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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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30th Jan 2021, 4:53 pm | #1 |
Triode
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
Posts: 18
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A GPO 332... Or is it?
Afternoon All,
Following on from my thread a few months ago concerning my experiments with a LiGo Bluewave and a GPO 746, I am currently selling the 746 and have purchased a Bell (Belgian?) Instrument and what appears to be a GPO 332. It was advertised on eBay as a "Vintage 1950s/60s Black Bakelite Phone" so I was suspicious that it may be one of the later Indian ones rather than a GPO or Ericsson original. The price was reasonable though so I bid for it and won. It arrived and once I'd cleaned it up and looked inside its age was immediately apparent, but I'm still not convinced that it's a GPO instrument. There's no reference to the GPO, or the number 332, anywhere on the machine. The label on the dial is non-standard, reading "Listen before calling" then "Pull dial round to stop & let go", "No.15" (Number is handwritten) then informs me that it's a GEC-Manufactured instrument. There's also the remains of a label on the front of the bakelite body. GEC is moulded into the handset. My guess is, therefore, that it's a GEC product to the same spec as the 332 but instead sold for the private/internal telephone system market. I'm not sure whether this affects its value at all but would be interested to find out. I'll possibly post some photos later if I can work out how. At any rate it's polished up nicely and works as well as any of my other 'phones, though the dial is a tad loud. |
30th Jan 2021, 8:01 pm | #2 |
Octode
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saltburn-East, Cleveland, UK.
Posts: 1,786
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Hi, I suppose technically there is no such thing as an official "GPO telephone" manufactured in its own right, as it were, as they were all made under licence (I think) by manufacturers such as GEC, Plessey, Ericsson, Pye, Ferranti etc. the GPO assigning their own model number range to them.
Is this phone perhaps similar to yours? There's some more information on the link in that picture. Regards Andrew |
30th Jan 2021, 8:34 pm | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Penrith, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 3,687
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
What's stamped on the handset lozenge? Indian ITI telephones have the components attached to the base-plate: British instruments have a chassis with bells, ASTIC and capacitors attached, secured by three screws.
Has it a number on the bottom preceded by an 'N'?
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Regds, Russell W. B. G4YLI. |
30th Jan 2021, 8:46 pm | #4 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,130
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Quote:
Do you mean the mechanical sounds from the dial or that it creates loud clicks in the receiver. If the latter, it may be that the "dial-off-normal" contacts of the dial which short out the receiver aren't making good electrical contact.
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Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) |
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31st Jan 2021, 7:33 pm | #5 | |
Triode
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
Posts: 18
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Quote:
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31st Jan 2021, 7:37 pm | #6 | |
Triode
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
Posts: 18
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Quote:
There is no number on the bottom of the chassis. The only markings read "WHEN RE-ORDERING QUOTE TEL/IP/ATS. |
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31st Jan 2021, 7:38 pm | #7 | ||
Triode
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
Posts: 18
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Quote:
Loud mechanical sounds on the dial. |
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31st Jan 2021, 8:57 pm | #8 | ||
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Penrith, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 3,687
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Quote:
Look forward to the photos.
__________________
Regds, Russell W. B. G4YLI. |
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1st Feb 2021, 9:23 pm | #9 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 805
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Re: A GPO 332... Or is it?
Quote:
ST 3504 (TEL/1P/ATS) 332 Automatic Non-Director areas https://britishtelephones.com/gec/tel1p.htm https://britishtelephones.com/gec/st3500.htm |
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