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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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14th Dec 2021, 12:43 am | #1 |
Triode
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 42
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GPO telephone headsets
The telephone headset pictured had an amazingly long life, first introduced in the 1950's and used by the majority of GPO/BT operators until about 1987.
However, in the early 1980's a new type of headset was developed called the Auralite which was in use by a minority of BT operators, this had no headband and used an earpiece which went into the operator's ear canal. It wasn't as popular as you might have thought, being considered unhygienic and I knew of at least one operator who went back to using the traditional headset out of choice! I wonder if any Auralites are still in use. As for the headset in the picture, that is now certainly consigned to history and was admittedly rather cumbersome. |
14th Dec 2021, 12:55 am | #2 |
Triode
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 42
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
And here is a picture of the Auralite in all its glory, it came with a gigantic coiled cord and an operator wearing one of these could probably walk a significant length of the exchange room without taking their headset off!
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14th Dec 2021, 7:08 pm | #3 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
An amplified electret microphone in the Auralite would have a similar output to the carbon microphone in the old GPO headset. Probably higher quality audio too. Civil aircraft cockpit headsets work on much the same basis.
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14th Dec 2021, 10:19 pm | #4 |
Triode
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 42
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
Operators who used Auralite headsets found them indeed to be much better and clearer than the old type which used a carbon granule unit. I remember seeing the old type headsets in use by other organisations as well as BT on television well into the 1980s, but I don't think you would have seen any in use after around 1987.
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14th Dec 2021, 10:24 pm | #5 |
Triode
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 42
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
Before and possibly during the 1950s the GPO headset in use was called the head-and-breast set and is pictured. I have never seen one in use as I am not that old! The picture shows an operator at Potters Bar exchange in 1947.
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15th Dec 2021, 9:54 am | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,129
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
The transmitter in those head-and-breast-sets uses the same inset as a bakelite 164 handset.
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15th Dec 2021, 11:22 pm | #7 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,004
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
Quote:
I heard GPO engineers often had to solder in an extra resistor into the earphone as operators complained that they were too loud.
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17th Dec 2021, 1:57 am | #8 |
Triode
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 42
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
You could not buy an Auralite headset by walking into a phone shop: they were British Telecom branded and BT had the monopoly on them and their sale was restricted, so effectively you would have to be one of the operators who was supplied with them, I believe that some places such as hotels used these on their switchboards as well as some of BT's own operators. I did hear though that they cost in real terms over £100 each!
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18th Dec 2021, 9:17 pm | #9 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
Quote:
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19th Dec 2021, 10:58 am | #10 |
Pentode
Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 151
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
I immediately thought "Plantronics" too. The microphone tube is exactly the same, allthough the earpiece black moulding overall is somewhat different to the model I used in the 1990s. The proper Plantronic set also has a rather nice hermaphroditic connector for the cable, although it's a pain as I suspect you need special tooling for it - I haven't ever successfully rewired one.
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21st Dec 2021, 9:39 am | #11 |
Hexode
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Chester, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 421
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
Years ago I worked in a theatre in Tewkesbury that used these headsets for their in house talkback system (communication between lighting, stage, followspot operators etc) it was less than successful as ambient sound from the auditorium was generally much louder than what was in the earpiece. Nice use of old technology though
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22nd Dec 2021, 8:48 pm | #12 |
Hexode
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Glossop, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 487
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
I had a few of the Auralite headsets as a PABX eng for BT gave 1 to my son when he started in a call center for British Gas other opp were jealous as they as poor copy's
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23rd Dec 2021, 7:40 pm | #13 |
Heptode
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 805
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
Also before phones had 'modular' handset cords, you had to buy a special phone with a headset jack to use a headset. IIRC a Plantronics phone was about £100 and another £100 for the headset.
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24th Dec 2021, 12:21 am | #14 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Surbiton, SW London, UK.
Posts: 2,801
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Re: GPO telephone headsets
There was a similar looking version with twin earpieces to that shown in #1 made by
Coles and widely used in broadcasting - a version with a boom mic was also made. |