The History of Rotary Dial Phones
The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send interrupted electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898.
The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The device was phased out from the 1970s onwards with the onset of Touch Tone dialing, which uses a telephone keypad instead of a dial. Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, in which case it would have to be ordered from the telephone company as a special feature, to support older customer equipment.
Today the dial is a key pad or "dial pad", generally with 12 keys numbered 0-9, *, and # that perform an equivalent signalling function to that of a rotating disk dial.
In telephony, the word dialing (in present and past tense spelt with two Ls in British English and with one in American English) describes the process of the placement of a telephone call.
From as early as 1836, there were various suggestions and inventions of dials for sending telegraph signals. After the first commercial telephone exchange was installed in 1878, the need for an automated, user-controlled method of directing a telephone call became apparent. The first telephone dial patent was jointly issued to Connolly and McTighe in 1879. There were numerous competing inventions, and 26 patents of dials, push-buttons and similar mechanisms for signalling which telephone subscriber was wanted by a caller were issued prior to 1891. Most inventions involved highly complex, and expensive, mechanisms and required the user to perform complex manipulations.
The first commercial installation of a Telephone Dial accompanied the first commercial installation of a 99 line automatic telephone exchange in La Porte, Indiana in 1892, which was based on the 1891 Strowger patent designs. The original dial designs were rather cumbersome and development continued during the 1890s and early 1900s hand in hand with the switching technology. In the 1950s, invention of plastics saw the dial itself change from metal disk to a plastic ring.
In the early 1960s Bell Telephone Laboratories researched various key pad layouts to replace the telephone dial, for electronic telephone equipment. Researchers rearranged the dial numbers in a wide range of combinations from mimicking a telephone dial to the now familiar 4 row by 3 column keypad. They found the 4x3 keypad to be the fastest and most error free arrangement to operate. However, because the American telephone dial had the 0 next to the 9, they tested the arrangement with a 1 at the top and 0 at the bottom, below the 8 key. They also tested an arrangement with the 0 below the 2 and having 9 at the top, as appeared on adding machines at that time and now appears on computer and calculator keyboards, but that arrangement was more error prone as few people were familiar with adding machines at that time. Because of this research, phone key pad numbering is reversed to today's calculator and computer keyboards. However, the keypads of most cash machines usually have the same numbering as phone key pads.
Even today, rotary phones occasionally find special uses. For instance, the anti-drug Fairlawn Coalition of the Anacostia section of Washington, DC persuaded the phone company to install rotary dials on area pay phones. The goal was to discourage loitering by drug purchasers, since the dials could not be used to call dealers' pagers.
The dial is circular. In its most common form, the dial is about 3 inches (76.2 mm) in diameter. Ten finger holes are cut through its outer perimeter. The dial is mounted via a shaft extending from inside the telephone or mounting and sits approximately 6 mm (¼ inch) above a faceplate. The faceplate is set so that through each finger hole, letters and numbers printed on the faceplate may be seen. In North America, traditional dials have letter codes displayed with the numbers under the finger holes in the following pattern: 1, 2 ABC, 3 DEF, 4 GHI, 5 JKL, 6 MNO, 7 PRS, 8 TUV, 9 WXY, and 0 Operator. However, such letter codes were not used in all countries. Older Australian rotary dial telephones also had letters, but the combinations were often printed in the center plate adjacent to the number. The 1 is normally set at approximately 60 degrees clockwise from the uppermost point of the dial, or approximately at the 2 o'clock position on a clock face, and then the numbers progress upward counterclockwise, with the 0 being at about 5 o'clock. A curved device called a finger stop sits above the dial at the 4 o'clock position.
The dial numbering can occur in 4 different formats, with 0 either being placed next to the 1 or the 9 and the numbers running in ascending or descending order with either the 0,1 or 9 being closest to the fingerstop. However, the number of pulses sent by the dial remained the same with one hole movement sending one pulse and 10 hole movements sending 10 pulses. All the telephones connected to a particular telephone exchange had to have the same dial numbering. Generally dial numbering was standardised on a U.S.-wide basis, though all 4 dial formats were used. Dials in other countries than the United States and large cities in Britain (before all figure dialling) usually did not bear alphabetic characters and an indication of the word "operator" in addition to numbers, as the system of the use of characters which were indicating telephone exchanges and formed a part of the telephone number (cf. the article telephone exchange) was unique to the United States. Alphabetic designation of exchanges was also used for a short period in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, but by the next decade this practice was largely discontinued. The world-wide use of alphabetic characters on number key pads became common after the introduction of digital mobile phones, where the assignment of alphabetic characters to number keys was utilized for entering alphanumeric short messages as SMS.
To dial a number, the user puts a finger in the corresponding finger hole and rotates the dial clockwise until it reaches the finger stop. The user then pulls out the finger, and a spring in the dial returns it to the resting position. For example, if the user dials "6" on a North American telephone, as the dial returns, electrical contacts wired through the mechanism underneath will open and close six times, thus sending six pulses to the central office.
Early dials worked by direct or forward action. The pulses went out as the dial went around to the finger stop. When the user's hand motion was not smooth, it produced wrong numbers. In the late 19th century the dial was refined to be operated by a recoil spring and centrifugal governor. The user selects the digit to be dialed, rotates the dial to the finger stop, then releases it. The spring causes the dial to return to its rest position and the governor regulates the dialing pulses at its design rate, usually approximately 10 per second, sometimes as much as 20 pps. The rotary dial governor is subject to wear and aging, and may require periodic cleaning, lubrication and adjustment by a telephone technician. Modern electronic telephones that feature selectable pulse or tone dialing eliminate this maintenance chore.
Some telephones include a much smaller dial inside the handset, with a movable finger stop. The user rotates the dial clockwise until the finger stop ceases moving, then releases both. In this setting, there is no section of the rotating dial plate without holes, allowing a smaller dial diameter. This was introduced by Western Electric on the compact Trimline telephone, the first to locate the dial in the handset.
Different pulse systems are used, varying from country to country. For example, Sweden uses one pulse to signal the number zero, and 10 pulses to signal the number nine. New Zealand uses ten pulses minus the number desired; so dialling 7 produces three pulses. In Norway, the North American system with the number 1 corresponding to one pulse was used, except from the capital, Oslo, which used the same "inverse" system as in New Zealand. For this reason, the numbers on the dial are shifted in different countries, or even in different areas of one country, to work with their system because of the difference of the number arrangement on the dial. A relic of this system is found in differing emergency telephone numbers; the United Kingdom selected 999 due to the ease of converting call office dials to make free calls ('0' for the Operator was already free), whereas in New Zealand 1-1-1 was selected for the same reason (111 actually pulses 999 to the central office/telephone exchange).
Rotary dial telephones in the U.S. were sometimes equipped with apparatus blanks — a piece of plastic or metal blocking the opening in the telephone's housing — in place of a dial. In the Bell System, these telephones were referred to as non-dial. The most common applications for non-dial telephones were on Automatic ringdown circuits or manual service. Rotary dials in the U.S. were made by both Western Electric for the Bell System (most major cities) and Automatic Electric Company for General Telephone (smaller cities and rural areas). The latter had a distinctive buzzing sound as the dial returned to the stop position. However, when turned clockwise to dial a digit, it made no sound at all.
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Sage Green Telecom 8081 Brand New in box.
Dates from September 1985, one of the earliest Telecom Pushbutton Telephones replacing the ACF 802 rotary dial telephones.
Phone is decadic only - with volume control.
New replacement line cord for the for a Victa Red Rotary Dial Coin Telephone. Runs between the phone and the socket - red colour - 10 feet long
ne Collectable Retro Grey CB Phone new plastic shell - refurbished other components
Extremely Rare CB Phone
This Telephone has a new dial label (blank). This was a very special phone from
1960's and 70's used in Hotels and other areas where the caller picked up the handset and was connected to an operator . Telecom code was 811 ACF Grey CB
This phone has a new
plastic phone shell, the electronics have been refurbished - its good for another 30 years, the handset is refurbished. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
This is not a junky phone that has been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- This is a quality telephone.
This phone would be posted to you in a Telecom Australia box. This phone also has a brown line cord
This phone has been refurbished and is in excellent condition.
It works perfectly and can be used anywhere in the worl
STC 4T telephone receiver for ACF 802 PMG Telecom phones
Replacement telephone receiver for Telecom PMG 802 ACF telephones produced in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s
STC 4T telephone receiver for ACF 802 PMG Telecom phones
STC 4T telephone receiver for ACF 802 PMG Telecom phones x 20
Replacement telephone receiver for Telecom PMG 802 ACF telephones produced in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s
-bulk lot of 20
STC 4T telephone receiver for ACF 802 PMG Telecom phones
NEC electronic telephone microphone for ACF 802 PMG Telecom phones
Replacement telephone NEC Electronic microphone for carbon mic Telecom PMG 802 ACF telephones produced in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s
NEC electronic telephone microphone for ACF 802 PMG Telecom phones
One Deep Red Ericofon Rotary Dial Phone.
Refurbished and In excellent condition. This is a Northern Telecom version similar to those sold by Telecom Australia /PMG in the 1960s and 1970s, however this model was sold in the USA. It can make outgoing calls and receives calls, and it does ring with an Ericotone buzzer. Has a standard R12 modern plug . These are very rare, and this colour even rarer in Australia. Telecom/PMG sold a Red Ericofon, but not a deep red colour like this example. A fantastic special gift.
SOLD
SOLD
The History of the Ericofon
The Ericofon is a Swedish telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the two major components--the handset and the dial--are combined in a single unit. This one-
ne Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Green Control Lock Phone refurbished
This Telephone has a new dial label (blank), as well as new control lock keys. This was a rare modification of the the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 8028 ACF Green
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
This phone has a refurbished
plastic phone shell, the electronics have been refurbished - its good for another 30 years. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
This is not a junky phone that has been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- This is a quality telephone.
This phone would be posted to you in a Telecom Australia box. This phone also has a brown line cord
This phone has been refurbished and is in excellent condition.
It works perf
eplacement Dial ring that sits on top of the dial plate of a ACF 802 rotary dial phone.
Socket adaptor . This allows a standard Australian Phone to be plugged into an RJ12 or RJ 45 Socket, that is now common in Australian Homes, and is the standard socket in the USA.
Note: You still need a RJ12 / RJ45 cable to plug this in (the standard cable that goes from the wall socket to a modern phone)
You can get an RJ12 / RJ 45 extension cable here
Also there are Double Adaptors to allow to Rotary Dial Phones to be plugged into one socket here
For international shipping the socket will be removed fom its packaging for cheaper postage.
ne Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Red 801 ACF Phone refurbished - in very rare Red colour
This Telephone has a new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 801 ACF Red
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer . The 801 series is older than the more common 802 series.
This phone has a refurbished
plastic phone shell, the electronics have been refurbished - its good for another 30 years. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
This is not a junky phone that has been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- This is a quality telephone.
This phone would be posted to you in a Telecom Australia box. This phone also has a brown line cord
This phone has been refurbished and is in excellent condition.
One Soft Pink Ericofon Rotary Dial Phone.
Refurbished and In excellent condition. This is a Northern Telecom version similar to those sold by Telecom Australia /PMG in the 1960s and 1970s, however this model was sold in the USA. It can make outgoing calls and receives calls, and it does ring with an Ericotone buzzer. Has a standard R12 modern plug . These are very rare, and this colour even rarer in Australia. Telecom/PMG never sold a pink Ericofon. A fantastic special gift.
The History of the Ericofon
The Ericofon is a Swedish telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the two major components--the handset and the dial--are combined in a single unit. This one-piece design anticipated the evolution of the typical cordless
Replacement Ericofon Gasket Brand New!
the gasket that often deteriorates on Ericofon Telephones
make your valuable Ericofon like new!
This is a new but remanufactured gasket (not a genuine original ericofon gasket), as good if not better than the original . Makes the Ericofon with a damaged gasket look good!
The arrow points to the Gasket that in many ericofons has broken down. (The Ericofon does NOT come with the Gasket)
Replacement Ericofon Gasket
About the Ericofon
The Ericofon is a "cult" telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the plastic cover is molded in one piece, and it is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production began in 1954. The earlier models were only sold to instit
One Golden Ericofon Rotary Dial Phone.
get other colour Ericofons click here
In excellent condition. Refurbished .Was an extension telephone supplied by Telecom Australia /PMG in the 1960s and 1970s. Makes outgoing calls and receives calls, has a ringing buzzer. Has a standard Telecom Australia plug (adaptors available here) . Has a few very fine marks on the handpiece.
The History of the Ericofon
The Ericofon is a Swedish telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the two major components--the handset and the dial--are combined in a single unit. This one-piece design anticipated the evolution of the typical cordless phone and cell phone by several decades. The Ericofon is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production began in 1954.
New replacement line cord for the for a Victa Red Rotary Dial Coin Telephone. Runs between the phone and the socket - red colour - 6 feet long
Replacement Ericofon Gasket Brand New!
the gasket that often deteriorates on Ericofon Telephones
make your valuable Ericofon like new!
This is a new but remanufactured gasket (not a genuine original ericofon gasket), as good if not better than the original . Makes the Ericofon with a damaged gasket look good!
The arrow points to the Gasket that in many ericofons has broken down. (The Ericofon does NOT come with the Gasket)
Replacement Ericofon Gasket
About the Ericofon
The Ericofon is a "cult" telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the plastic cover is molded in one piece, and it is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production began in 1954. The earlier models were only sold to instit
ne Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Ivory Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
In as new condition
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Ivory
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
This particular model has a grommet to replace a hole in the case (used for control-lock phones)
These are not junky phones that have been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- These are quality telephones.
These phones have refurbished
plastic phone shells, the electronics have been refurbished. They are not sun
damaged, scratched, or otherwise damaged like many rotary dial phones sold on
Auction sites or at Second Hand stores. For more details on the difference between
5 metre RJ12/RJ45 cable. This is an extension cable that can connect to an RJ12/RJ45 adaptor (not included with this extension cable - you can get the adaptor here)
Replacement Dial Label plastic cover Brand New!
the item that is often missing on the Retro 802 ACF series Telecom phones
This is a NEW replacement plastic dial label cover (not the paper dial label) - The arrow points to the plastic piece that is often missing on 800 series phones. This does not include the paper dial label.
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Red Phone refurbished - in very rare Red colour
This Telephone has a new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Red
With Brown line cord.
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
This phone has a refurbished plastic phone shell, the electronics have been refurbished - its good for another 30 years. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
This is not a junky phone that has been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- This is a quality telephone.
This phone would be posted to you in a Telecom Australia box.
This phone has been refurbished and is in excellent condition. It works perfectly and can be used anywhere in the world where you can obta
ne Collectable Northern Telecom 500 series Retro Rotary Dial
Red Phone - Canadian phone
This phone is in excellent condition. It has a standard telecom plug (you may need an adaptor here)
The Series 500 phone was the standard dial phone in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in the USA and Canada. The Western Electric Model 500 telephone was the standard desk-style telephone set used by AT&T (the Bell System) in North America from the late 1949 through the divestiture of AT&T in 1984. Many millions of Model 500 phones were produced and were a familiar sight in almost every home in North America. Numbers of Western Electric 500 phones are still in use today thanks to their durability and ample availability on the secondhand market at inexpensive prices. The basic phone's modular construction not only made manufacture and repair simple. The original Western Electric Model 500 was designed by the firm of industrial designer Henr
eplacement Bell motor for ACF 802 PMG / Telecom rotary dial phone . This does not replace all bell motors - you need to check the enlarged picture to make sure it is the same as the one you currently have
New replacement curly cord for the hadndiece for a Victa Red Rotary Dial Coin Telephone.
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Grey Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF
Grey
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
These are not junky phones that have been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- These are quality telephones.
These phones have refurbished
plastic phone shells, the electronics have been refurbished. They are not sun
damaged, scratched, or otherwise damaged like many rotary dial phones sold on
Auction sites or at Second Hand stores. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
They are posted to you in a Telecom Aust
eplacement Dial gasket that sits around the dial of a ACF 802 rotary dial phone.
eplacement Dial plate that sits at the back of the dial of a ACF 802 rotary dial phone.
Double adaptor - allows you to plug two Telecom/PMG phones into a single Telecom/PMG wall socket.
One Collectable Yellow Rotary Dial Phone refurbished
This Telephone has a new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Yellow
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
This phone has a refurbished plastic phone shell, the electronics have been refurbished - its good for another 30 years. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
This is not a junky phone that has been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- This is a quality telephone. This phone does not come in a Telecom Box
his phone has been refurbished and is in excellent condition. It works perfectly and can be used anywhere in the world where you can obtain decadic service (nearly all of Australia and most of the world information
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Ivory Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops (previously PMG) and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Ivory
These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case replaced with a new plastic case (the handsets and cord are refurbished). The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box.
You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers.
. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Green Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
These are rare green coloured phones
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Green
These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case is also refurbished. The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box.
You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers. They are ready for another 30 years of service. The Green colour is rarer than most other colours.. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click h
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Black Phone refurbished
This Telephone has a new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Black
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
This phone has a refurbished plastic phone shell, the electronics have been refurbished - its good for another 30 years. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
This is not a junky phone that has been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- This is a quality telephone. (this one does not come with a Telecom Australia Box)
his phone has been refurbished and is in excellent condition. It works perfectly and can be used anywhere in the world where you can obtain decadic service (nearly all of Australia and most
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Green Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
These are very rare - we found some more and have very few left, and once they are all sold that will be it.
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Green
These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case replaced with a new plastic case (the handsets and cord are refurbished). The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box.
You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers. The Green colour is rarer than most other colours.. For more
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Ivory Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
In
as new
condition
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Ivory
Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer
These are not junky phones that have been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- These are quality telephones.
These phones have refurbished
plastic phone shells, the electronics have been refurbished. They are not sun
damaged, scratched, or otherwise damaged like many rotary dial phones sold on
Auction sites or at Second Hand stores. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
They are
Rare 1980s Digitel Telephone sold by Telecom Australia. This is one of the first Push Button phones sold by Telecom Australia.They were supplied by STC and made in Denmark.
Phone has adjustable ring volume and is Decadic only. In good condition - dials out clear transmission - ringer works fine.
ne Collectable Western Electric 500 series Retro Rotary Dial
Red Phone - USA phone - in rare Red colour
This phone is in excellent condition. It has a RJ12 cable with optional telecom plug
The Series 500 phone was the standard dial phone in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in the USA. The Western Electric Model 500 telephone was the standard desk-style telephone set used by AT&T (the Bell System) in North America from the late 1949 through the divestiture of AT&T in 1984. Many millions of Model 500 phones were produced and were a familiar sight in almost every home in North America. Numbers of Western Electric 500 phones are still in use today thanks to their durability and ample availability on the secondhand market at inexpensive prices. The basic phone's modular construction not only made manufacture and repair simple. The original Western Electric Model 500 was designed by the firm of industrial designer Henry Dreyfus
One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial
Grey Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops (previously the PMG) and never used since (packed in Telecom box).
In
as new
condition
Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the
1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Green
These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case replaced with a new plastic case . The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box.
You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers.
For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
second hand Chocloate Brown ACF 805 series telephone. circa 1982.
This was the first 'Touchfone' to replace the Rotary Dial ACF 802 by Telecom Australia.
It was based on the ACF 802 metal base - so its a tough as an ACF 802.
This telephone is in reasonable condition with some surface scratching. It is a rare colour.
New replacement microphone / transmitter cover or cap for a Victa Red Rotary Dial Coin Telephone.
In electrical controls, a stepping switch is an electromechanical device which allows an input connection to be connected to one of a number of possible output connections, under the control of a series of electrical pulses. They could step on one axis (called a uniselector), or on two axis (called a Strowger switch). Stepping switches were invented by Almon Strowger in 1888. The major use for these devices was in early automatic telephone exchanges (commonly called Strowger or step-by-step exchanges or steppers) to route telephone calls.
A basic stepping switch has a single input terminal (the stepping terminal) and multiple output terminals. Connection from the input terminal to the outputs is controlled by an internal rotary contact, or wiper, which can rotate, rather like the hand on a clock, so as to connect the input terminal (electrically connected to its central axis) to whichever output terminal it is currently touching. The position of the wiper is controlled by an electromagnet. Each time an electric pulse is received at the stepping terminal, the electromagnetic ratchet is activated, causing the rotary contact to advance one position, and connect the input terminal to the next output.
In most applications, such as telephony, it is desirable to be able to return the rotary contact to a "home" position. Some stepping switches would rotate continuously back to the "home" position as soon as they reached the last position, while others had a separate "reset" coil and a return spring, and still others would rotate forward rather than back, to the home position.
One development was a type of stepping switch which had several rows of contacts, with one rotating wiper per row. All the wipers were mechanically coupled so that, as one rotated, the others remained aligned with it. Hence, one input with multiple wires could be connected to one of multiple outputs, based on the receipt of a single set of pulses. In this configuration, the rotating contacts looked, in general, somewhat like the head support arms in a modern rigid ("hard") disk drive.
Separate sets of cam-operated contacts on some switches moved when the rotor was at its home position, so that all of the bank of selectable contacts could be used for other purposes. Although not as common, there were bidirectional stepping switches with two coils that could rotate the moving contacts in either direction, one coil for each direction.
Slightly more complicated was the two axis stepping switch, also called Strowger switch or Step by Step in Britain), which had two stepping coils, one to raise it to successive banks of contacts, and one to rotate the wiper. These were commonly used in telephone switching with ten banks of ten contacts. These were driven by the electrical pulses (opens) generated from a telephone dial: On a selector switch, as each digit was dialled, the wiper would step up the banks, then rotate automatically until the wiper found an "unused" set of contacts to the next switch. The last two digits dialed would operate the connector switch. The second to last digit would cause the shaft to move up and the last digit would cause the wipers to rotate. If the line was idle then ringing generator would be applied to the called line and ring back tone was sent to the calling line. Another variant of the two-axis switch was the Stromberg-Carlson X-Y Switch which was quite common in telephone exchanges in the western USA. It was a flat mechanism, and the moving contacts moved both sidewise, as well as to and fro.
As well as the decoding of pulses from telephones, stepping switches could be used for a variety of purposes, depending on how they were wired. By connecting several in series with the highest output of one going to the stepping contact of the next, a counter could be constructed. Or by feeding the stepping contact with an endless pulse train via a relay, and controlling the relay from the switch's own output, it can be made to automatically hunt for the first unpowered line (or powered, depending on whether the relay is normally open or normally closed). They could also be used as a demultiplexer, so that two input lines could control a number of output devices. One input line steps the switch until the correct device is selected, and the other then powers that device. Many other applications are possible.
Such switches were used in a series of Japanese cypher machines during World War 2: Coral, Jade, PURPLE (the names were American). Some of the equipment used to break the Enigma machine code also used many such switches, which some observers called the "Machine Gun" for the loud noise.