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Telephones 1960-80

Telephones used by the GPO & Post Office Telephones 1960-1980

706 Telephones

When the 706 telephone was first introduced in 1959 it was known as the Modern Telephone. It was made in two versions, the Mk. I version was conventionally wired, whilst the Mk. II version used a printed circuit board. The Mk. I had a plastic base on which all the components are mounted and the interconnections made by conventional wiring. Mk. II and IIA had a metal base on which a printed wiring board is mounted with most of the components soldered directly on to it. All electrical components other than the gravity switch, spring sets and bell mechanisms are identical in each version. Each instrument is supplied with an extensible coiled hand-set cord which extends from 200mm to about 1524mm. Line cords were available in lengths of 3.00m, 5.0m and 8.0m. The telephone handset weighs 255g and the complete instrument weighs approximately 1.6kg. The 706 was available in seven standard colours: black, light ivory, concord blue, lacquer red, topaz yellow, two-tone green and two-tone grey.

706 Mk I (hard wired)

The 706 Mark II version telephone uses conventional wiring with a plastic base

706 Mk II (printed circuit board)

The 706 Mark II version telephone uses a printed circuit board with a metal base

706CB Telephones

706CB Mk.I

706CB Mk.I

Year: 1968
706CB Mk.II

706CB Mk.II

Year: 1964
706CB Mk.II

706CB Mk.II

Year: 1965
706CB Mk.II

706CB Mk.II

Year: 1963
Light Ivory
Two-tone Grey
Black

The 710 telephone was first introduced in 1959 and was based on the 706 telephone. The case was been adapted to take up to four push buttons and one or two lamps. Push in dummy buttons are fitted when no switches are used.
The 710 was available in three colours: ivory, grey and black.

711  Telephones

Light Ivory
Black
Two-tone Grey
Lacquer Red

The 711 telephone was first introduced in 1961 and was a wall mounted telephone based on the 706.  The telephone is mounted onto the wall with a ‘T’ shaped bracket. It has provision for up to four press buttons and two lamp opals. The 711 was available in four colours: ivory, grey, black and red. The orange 711 was made for Saudi Arabia and was not standard GPO issue, nor is the transparent version shown below.

740 Telephones

Light Ivory
Two-tone Grey
Black

Telephone 740 was first introduced in 1968 to replace the 710 and was based on the 746 telephone. It has provision for four press buttons and two lamp opals. The 740 was available in three colours: ivory, grey and black.

741 Telephones

741 info card

746 Telephones

The 746 was first introduced in 1967 and was available to all subscribers by 1970. It was a lightweight plastic instrument which incorporated a balanced armature receiver. All the components, including the gravity switch, were soldered onto a printed wiring board which was mounted on either metal or plastic base. One or two optional switches such as the 5A-4 (used for recall) or the 23A-1 (used for bell on/off) could be added.
The 746 was available in seven standard colours, see the 
bottom of this page for further information. With the advent of new style wiring the 746 was renumbered the 8746 and was fitted with a 4000 ohm high impedance bell and a new style line cord  fitted with a 431A plug. This model was also available in Brown.
The 746 table telephone measures 121mm high x 146mm wide x 229mm deep.

At first glance the two 746 telephones pictured below look identical …
746 Mk I telephone
746 Mk II telephone
… but look again at the same telephones pictured from the side
746 Mk I telephone
746 Mk II telephone

The original 746 design, shown on the left, was released in 1967, however the recess for the handset to sit on the top of the phone was too broad. This enabled either the handset to be carelessly placed or to slip out of position off the switch hooks, which took the telephone off-hook. As can be seen from the picture on the right, in around 1971, the top of the 746 case was redesigned with a narrower recess to prevent the handset from sliding off the switch hooks.

8746 (new style) Telephones

8746G

With the advent of new style wiring the 746 was renumbered the 8746 and was fitted with a new style line cord fitted with a 431A plug. This model was also available in brown.

  • 8746CFitted with semiconductor diodes instead of the MR1 metal rectifier and thermistors in the regulator circuit and 1000Ω bell. T2A, T19A and T19B are fitted but not used on the 8746C as the PCB was also used in PB versions. Often 1.8uF capacitor is omitted on these as they were of new manufacture.
  • 8746DAs 8746C but fitted with 4000Ω high impedance bell.
  • 8746FFitted with standard 746 PCB (wired with 1.8uF capacitor not in circuit) and 1000Ω bell.
  • 8746GAs 8746F but fitted with 4000Ω high impedance bell.
  • 8746FRAs 8746F but fitted with recall button.
  • 8746GRAs 8746G but fitted with recall button.

700 type Magneto Telephones

700 Series Telephone Colours

Availability of colours for 700 series telephones

706 telephonesIvory, Grey, Black, Blue, Red, Yellow & Green
710 & 740 telephonesIvory, Grey & Black
711 & 741 telephonesIvory, Grey, Black & Red (711 only)
713 telephonesGrey
746 telephonesIvory, Grey, Black, Blue, Red, Yellow & Green
755 telephonesIvory
756, 772 & 782 telephonesIvory & Grey
8746 telephonesIvory, Grey, Black, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green & Brown
N625 Planset telephonesIvory, Grey & Black