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Old 7th Jun 2015, 1:06 am   #1
mickash
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Default GPO Bell Set No.1

Just a quick question. I've recently received one of these bell sets to go with my type 150 candlestick phone. Most, if not all GPO phones use non matching bell gongs (each gong has a different tone) Is that the case with the bell set no.1?
Both bell gongs on my bell set are the same.

The bell set is dated 1933 and does not appear to have been refurbished by the GPO after then. Somebody has had a go at polishing the bell gongs however.

If anybody is interested I can add a few photos of this item!

Michael.
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Old 7th Jun 2015, 8:20 am   #2
bobsterkent
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Default Re: GPO Bell Set No.1

I've just checked mine and the gongs are different. However we used to change them around if for instance a subscriber had 2 phones on their desk and wanted distinctive rings so perhaps someone has done that?
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Old 8th Jun 2015, 12:13 am   #3
Pellseinydd
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Default Re: GPO Bell Set No.1

Just looked in an old GPO 'Vocabulary of Engineering Stores' and all the Bellsets had a Bell Gong 2 and a Bell Gong 2A - 'Oxidised' (i.e, blackened) for ones that you could see and 'nickelled' where inside the bellset or telephone. There was however one exception - that was the Bellset No 7 which used two Bell Gongs No 17 - the Bellset No 7 looks like a Bellset 20 (manager/secretary switch) but much earlier for use on CBS No 1 exchanges. I must dig my one out to see if it is the case. Oxidised bell gongs come up on eBay so should be too hard to get a matching pair.
Ian
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Old 8th Jun 2015, 3:34 pm   #4
Oldcodger
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Default Re: GPO Bell Set No.1

As an apprentice ,I was led to believe that the reason for non matching gongs ,was to allow the Telephone Engineer, to set the ringing pattern to allow for the sound that most subscribers ( note the words, "Telephone Engineer" and "subscriber") could hear best, allowing for medical hearing problems. As Bobster mentioned - it was common to do this .
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Old 10th Jun 2015, 1:25 am   #5
mickash
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Default Re: GPO Bell Set No.1

Thanks for all your ideas. I removed the gongs for a closer look and am pretty sure the phantom polisher is responsible. He was possibly polishing 2 or more sets of bells and refitted the wrong ones.
There are shakeproof washer marks under the domes but both washers are missing. The securing nuts have been damaged by pliers. I think GPO engineers would have used the correct box spanner on the nuts and wouldn't have lost the shakeproofs.
Anyhow. I'll have a look out for a correct matcng pair of gongs.

Michael.
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