Thread Number: 73218
/ Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
1984-earlier telephones,MA bell era... |
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Post# 967213 , Reply# 2   11/10/2017 at 19:30 (2,329 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)   |   | |
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My mother and I both worked for the phone company. I have several original Bell dial phones and one orange trimline. Keep two hooked up that always work if the power goes out, like twice in the last 12 days over half a million here lost their power as up here, you cant trust cell coverage. So I will keep my landline that has gone from Ma Bell, to AT&T, to Lucent, to Verizon, to Fairpoint and now Consolidated in less than 20 years.
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Post# 967227 , Reply# 4   11/10/2017 at 20:30 (2,329 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.)   |   | |
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I've got a Stromberg-Carlson version of a Trimline, that seems as well made as a Western Elecrtric, though I'm no expert.
I've looked over the years at some much older phones on EBay, like a Kellogg Redbar from the Forties, or some of the fancy "movie star" Stromberg-Carlsons from the Thirties, but they always seemed too expensive to pull the trigger. |
Post# 967238 , Reply# 7   11/10/2017 at 21:43 (2,329 days old) by speedqueen (Metro-Detroit)   |   | |
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Post# 967245 , Reply# 9   11/10/2017 at 23:50 (2,329 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 967246 , Reply# 10   11/11/2017 at 00:21 (2,329 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 967247 , Reply# 11   11/11/2017 at 00:35 (2,329 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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I bought a rotary Ericofon on ebay a while back. I thought it would be perfect in the den. It turned out to have switch hook issues and was so flimsy that attempting to correct the problem resulted in breakage. I decided that if they were so poorly made, I wouldn't pursue another one.
That was just another affirmation of WECo's superiority in the telephone instrument arena. Except for the Panasonic cordless/answering machine combo and the wall mount Trimline touchtone (an early model with round buttons) in the kitchen, all of my phones are WECo rotaries (or manual) and they all work. The oldest dates back to 1931, an oval base D1 type with retrofitted E1 handset and noisy 4H dial, connected to a 1931 ringer subset model 554C. The ringer is disabled, since this phone is in the guest bedroom. I have a few 302 models, the oldest dated 1938 with metal case. I have several 500s, all of them black with metal finger wheels and bakelite handsets. The oldest one is dated October 1950, when the 500 was still in very limited and haphazard production and the network block didn't yet have an integrated equalizer, and sits on my desk as a daily driver. There is no question IMO that the 500's G1 handset is the most comfortable and well designed type ever produced. I like the feel of it in my hand, the heaviness of the bakelite, and the solid sound it makes when placed back into a soft plastic cradle.
I own one white late '50s Princess that includes separate ringer and AC adapter for the dial light. It's not being used currently. I also have an early '30s 201A "space saver" mounted on the wall above the work bench in my garage shop. It's a manual type (no dial) so is used for incoming calls only. It's just a box for the switch hook and handset connections, with cradle for the handset to hang from. The cradle is designed for an early type E1 handset, but will accommodate the later F1 type, which is what I had on hand to use with it. The dial version was typically found under counters or in bars. I have that set connected to a 634A ringer subset, but since I have a 500 on a nearby desk that rings loudly, I disabled the subset's ringer.
Other miscellaneous sets are a late '60s not-quite-modular green rotary Trimline, a '70s brown simulated alligator rotary desk set with K-type handset, a clean 1936 manual D1 oval base with F1 handset, and various other rotary Trimlines.
The two unusual WECo items are teamed up in the den. The phone is a model 5302, which was produced after the 500 models were launched. Demand for the 500 was overwhelming and exceeded supply for several years, particularly because it featured ringer volume control, which had never before been offered. WECo had tons of 302 models that had fallen out of favor, so they designed a new case for them that resembled the 500 and modified the ringer so it could be adjusted. They issued 5302s in place of 500s and subscribers were in large part none the wiser. Some 5302s had the old style F1 handsets, which looked out of place on a 500 case. Others (like mine) used the newer G1 handset that was retrofitted with F1 transmitter and receiver elements. Just another way Ma Bell got every last bit of mileage out of their equipment. I like the 5302 for its legacy of deceptive marketing and clever adaptation.
The one drawback to the 5302 is the ringer itself. It sounds clunky and not as pleasing as a 500 ringer. For this reason, I disabled the ringer and connected a '60s vintage WECo chime box along the baseboard near the 5302. Problem solved.
The only thing I need to watch is how many ringers that are active. I'm at my limit currently for what the line voltage will support. If I connect another ringer, the chime won't work and will revert to a regular ring that's very loud. If I wanted the shop 201's subset to ring, I'd have to disable at least two other ringers somewhere else.
I'm pretty much done buying phones, although it's tempting when I come across a WECo phone in a thrift store. If anything, I need to get rid of some phones!
Here are some pictures of a few of my phones. Except for the manual D1 oval base, all are currently in service.
1: 1950 500 2: 1931 D1 3: 1938 302 (metal) 4: 1936 D1 (manual) 5: 193? 201A (manual)
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Post# 967290 , Reply# 16   11/11/2017 at 08:17 (2,329 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)   |   | |
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IEJ--exactly right about Ericsson. They had a large presence in Latin America landline service (the business was to a degree split up between them and ITT). In Stockholm, Sweden is the Telephone Museum which was very interesting to tour (given my background working in that business)...Ericsson is to Sweden what AT&T is to the US (and what Northern Telecom/Nortel is to Canada). Being in the business for the last 25 years--it's been a great run!
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Post# 967315 , Reply# 17   11/11/2017 at 11:29 (2,329 days old) by Johnb300m (Chicago)   |   | |
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johnrk, I've watches those old ATT vids too! Very fascinating.
The whole production they did when the NYC exchange burned down, really showed the Bell system at its best. (Of course that was their propaganda point)....nevertheless, they pulled it off! I dont' know any company today that could recover from a catastrophe like that today. The vid where the woman had a literal meltdown because her named exchange was going to 7 numbers was hilarious too. LOL. |
Post# 967317 , Reply# 18   11/11/2017 at 11:39 (2,329 days old) by 48bencix (Sacramento CA)   |   | |
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I got this one a year ago on EBay. I used these phones in business in the 1980's. I like the style.
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Post# 967322 , Reply# 19   11/11/2017 at 12:41 (2,329 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Hooking up vintage telephones is easy. I can walk you through it, or you can search through the Classic Rotary Phones site's forums for information (access via link below). CLICK HERE TO GO TO rp2813's LINK |
Post# 967342 , Reply# 22   11/11/2017 at 14:12 (2,329 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT)   |   | |
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Post# 967400 , Reply# 27   11/11/2017 at 19:23 (2,328 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI )   |   | |
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Post# 967403 , Reply# 28   11/11/2017 at 20:32 (2,328 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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John, I'm also running an OOMA here and upgraded so that all calls to my cell number ring through to the house. Coupled with a vintage Panasonic PBX, all the rotary phones in the house are now touchtone capable, and all ring at full strength. Plus I can call any other phone by dialing a 2-digit extension.
I've actually got a vintage outdoor phone booth from an independent (red enamel panels) that I need to setup and wire into the network. Should be fun once it's all wired up. |
Post# 967419 , Reply# 31   11/11/2017 at 23:12 (2,328 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)   |   | |
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for 3 years without incident, and heavy usage. Satisfied. |
Post# 967477 , Reply# 32   11/12/2017 at 11:52 (2,328 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)   |   | |
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there is a ~early 1960s GTE rotary model that had an electroluminescent panel lit dial (blue/green glow) one of those would be nice addition to the collection :) |
Post# 967482 , Reply# 34   11/12/2017 at 12:22 (2,328 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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I had telephone service with AT&T for 43 years and I finally got tired of their regular price increases and their terrible DSL service, so 2 years ago I switched to VOIP with Comcast. The service is 10 times better than AT&T ever was, especially the WiFi. And I don’t know how I ever got along without caller ID and all the other enhancements that are included with Comcast Voice. AT&T wanted extra for EVERYTHING, and I wasn’t willing to give one them dime more!
And since our home has prewired phone jacks in every room I wanted to still be able to use our old corded phones and not be limited to cordless only. So, I checked out several You Tube videos on how to set this up, and its really easy. I just opend up the old Bell System service box on the outside of the house and disconnected the AT&T telephone wire connections and posted a note inside that house is connected to VOIP and to NOT RECONNECT the AT&T service wires. Then I backfed the voice signal from the modem/router into the nearest phone jack inside the house, using a splitter so I could also use the jack for a corded phone. Now all the phone jacks have active voice signal. And since the modem/router has a battery backup, if the power goes out, as long as the cable signal is still active we have phone service. I will never go back to AT&T POTS. They treated me like a customer that they didn’t care about after 43 years of loyal patronage, and 43 years of paying the bill, in full, every month, on time. They are dead to me! Eddie This post was last edited 11/12/2017 at 13:09 |
Post# 967485 , Reply# 35   11/12/2017 at 13:13 (2,328 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Well Eddie, I don't want to burst your bubble, but you played right into AT&T's hands. I don't think there's a telco on the planet that wants to provide residential POTS, and that's nothing new. Residential POTS has always been a losing proposition for them. Business service has always been how telcos make their money.
Since the advent of wireless service, they're all lobbying with the FCC and state PUCs to allow them to phase out residential POTS as we know it by not requiring them to maintain the copper network. If they get their way -- and there's little reason to think they won't -- what we know today as POTS will be a wireless hybrid that doesn't require running copper from the CO. If that level of deterioration in transmission quality doesn't make people switch to VOIP, I don't know what will. |
Post# 967489 , Reply# 36   11/12/2017 at 13:44 (2,328 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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Ralph, I did what was best for us at the time. Even if we had stayed with AT&T it wouldn’t have had any influence over their eventual dismantling of the POTS. For the last year that we had them they we constantly on my ass to switch to their Uverse, which I had no desire to do. And not only that, they wanted us to pay for all the installation fees to make this change that would have benefitted them. So, you haven’t burst my bubble, I’m perfectly happy with my decision and I’m not looking back. It is too bad though that a system that worked so well for over hundred years is going to be history.
Eddie |
Post# 967495 , Reply# 38   11/12/2017 at 15:17 (2,328 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Eddie, I used to get the same thing from AT&T when I had DSL. They'd tell me U-Verse is available in my area, but it's not the real thing. It's just VOIP bundled with Direct TV, and the same low speed internet access as I got with DSL, a whopping 1.2 MBPS. Every time I'd ask them if I decided to go with U-Verse, would my internet speed be faster than 1.2 MBPS, the answer would be no, and invariably the rep had a tone of disbelief in their voice when they'd say so.
Now that I no longer have DSL, I don't call their repair service for assistance anymore, and that was when they'd make their U-Verse pitch. I switched to Comcast for high speed access and haven't looked back. However, if AT&T leapfrogs into fiber service here, I might consider it, as from what I've heard it's much faster than Comcast's best offering and far more reliable. |
Post# 967517 , Reply# 41   11/12/2017 at 17:23 (2,328 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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My sister and a friend of mine both had AT&T U-Verse and everytime I spoke with either of them on the phone the reception was terrible. And they both had problems with repeated outages, from what I could tell I believe these outages were mostly due to the inferior quality of the U-Verse equipment installed in their homes. And they both had LONG waits for someone from AT&T to get out to repair the problems.
Since I switched to Comcast, anytime I needed a tech, which has been twice, they were out the next day. And I’ve received generous credits on our acct. twice when there were some problems with the X-1 box. Comcast usually answers their phone right away and I can reach a human being with a whole lot less hassle than AT&T, and I always end up with a satisfactory resolution to whatever problem I may be having. Sure, Comcast isn’t perfect, these days perfection from any service provider is almost unknown, but they sure are a whole lot better than AT&T. And it pains me to have to feel this way about AT&T. I worked for PT&T for 3 years during the 70’s, and I was always very proud to work for them. Back then the customer was always king, and we all took pride in the work we were doing. Now dealing with AT&T as a customer is a constant run around, and the customer is anything but king. Eddie |
Post# 968110 , Reply# 43   11/15/2017 at 13:28 (2,325 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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I've had Ooma now for 3 or 4 years with no problems. I've even talked a few friends into getting it as well and so far so good they're happy with it as well,, and the big savings. I keep reading on here all the complaining about robo-calls and can't quite figure out why after telling people that Ooma gets rid of 99 percent of them, they won't buy one.. Ooma could also do with better advertising I guess. |