Help with GPO Telephone 248 Base - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Retro83 · 4th Jun 2017, 6:29 pm

Hi, I have recently purchased a 248 Base and was hoping to find a telephone to go with it, could anyone tell me please if a standard 232 telephone would do the job? I am totally new to this and know very little about these vintage telephones so any help would be much appreciated. My plan is to sell it on once it is complete. Also do you think it would be worth adding a bell set

Dave Moll · 5th Jun 2017, 7:48 am

The simple answer is "nearly". I have a "Bellset 39" (which I believe is what you have there) with which I was, until recently*, using with a 232 telephone. The problem is that the 232 does not have the additional set of contacts on the gravity (cradle) switch that a 248 has. What I did was to bridge the terminals in the bellset, so that they were permanently in the "off-hook" condition. The result was that "spk to extn, exch held" took the system off-hook even with the handset in its cradle. If you can live with that "quirk", then yes, you can do what you are seeking.

*I say "until recently" as this planset is under reconstruction at present with a recently-acquired "Bellset 44", and is currently out of action - but that's a different story.

With regard to your comment about adding a bellset, the complete plan requires various other components, such as a bell 64D (which rings for incoming calls from the exchange line) along with (for an external extension) a magneto 26AN to ring the extension and a second bell (such as bellset 26) for ringing from the extension. At the extension end, a further magneto (26AP) is required to ring the afore-mentioned bell.

els1967 · 5th Jun 2017, 12:53 pm

I have a bell set 44 and a which I have a 321 connected to plus the bells to make up a complete Plan 7. It was quite a project to get the whole thing working and doing so really helped cement my understanding of how these old phones really work. One of the bigger problems was trying to source the right connector cables and junction boxes. I still haven't found a GPO magneto bell but I can live with the one I have.

I think to answer your question, I would ask my self, who is likely to buy this bell set? To work as a regular phone certainly it would need converting and a bell set added so then the controls themselves become some what obsolete. If it were sold on as part of a bell set then I would expect a collector would probably buy it in which case it would probably be restored to fully functioning condition so any work you do it is likely to have little benefit, unless you sell it on as a complete Plan 5.

There is a lot of useful information about them here...

http://www.britishtelephones.com/bellst39.htm

Retro83 · 9th Jun 2017, 6:05 pm

Thanks for your help, very interesting. I think I'm probably better off selling it on as it is then and let someone else do the work. I have had a good look around and the chances of finding a 248 telephone on its own to go with my bell set 39 are slim!

4th Jun 2017, 6:29 pm	#1
Retro83 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Hampshire, UK. Posts: 2	Help with GPO Telephone 248 Base Hi, I have recently purchased a 248 Base and was hoping to find a telephone to go with it, could anyone tell me please if a standard 232 telephone would do the job? I am totally new to this and know very little about these vintage telephones so any help would be much appreciated. My plan is to sell it on once it is complete. Also do you think it would be worth adding a bell set Attached Thumbnails

5th Jun 2017, 7:48 am	#2
Dave Moll Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK Posts: 6,127	Re: Help with GPO Telephone 248 Base The simple answer is "nearly". I have a "Bellset 39" (which I believe is what you have there) with which I was, until recently, using with a 232 telephone. The problem is that the 232 does not have the additional set of contacts on the gravity (cradle) switch that a 248 has. What I did was to bridge the terminals in the bellset, so that they were permanently in the "off-hook" condition. The result was that "spk to extn, exch held" took the system off-hook even with the handset in its cradle. If you can live with that "quirk", then yes, you can do what you are seeking. I say "until recently" as this planset is under reconstruction at present with a recently-acquired "Bellset 44", and is currently out of action - but that's a different story. With regard to your comment about adding a bellset, the complete plan requires various other components, such as a bell 64D (which rings for incoming calls from the exchange line) along with (for an external extension) a magneto 26AN to ring the extension and a second bell (such as bellset 26) for ringing from the extension. At the extension end, a further magneto (26AP) is required to ring the afore-mentioned bell. __________________ Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) Last edited by Dave Moll; 5th Jun 2017 at 7:55 am.

5th Jun 2017, 12:53 pm	#3
els1967 Pentode Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK. Posts: 140	Re: Help with GPO Telephone 248 Base I have a bell set 44 and a which I have a 321 connected to plus the bells to make up a complete Plan 7. It was quite a project to get the whole thing working and doing so really helped cement my understanding of how these old phones really work. One of the bigger problems was trying to source the right connector cables and junction boxes. I still haven't found a GPO magneto bell but I can live with the one I have. I think to answer your question, I would ask my self, who is likely to buy this bell set? To work as a regular phone certainly it would need converting and a bell set added so then the controls themselves become some what obsolete. If it were sold on as part of a bell set then I would expect a collector would probably buy it in which case it would probably be restored to fully functioning condition so any work you do it is likely to have little benefit, unless you sell it on as a complete Plan 5. There is a lot of useful information about them here... http://www.britishtelephones.com/bellst39.htm Attached Thumbnails Last edited by els1967; 5th Jun 2017 at 1:22 pm.

9th Jun 2017, 6:05 pm	#4
Retro83 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Hampshire, UK. Posts: 2	Re: Help with GPO Telephone 248 Base Thanks for your help, very interesting. I think I'm probably better off selling it on as it is then and let someone else do the work. I have had a good look around and the chances of finding a 248 telephone on its own to go with my bell set 39 are slim!