Ivory 741 Restoration - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Ryan_1993 · 27th Aug 2014, 5:58 pm

Hello All, I'm just posting a few shots of the restoration of my 741, I got from Newark over the weekend for £10. Overall a pretty decent buy. I know cream/ivory is not the most desirable colour, but I'm pleased with it.

Just waiting for the extra long handset cord to arrive and this restoration will be complete.

Nickthedentist · 27th Aug 2014, 6:53 pm

Looks fantastic, Ryan.

Extra long handset cords were an American thing, I think, but no harm in fitting one if it makes it more useful and looks smarter.

I suspect you could restore your existing cord to some extent if you were willing to play around with it.

Nick.

Ryan_1993 · 27th Aug 2014, 8:06 pm

Thanks a lot

the cord is a bit grubby and a bit stretched out, really looks in a bad way. I always tend to replace the handset cords, seems to make a world of difference to the final thing.

This was what I got http://www.antiquetelephones.co.uk/c...set_cords.html. Just thought it would look better than a standard short one.

P.S am I mistaken in thinking that the 741 came with a double length cord as standard? Most of the ones I have seen all seem to have had a longer curly cord than the 746/706 desktop models.

ThePillenwerfer · 27th Aug 2014, 10:04 pm

Did it have the mounting bracket with it. They usually seem to have gone AWOL and if not that was worth the purchase price alone.

It's come up really well.

- Joe

Ryan_1993 · 28th Aug 2014, 9:03 pm

sadly it didn't have the mounting bracket, that's my next purchase. Its hung on a couple of hooks for the mean time, shouldn't drop off though.

Nickthedentist · 29th Aug 2014, 7:46 am

I think a similar bracket was used for extension bells, which seem to turn up very cheaply sometimes.

N.

Pellseinydd · 29th Aug 2014, 11:09 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan_1993

sadly it didn't have the mounting bracket, that's my next purchase. Its hung on a couple of hooks for the mean time, shouldn't drop off though.

PM me - I've got plenty of the wall brackets. I'm sure I can dig one out for you.

The 741 (and the 746 for that matter) both had the same handset cords.
Either Cord Inst No 4/88AX (Colour) 10 inch or Cord Instrument No 4/116AX (Colour) 200mm. They didn't have long handset cords - all extensible cords for the Handset No 3 were originally 10 inch for the earlier versions with the later metric version being 200mm (un-extended) according to the GPO's 'Vocabulary of Engineering Stores' Without digging out an early 706 with a 'Grebe' non-extensible cord, I couldn't tell you the length but not that long.

27th Aug 2014, 5:58 pm	#1
Ryan_1993 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 329	Ivory 741 Restoration Hello All, I'm just posting a few shots of the restoration of my 741, I got from Newark over the weekend for £10. Overall a pretty decent buy. I know cream/ivory is not the most desirable colour, but I'm pleased with it. Just waiting for the extra long handset cord to arrive and this restoration will be complete. Attached Thumbnails

27th Aug 2014, 6:53 pm	#2
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,844	Re: Ivory 741 Restoration Looks fantastic, Ryan. Extra long handset cords were an American thing, I think, but no harm in fitting one if it makes it more useful and looks smarter. I suspect you could restore your existing cord to some extent if you were willing to play around with it. Nick.

27th Aug 2014, 8:06 pm	#3
Ryan_1993 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 329	Re: Ivory 741 Restoration Thanks a lot the cord is a bit grubby and a bit stretched out, really looks in a bad way. I always tend to replace the handset cords, seems to make a world of difference to the final thing. This was what I got http://www.antiquetelephones.co.uk/c...set_cords.html. Just thought it would look better than a standard short one. P.S am I mistaken in thinking that the 741 came with a double length cord as standard? Most of the ones I have seen all seem to have had a longer curly cord than the 746/706 desktop models.

27th Aug 2014, 10:04 pm	#4
ThePillenwerfer Octode Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 1,453	Re: Ivory 741 Restoration Did it have the mounting bracket with it. They usually seem to have gone AWOL and if not that was worth the purchase price alone. It's come up really well. - Joe __________________ "Experts are only good at one thing: explaining why something will not work!"

28th Aug 2014, 9:03 pm	#5
Ryan_1993 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 329	Re: Ivory 741 Restoration sadly it didn't have the mounting bracket, that's my next purchase. Its hung on a couple of hooks for the mean time, shouldn't drop off though.

29th Aug 2014, 7:46 am	#6
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,844	Re: Ivory 741 Restoration I think a similar bracket was used for extension bells, which seem to turn up very cheaply sometimes. N.