled through the spade and continued on to it's next stop at the receiver.

Terry

wds

Here's a picture of the cord with the short lead attached to the transmitter and the long lead going up to the receiver.  
Dave

AE_Collector

Yes that is exactly the way they did the vinyl 3 conductor cords for the new type 81 handset were arranged where the leads could now be fed through the handle to the receiver. I had never seen an Extensicord set up for a type 81 handset before.

Terry

JorgeAmely

Quote from: wds on August 19, 2013, 06:46:58 PM
... snip ... I'm still on the hunt for a good cheap extensicord for my old style handset.

Try Steve, the dial guy from AZ (http://www.navysalvage.com/).
I bought a few from him years ago.
Jorge

AE_Collector

Yes Steve used to have them for $30 to $35 NIB. Then he was out, then he found some more but that was awhile ago. Someone usually has one on ebaY for something like $85! Probably got them from Steve.

Terry

TelePlay

From the category of "Not knowing a telephone dial from a handset" comes this offering on eBay.

"-> ANTIQUE BRASS TELEPHONE BELL RINGER GREAT SOUND NICE PATINA <-"


Actually, I would jump at this if it was all there. It's missing the square shaft, plate and butterfly knob that would be on the other side of the door to make this a very nice, vintage manual door bell. But it doesn't so I won't. There is nothing "telephone" about this item.

twocvbloke

Yep, definitely a doorbell, I once found one in a theatre's props and it took a while to figure it out, but on the one I found,  you turned the gong to wind it up, and a rod on the back of the button that would have been on the door pressed the release thing and it rang, quite clever fot an era when electric bells were uncommon.... :D

rdelius

Phoneco used to sell similar door bells to mount into wooden telephones to simulate a magnito. A crank was kluged in place of the turn key