Telephone identification help and conversion

[rikkiwarner]

I picked this phone up about 6 month ago i think its a Table Telephone Type: 7P
im trying to convert it to modern landline and cant find a kit anywhere any help would be appreciated.

[Sparks]

It looks superficially like a GPO Type 706 but not a model that was made for the GPO. Perhaps it was made by one of the many UK manufacturers for a private system or an overseas customer. Conversion kits for regular 706s and 746s are easily available but I'll wait until a more learned person comes along with concrete advice.

[Dave Moll]

Although, as Sparks says, not a GPO 'phone, the terminals look much the same as a 706. Following the conversion instructions for a 706 might well prove successful.

Is there any chance of a better shot of the diagram in image 4, say under a sheet of glass to hold it flat if you don't have a flatbed scanner. I find the right-hand side (which has most of the external connections) difficult to read. It should then be possible to confirm whether the wiring is the same as a 706.

[rikkiwarner]

better photo

[TonyDuell]

It looks more like a 746 to me, but electrically it doesn't have the regulator. Looking at the diagram the terminals seem to be much the same as a 746 and I think it can be converted in the same way.

[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by rikkiwarner

I picked this phone up about 6 month ago i think its a Table Telephone Type: 7P
im trying to convert it to modern landline and cant find a kit anywhere any help would be appreciated.

Made by AEP (Automatica Electrica Portuguesa) made in Portugal - a subsidiary of AT&E later Plessey Telecoms. Often found on Plessey Communication Systems PAXs. I remember them during my days with PCS.

From Bob Freshwater's website -
Another significant development occurred in 1929 when a British company won the concession from the Portuguese government to run part of the country's telephone system. The Anglo-Portuguese Telephone Company (APT) was established and operated in Lisbon, Porto and surrounding areas, later becoming Telefones de Lisboa e Porto (TLP). ATM set up a subsidiary known as Automatica Electrica Portuguesa (AEP) which for many years supplied the apparatus needs of these companies. Thus the Monophone, and later the 332 and 706 type telephones, became as familiar in Portugal as in Britain - and now these old black Bakelite telephones are being imported back to Britain to fill the demand for antique telephones here!

[rikkiwarner]

OK thanks, er is there anyway of getting it to work in the UK? I'm a bit lost some say it's a 706 and some say it's a 746.

[AndiiT]

Hi, definitely a phone designed for use on a PAX, there's no reason that it can't be converted for use on a standard PSTN/POTS landline though.

You have two options -
For three wire working

Strap T16 - T17 - T18 - T19
White of line cord to T18

3k3 resistor between T4 and T5
Strap T5 - T6
Blue of line cord to T5

Remove strap T6 - T7

Red of line cord to T8

Green of line cord (spare) to T15

For Two - wire working

Strap T4 - T5 - T6 - T7

Strap T16 - T17 - T18 - T19

White or A leg to T18

Strap T8 - T9

Red or B leg to T8

Two wire working may cause bell tinkle is other pulse dialling phones are used as extensions elsewhere on the same exchange line.

Deepening on the distance you are from the exchange you may have too much or too little sidetone and have to experiment with the value of the resistor between T1 and T10

Regards

Andrew

[rikkiwarner]

thank you very much will give it a try when my parts arrive do i need a Surge Arrester as well a lot of the kits have them