A few Trimphone questions.

[Mike Phelan]

Hi folks

A bit like buses, I've never posted a thread in this section, and here we are with two in quick succession!

My better half is interested in getting a Trimphone, as we had one years ago and liked the ring sound and its appearance.
From what I see, there are:

1. New(er) ones with the usual layout of buttons in a square.
2. Those that have buttons arranged in a circle emulating a rotary dial.
3. Those (original?) with a 'real' dial.

I guess that (3) cannot support # and * which we do need, or am I wrong? It also seems that many of these have cracked handsets, presumably by people sitting on them, or is it some sort of stock fault?

Also think that # and * are supported on (2)?

We don't like (3).

What do the 'phone experts say about (1) and (2)?

If anyone is offering one, I'll move posts regarding that to the appropriate section.

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Mike Phelan

My better half is interested in getting a Trimphone, as we had one years ago and liked the ring sound and its appearance.

Try and get a DTMF one, like this. It has the star and Octothorpe keys for modern DTMF working.

The original push-button Trimphone was LD, and is like this.

Whichever one you go for, be aware that the carbon granule insert mic is not the most reliable in the world, and can go crackly and low-level more readily than the inserts in, say, the 746. There are no direct electronic replacements, but I'm sure a man of your calibre can 'shoehorn' one in! The microphone is directly beneath the balanced armature receiver, with acoustic coupling to the mouthpiece.

I've never seen a Trimphone with buttons arranged in a circle - replica? I like the dial ones, but they're too light and a pain to use, as the whole instrument rotates when the dial is turned unless you hold it down.

[AndiiT]

Hi,
The original Trimphones (type 722 etc.) have a couple of "foibles", on is that the REN (ringer equivalence number) is often around 3 so they can have a habit of stealing all the ringing current which could prevent any extension telephones on your line ringing on an incoming call.
Also the transmitter assembly cannot be replaced with the more modern electronic type which can mean that the speech quality is a little poorer on an original Trimphone than on newer telephones.

The dial models were noted for slipping around on the table whilst dialling as the body of the telephone is so light.

There are three types of original "basic" Trimphone the 722 the 766 and the 786

The 722 was the dial version, the 766 was the LD push button variant and the 786 was the DTMF variant which had the * and # keys.

There is a modern copy of the Trimphone made by Steepletone shown here this appears to have a dial with the * and # facility, I am guessing that these are just additional positions on the dial which, presumably, are connected some magic electronic circuitry which allows the use of these positions. The push button variant with the buttons in the shape of a dial ring just has the extra buttons after the '0' button.

I have seen the Steeplttone Trimphones for sale in branches of Next, from time to time.

Regards
Andrew

[newlite4]

Regards the modern Steepletone version, I had one a few years ago. The fingerstop is also a switch, it moves sideways to provide the extra facilities IIRC.
Neil

[Mike Phelan]

Thanks, all.

It's looking like the Steepletone one is what we need, then. I can see a # and * on the dial on this one, so I will keep an eye open for one a bit cheaper than the Limeshop one above.

[newlite4]

That would be a wise choice Mike. The one that I had was very solidly built, heavy with thick durable plastic. I only sold it on because I had just installed a cordless phone.
Neil

[russell_w_b]

Would the 'Steepletone' variant have been manufactured using the original presses and mouldings, do you think?

[newlite4]

I dont know. The phone would have probably been made in China. Possibly a trimphone was sent out to the manufacturer and the moulds would have been machined up from that.
Neil