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GPO Series 300 Telephone 1965?

Long before I became interested in electronic widgets from the 1960s I built up a sizeable collection of old telephones and this one, a GPO Series 300 model was one of the very first. It’s doubly special for me because it’s the exact same model that we had at home when I were a lad.

The 300 Series is the classic black Bakelite home table phone of the 50s and 60s, though the design, by the Swedish company Ericsson, actually dates back to the 1930s. They were produced for the GPO in their millions by the likes of ATC, Ericsson, GEC and Siemens and other companies around the world. Many survive but beware of modern repros and fakes. The real thing is easy to spot. They weigh a ton and if you unscrew the earpiece cover on the heavy handset there should be a metal diaphragm, held in place by a pair of magnets, (rather than a removable insert).

There are plenty of other signs to look out for; the base should be metal, the rotary dial has a very distinctive ‘growl’ (later repros usually sound a bit tinny). Ideally this will have an ABC123 fingerplate though later models only had numerals following the switch to all digit phone numbers in the early 70s. Braided cotton covered cables are another good sign but not essential as they wore out and were replaced with plastic covered curly leads. Given their age chips and scuff marks on the Bakelite body and chips on the mouthpiece are not unusual, so immaculate examples should be treated with some suspicion. Give it a shake and you should hear a tinkle from the bell. This one is actually a 314 variant as it has Bell On and Bell Off buttons, a Call Exchange button (sadly blanked off), plus a slide out drawer with a transparent sleeve for phone numbers.

Old phones like these can be more than just ornaments though. I have converted many of them to operate on a modern phone line, it’s actually quite simple and the sound of a proper ringing bell and the heavily clipped sound from the earpiece bring the memories flooding back but it behoves me to point out that plugging one in to a BT line is almost certainly frowned upon..

What Happened To It?

300 series phones were still being used in homes up and down the country well into the 1970s but they were killed off by the smoother, plastic-cased 700 series. This was available in a range of colours and fitted in better with the décor of the time. I bought this one in the late 1970s from an old junk shop and it only cost a pound or two. The shopkeeper had dozens of them and I kick myself for not snapping up the lot, they would be worth a small fortune now. I still hear stories of dumps and landfills full of old phones like these, but do not despair, there’s lots of them around and they often turn up at boot sales for a few pounds and a lot have been imported from places like India and Australia where they are still quite common.

Plenty of companies are selling refurbished models, sometimes for silly prices, so beware. A decent fixer-upper shouldn’t cost you more than £20 to £30. Coloured models are quite rare; though, and rightly command much higher prices. Red, white (ivory) and green models are highly prized but beware of black models that have been given a blow over with a can of spray paint. Removing the earpiece cover will usually show if it’s a fake.

Don’t worry too much about the dull faded look of old Bakelite, it is really easy to restore to a mirror finish using Brasso metal polish. For best results I suggest that you dismantle the phone and remove the dial, otherwise you won’t be able to get into all of the nooks and crannies. The dials are sometimes gummed up and sluggish but a touch of 3-in-One oil usually gets them going again. If you want to have a go at a fully working restoration job there are plenty of collector’s sites on the web with circuit diagrams, conversion plans and even spare parts.

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1938

Original Price Rented from GPO

Value Today? £25 to £100

Features: Rotary dial, mechanical bell, bell on/off and Call Exchange buttons

Power req. Powered by phone line

Weight: 2.5kg

Dimensions: 230 x 190 x 135mm

Made in: Britain

Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 4

GPO Telephone Type 746F, 1978

The Type 700 telephone is a true classic and for those who grew up in the sixties and seventies it was probably the only phone you would ever see, thanks to the GPO’s near monopoly on the supply and rental of telephones in the UK.

The design dates back to the late 1950s; it was known as the ‘Modern Phone’ as it replaced what was considered then the rather dowdy (but now highly sought after) black Bakelite phones. Collecting 700’s can be a real geek-feast as there were so many different types and variations. This one is almost certainly a type 746F (the F suffix denotes an all-number or ‘figure’ dial). If you want to know more about this and other phones from the 60s, 70s and 80s pop along to the Telephonesuk website .

I can’t remember exactly where this one came from, it was almost certainly more than twenty years ago and it would have been found in a skip or on a rubbish pile. I suspect that the only reason I picked it up was because it was red, which was slightly unusual as most type 700 phones at the time were cream or brown coloured. I definitely wouldn’t have paid any money for it; phones like this were literally thrown away in their millions when the GPO became BT and people were allowed to choose their phones.

Like all phones of this era it was built to last and this particular one still works. The tough plastic case usually scrubs up well – picking off paint spots is usually the most difficult part of the clean up job -- and they can be easily adapted to work on the BT network, though I’m fairly sure this is frowned upon.

What Happened to It?

Thousands of 700s are still kicking around in flea markets and car boot sales. They’re not as common as they used to be but I still see one every now and again selling for just a quid or two. If you see one in good condition, especially a green or red model, grab it quick. The retro styling never goes out of fashion and they are becoming increasingly collectable so their value can only go up..

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1959

Original Price £n/a

Value Today? £25

Features: rotary dial, twin bells

Power req. n/a line powered

Weight: 1.25kg

Dimensions: 215 x 140 x 120mm

Made in: UK

Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 3

RAC 'ET' Emergency Telephone, 1990

Back in the late 80s and early 1990's cellular mobile phones were still relatively expensive luxury items and mostly used for business communications. However, throughout their relatively short history they have proven their worth as a means of summoning help in an emergency and this clearly struck a chord with the UK's second largest roadside assistance organisation, the Royal Automobile Club or RAC. In collaboration with Motorola they came up with the 'ET' or Emergency Telephone, a mobile, or rather portable phone package that sold for the then astonishingly cheap price of £100.

The idea was it would only be used for emergencies, to call the RAC, police fire or ambulance services -- it even has its own dedicated RAC and 999 'speed dial' buttons on the handset. It could also be used for making regular phone calls but extortionate call charges meant that most of them spent short and uneventful lives in the boots of cars.

As you can see it comes in three parts, the main transceiver unit, with its hinged 'rubber duck' aerial housed in a black anodised extruded aluminium case, a chunky rechargeable NiCad battery pack, and the handset. The whole caboodle fits inside a snazzy padded blue shoulder bag. In case the battery was flat, which would probably be the case if it had been stored in the boot for any length of time, it could be powered up instantly using the supplied cigar lighter socket adaptor.

What Happened to it?

It is unlikely that many ETs were sold as by the early 1990s the analogue ETACs cellphone system, which it uses, was being phased out and replaced by cheaper, smaller and smarter digital mobile phones. The first GSM networks came on stream in 1993 and within a couple of years the cost of mobile phones, and call charges had fallen to the point where it had become a mass market product, so there was no longer any need for specialised cellphones like this one.

Since most ETs led undemanding lives I'm guessing that those that survived will be in pretty good condition. I found this one on a Brighton market stall and it cost me £10. It does power up but it's totally useless for anything other than a doorstop as the analogue cellphone networks closed down years ago, but if you see one going cheap grab it, it has all the hallmarks of a future collectible.

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1990

Original Price £100

Value Today? £10

Features: Analogue ETACS portable mobile phone with LCD display, RAC and 999 speed dial buttons, rubber dick antenna

Power req. 12 volt rechargeable nicad battery or car battery

Weight: 2.5kg

Dimensions: (carry case) 285 x 180 x 80mm

Made in: UK

Hen's Teeth (10 rarest): 7

Shira WT106 Walkie Talkies 1970

Back in the 1960s the closest most kids ever got to interpersonal two-way communications was a pair of baked bean tins and a length of string (ask your Granddad for details...), so when cheap walkie-talkies like these first appeared they quickly became the must-have gadget for a generation of boys (girls tended not to be interested in such things).

However, what made these little gadgets so enticing was the fact that they were illegal and it wasn't until the mid 1980s that the UK Government deemed it acceptable for the British public to own radio transmitters without having to sit an examination.

In truth 'toy' walkie talkies like these put out just a few milliwatts of RF power, barely enough power to interfere with anything more than a metre or two away, and the range was typically about 25 metres, or about as far s you could shout, but that did nothing to diminish the magic of being able to talk to your mates, some distance away, without wires (or string).

Walkie-talkies, like this pair of Shiras, which almost certainly date from the 1970s, all followed a fairly similar pattern with a simple 3 or 4 transistor circuit that cleverly combined the functions of a short wave (27Mhz) transmitter and receiver, audio amplifier and Morse-code buzzer. Later models operated on the 49MHz VHF band, which had been vacated by 405-line TV.

Despite the phone-like appearance the loudspeaker also doubled up as the microphone and since they used a single channel only one person could speak at a time, using the large PTT (press to talk) button on the side. The only other controls are an on/off volume knob and the Morse code button, which appears to work by putting the AF circuitry into a feedback mode. A 9-section telescopic aerial that extends to a little under 1 metre aerial emerges from the top of the case and these tended to last about five minutes, and there's a wrist strap on the side. As you can see there's a useful Morse Code crib-sheet on the front and a wacky fake screen showing a waveform; the designers definitely knew which buttons to push to excite their target market...

What Happened to it?

By the late 1970s proper 27MHz Citizens Band (CB) ‘transceivers’ started appearing in the shops and some of the more powerful ones were capable of communicating over several miles. Later, when CB was finally legalised in the UK more upmarket models became available and within the past 5 years the market has been flooded with powerful little PMRS/GMRS two-way radios, so walkie-talkies have never gone away but as good as they are nowadays we just take the technology for granted and the magic simply isn’t there any more.

Back in their heyday hundreds, possibly thousands of cheapie designs like these were produced, many of them themed or tied into popular TV shows of the day (Mission Impossible, Thunderbirds, The Man Form U.N.C.L.E) and I’m guessing these are very collectible, especially if they’re still in their original box. I paid a fiver for these Shiras, and there’s certainly no shortage of them on ebay but probably not for much longer. Shortlist ones that still work, with complete aerials, and if they’re boxed and come with the original instructions, so much the better.

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1970?

Original Price £5 (is)

Value Today? £5

Features: Press to talk, on/off volume, Code button, telescopic aerial, wrist strap
Power req. 1 x 9volt PP3

Weight: 0.3kg

Dimensions: 195 x 63 x 50mm

Made in: Hong Kong

Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 3

Maxcom MCP-200 Cordless Telephone 1979

First generation cordless phones were a lot of fun and I well remember spending my lunch hours walking up and down London’s Tottenham Court Road, seeing if I could log onto the many demo models in the shops, to make expensive phone calls.

These devices used analogue technology and were little more than fancy walkie-talkies. There was no security and if two or more people had one in a street it would be forever warbling as it intercepted the calls from the neighbour’s cordless phone. They were also pretty big, as you can see from this example, made by Maxcom, who incidentally were one of the first Korean companies to market electronic goods in the UK. It’s also worth noting that at the time these phones were illegal because they worked on the 1.7MHz and 49MHz frequency bands, which had been approved in the US, but were allocated to other users in the UK. I can’t recall who or what they were but a loophole in the law allowed these phones to be sold, but not used.

The Maxcom was fairly typical of the breed; the hefty handset contained a set of rechargeable batteries, that gave you a walk/talk time of around 10 minutes (well, maybe a little longer). There were no frills, just a last number recall, and an interesting ‘call’ facility. This somewhat questionable feature consisted of a button on the base station, which when pressed made the handset bleep. The box proudly proclaims it employs full duplex operation, which basically means both parties can talk at the same time. Range was typically about 50 metres or a little further than you could shout, so it wasn’t all bad. This particular example is showing its age, and the years spent on a sunny windowsill, with the once cream-coloured plastic having turned an interesting two-tone yellow and brown.

What Happened To It?

It wasn’t until cordless phones went digital, and were legalised, in the late 1980s, that they started to make any sort of sense. Early models like this one were great, so long as no-one else living nearby had one. I doubt that many had survived, they weren’t very popular because of the interference and legality issues, moreover they were unreliable and easily damaged when they fell out of your pocket – which they tended to do with monotonous regularity because they were so large. It’s the sort of thing you’ll see now and again at a boot sale, and if you see a good one, particularly if it still has its box, grab it, definitely a future collectible.

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1979

Original Price £80

Value Today? £5

Features: full duplex operation, tone/pulse dialling, automatic last number redial, remote call function, belt clip

Power req. mains/rechargeable

Weight: (handset) 400g

Dimensions: (base unit) 230 x 180 x 80 mm, (handset) 210 x 60 x 50 mm

Made in: Korea

Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 7

Motorola 8500X ‘Brick’ Mobile Phone, 1986

Incredible as it may seem now less this mighty phone was once at the cutting edge of mobile telecommunications and you had to be filthy rich (or a builder) to own one. The 8500 was a second-generation analogue phone, following hard on the heels of the first ‘transportable’ models, built inside a small attaché case, introduced in the early 1980s. It was nothing sort of revolutionary and the small (by 80s standards) detachable battery pack gave an unheard of 1-hour talk time.

No fancy gadgets or colour displays here, just a simple red LED readout showing the number and battery state. The controls are also very straightforward, though ironically there’s more buttons that you would find on a modern mobile. For those concerned about the health hazards or using a cellphone you might be interested to know that the 8500 and it’s ilk had a pretty poor reputation and were responsible for numerous injuries, including several rather nasty accidents to user’s eyes, caused by a sharp poke with the rubber duck aerial…

What Happened To It?

You had to be there to appreciate just how potent a symbol of wealth and power a mobile phone could be. Early adopters often drew small crowds when they were used in public but it quickly became a joke. Phone owner’s image also suffered at the hands of Delboy ‘Only Fools and Horses’ Trotter, who favoured this particular model.

Eventually prices fell and smaller pocket sized models started to appear and now everyone has one but the high price meant that old phones like this one were produced in relatively small numbers. The 8500 was discontinued in 1987 and many were returned for replacement and they would have been scrapped. Survivors are rare, examples in good condition, with the original box, case and charger can easily fetch several hundred pounds in ebay. This one has been fairly well used and is probably only worth £30 or so, but prices are rising steadily.

The analogue networks were switched off five years ago so they are practically useless, though a couple of specialist companies can strip out the old analogue guts and replace them with the innards of a modern phone, even s, it’s not the sort of thing you would want to carry around with you for very long. If you want to go for the retro look then one of the first generation digital phones, like the classic Motorola flip-lid Micro TAC might be a better bet.

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1986

Original Price £1200

Value Today? £20 - £50

Features: Analogue operation, last number recall and store, address book, 1-hour talk time

Power req. Proprietary 7.5 volt nicad pack

Weight: 800g

Dimensions: 200 x 80 x 45 (very approx)

Made in: USA

Rarity: 5 (1 = common, 10 = Hen's teeth)

Telephone 280, the 'Buttinski' or 'Butts', 1960

This weird and wacky looking telephone is definitely not the sort of thing you would have found in the average home or office in the sixties and seventies. It's a Telephone 280 or GPO lineman’s test phone, sometimes known as the Buttinski or Butts*.

The two most obvious features are the fact that it’s encased in thick rubber, and the small dial, set into the back of the mouthpiece. The small red button on the side works like a handset switch. Press it to pick up the line, and give it a twist to keep the line open. These phones were mostly made by Plessey and went into service in the late 1950s, this one is thought to date from the early 1960s, it came from a car boot sale a few years ago and cost 50 pence. Judging by the condition of the rubber case it has led a hard life, nevertheless, it does still work.

What happened to it?

Telephone 280 was phased out in the early 1980s and replaced by more compact, mostly yellow coloured electronic test phones. Obviously the new phones are designed for use with newer digital exchanges and clearly do a much better job, but if you want a phone, that can double up as a rubber mallet, survive a drop from the top of a telegraph pole and like as not, still be working in another 100 years time, look no further than the 280. Quite a few of them were made and since they are almost indestructible they do turn up on ebay from time to time. Prices vary but if you are very lucky you might pick up a good one for less than a tenner.

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1962

Original Price £ probably quite a bit...

Value Today? £10 - £20

Features: Mechanical numbered dial, push to talk and lock switch

Power req. n/a

Weight: 700g

Dimensions: 270 x 100 x 80 (very approx)

Made in: England

Rarity: 5 (1 = common, 10 = Hen's teeth)

* The 280 had several affectionate nicknames including 'Buttinski' and 'Butts' and depending who you talk to this refers to the way it was used by engineers to track and trace calls, or 'butt' into phone calls. 'Butts' is also used in the US and is a reference to the way (or area) it hangs from the lineman's tool holster or 'butt' belt.

GPO Trimphone 1965

The Trimphone or Telephone No. 722, to give it its official name is a real sixties icon. It first appeared in 1965 and was the brainchild of GPO designer Martyn Rowlands. ‘Trim’ is actually an acronym for Tone Ringer Illuminated Model, two features which make this still very stylish phone stand out.

The ringer or ‘warbler’ is really distinctive and you can hear a sample by clicking HERE. The sound was produced by a simple transistorised oscillator, one of the first ‘electronic’ ringers and a major technical leap as up until that time virtually all phones used electromechanical bells. The illuminated dial is the subject of some controversy because it relies on a thin almost circular glass tube, filled with radioactive Tritium gas, which reacts with a phosphor coating to produce a constant greenish blue glow. The actual amount of radioactivity is very low – less than the background radiation in some areas -- but the phone was eventually withdrawn following safety concerns. Several colour variants were produced and later a push-button version was introduced; both types were produced in very large numbers – more than 1.6 million were made, before it was withdrawn in 1981, and in spite of them being recalled by BT you can still find them selling in antique shops and car boot sales for between £10 to £20. Refurbished ‘as new’ models, fitted with BT sockets sell for around £50.

What Happened to it?

The Trimphone never really went away, though obviously by today’s standards it is incredibly basic. Although it will work on a modern phone line it is obviously very limited in what it can do, but don’t let that worry you, it is a working example of British 1960s technology and design at its very best, a great conversation piece – in all senses of the word – and as time goes by a functional collectable that can only appreciate in value. There’s lots more about the Trimphone Here

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1965

Original Price n/a, supplied as part of phone rental contract

Value Today? £50

Features: ‘Warbler’ ringer, ringer volume control, radioactive glowing dial, rotary or push-button dial

Power req. powered by phone line

Weight: 800g

Dimensions: 210 x 100 x 115 (very approx)

Made in: UK

Rarity: 6 (1 = common, 10 = Hen's teeth)

Realistic TRC-209 1979

This Realistic TRC-209 has the unusual distinction of being an illegal gadget... If you haven’t already guessed it’s a Citizen’s Band radio. However, It’s not one of those namby-pamby FM jobbies begrudgingly legalised by the UK Government in 1981, but a genuine hairy-chested 27MHz AM hand-portable from the US with 40-channels and a healthy 5-watts of output power.

This one is a 1979 vintage model, one of a pair smuggled in from the US. They were purchased from Realistic -- Tandy in the UK -- for around £60, a fair sum back then! It’s very sturdily built and has a tough leather carry case. It’s a real handful, with top-mounted controls for channel change, on/off volume and Squelch. There’s also a power/battery meter and sockets for an external mike and speaker. The PTT (push-to-talk) switch is on the left and sockets on the right for external antenna, power and charger. The bulge in the 1.5 metre long telescopic antenna is a ‘centre load’, a small coil that improves the aerial’s efficiency.

What happened to it?

Those who can remember back to the early days of CB will tell you that it died the day it was legalised; quite simply all the fun went out of it. The UK’s FM system was a poor alternative, the range was little further than you could shout and the equipment was bland and expensive. AM CB went further underground and lived on for a few years, indeed there are still a few die-hards out there but what really killed CB was the idiots and kids who jammed the airwaves and by the late 1980s the mobile phone had arrived. Still, it was a good laugh while it lasted. 10-10 good buddy…

GIZMO GUIDE

First seen: 1979

Original Price £30

Value Today? £50

Features: 27MHz AM, 40 channels, 5-watt RF output, battery/power meter, centre load antenna, volume, Squelch, Hi/Lo output, external mike, antenna speaker sockets, leather carry case

Power req. 9 x AA rechargeable/alkaline, 7 x AA zinc carbon (2 dummy batteries supplied)

Weight: 1kg (ex batteries)

Dimensions: 260 x 65 x 80mm (very approx)

Made in: Japan

Rarity: 8 (1 = common, 10 = Hen's teeth)

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