SIEMENS BROTHERS No. 310, 311, 312 & 366 | ||||||||||||
Siemens Brothers Neophone 310, 311, 312 and 366
Type 310 is in effect a BPO Telephone No. 232 permanently fixed to a Bellset 26. Type 312 is a one-piece instrument with a larger case and built-in ringer; the mouldings are also much sharper than the rounded edges of the 310. The 312 is also known as the Universal Neophone and is shown to the right. The 311 was the matching wall instrument, compact and attractive but not adopted officially by the BPO (it was very popular on the Southern Railway and in Canada, however). The case design (but not the circuitry) was also used by ATE (model T4127) and during World War II a number of these phones were bought by the BPO for providing emergency telephone service to bomb-damaged buildings (the phones were small enough to fit inside a locked wall box). It is unclear whether the BPO bought SB or ATE telephones. Its ringer had the standard 1000-ohm impedance whereas the export model 366 (made for Saskatchewans telephone system in Canada) had 2000 ohms. Siemens wall telephones nos. 83 and 85 were similar but had older transmission circuitry. Two patterns of handset were fitted to the phones, one identical to the BPO 164 design and another with a slotted cover instead of the normal spit cup over the microphone. This slotted cover occasionally turned up on BPO telephones, as Mouthpiece No. 18. The pattern of bellset used on the 310 is different from that adopted by the British Post Office (Bellset No. 26); it is considerably smaller and half an inch shorter in height than the standard bellset 26. It has a semi-circular terminal strip, a fairly standard bell mechanism and slightly smaller gongs (two and a quarter inches in diameter instead of two and a half inches). There is a No. 16A induction coil with wooden coil cheeks and the base plate is universal as it can be used for the table bellset and the wall phone bellset, having two holes to line up with a wall bracket. The table set has a light gauge pressed metal cover over the base plate, with two large openings for vents which have a mesh cover. On this plate is quite a large transfer with Siemens Brothers & Co. Ltd. London and the relevant British and Commonwealth Patent numbers. The Bakelite case of the bellset is also universal and does not have a cover as the standard bellset does; this open top enabled them to mount the equivalent of a 162 directly above without external cordage between telephone and bellset. Colours: Users: Further
information:
Conversion to UK Plug and Socket To wire a Type 312 to the UK telephone socket system follow these instructions. It is illegal to connect unapproved apparatus to any public network.
If you wish to use the telephone without the bell - because old mechanical ringers can sometimes cause problems - then leave out the resistor and wire strap. It may also be desirable to also modify the telephone as recommended in the section on how the convert to PST .
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Last revised: March 25, 2022 FM2 |