Category Archives: collection

Wraiths

This time I want to focus on a few differences in the New Case shells that are kind of mysterious. These “deviations” do not occur on Old Case and Touch Tone shells, only on the New Cases.

A very long time ago, I already mentioned it when it comes to the holes in the earpiece. From the picture below you can see the 2 types of holes appearing on the New Case earpiece: 13 mm and 18mm.

In my collection the typical 3 Dutch and 1 UK models have the left type of earpiece. These 4 only exist with this type. But I have seen both types on Crystal Mint, Mandarin Red, Persian Gray and Wedgewood so far. And maybe they appear on more.

Another wraithlike appearance is the width of the ‘neck’ at the smallest point. In the picture below it is visualized, on 2 Sahara New Cases, what is meant with that.

With New Case (either Flat or Wedge) I can find both versions. Of the 51 new cases in my collection, 1/3 has 3 cm necks. The other 2/3 has a 3.5 cm width.

Nobody seems to know where these differences come from. In both cases the mold should be actually different. Age does not seem to be an issue, North Electric versus LME does not seem be an issue. It looks totally random…

It is a mystery.

As Pure As? III

Time for an update with another impure Ericofon. The first post of the ‘pure-series‘ was already 6,5 years ago. More information on the background story can be read in this post from 2017.

This month I could add the 6th metallic painted Nichco to my collection: a metallic gold this time. In 2019, when travelling to Norway, I also bought a gold metallic Ericofon, but this one, turned out to be a locally painted Ericofon for an exhibition. Sometimes you have to take a chance…

There are some typical characteristics with which you can determine if it is a Nichco painted model or not. The most obvious one is the sticker on the back, which proves it is an ‘official’ Nichco.

In total I have spotted 12 different Nichco metallic colors in all types of new cases. I am not trying to get all Nichco colors in all types… one of each color should be more than enough. So I am already halfway! …I guess.

Decayed Intelligence

When telephones were not yet that obvious for everyone a manual would be needed to understand how this ‘modern’ technology would work. I am not sure on the year of origin of this manual card.

Nowadays the manual that comes with a high tech device is not much more. Technically we are today more intelligent of course but in other areas I have strong doubts. It must have decayed somewhere in recent history :-).

I Don’t Get It

Actually I thought that I knew everything, or at least a lot, about the existence of all types of Ericofons. But what shows up in the past weeks? A model I have never heard of before. I know the 600, the 700 and all the deviations from these. But the 5000 I was not aware of. 🙂

It is a hands-free table phone that can be used for conferences. Produced by KonfTel for Ericsson in 1998. The table phone itself is numbered 5010 (or 5020), the whole unit 5000.

One thing is sure: this one will not end up in my collection.

Circulating

Over the years I have collected quite some Ericofons already. In that process of collecting I also got double models. I even get offered to buy small series from people who want to get rid of it (which I do not understand 😉 ).

In the meantime I really started to appreciate to turn old, dirty and sticky Ericofons into shiny like new models. All in original state, shiny, clean and working. It is a very satisfying activity. But it is also time and effort consuming.

Above is an impression of my ‘circulating library’. All models are still raw from the box, just as I received them. Everything circulates through from time to time: regular models, 700’s, Old Cases, Touch Tones, NOS etc, complete or not.

So if you have any Ericofons that you want to get rid off, either for my collection or for me to ‘re-animate’, please contact me. I am always interested to buy and I am sure we can work something out.

Waveforms

On the day my oldest daughter graduated from high school (Well done girl!!) I received this gorgeous Gold Plated Ericofon. As can be seen in the reflection, it is a habit in The Netherlands that when someone graduates you will put up a flag. Accompanied by balloons and old school books we decorated the front of the house. It’s party-time!

When opening the phone to see what was inside, I saw something logical and I want to share here. As the paint of the Gold Plated (and also the Chrome Plated) is highly conductive, you cannot just compile the Ericofon as any other model. In the past I was already literally shocked once when picking up a Gold Plated when it rang. Resulting in ~75VAC!! 🙂

When putting together a plated Ericofon, you have to make sure that all electrical elements that could get in contact with the paint are well insulated. North Electric tends to spray the inside of the phone as well, where Nichco does not. Use a lot of tape to be sure! This phone was not working initially, but after some taping all waveforms were going through the proper circuits and not through my body…

Unnatural History II

Some time ago I saw an interesting item on an auction. It was a set of documents from the early history of the Ericofon. Still referred to as Erifon at that time. It contained drawings and a vision on the future of the Erifon.

The drawings date back to July 4th 1942 (which surprises me as normally all Swedes are off for 2 months during summer 😉 ). Unfortunately I could not get hold of these documents, but this sample gives a pretty good impression of the “Erifons” history. A future they could never have predicted upfront.

Another Brown World II

Brown Ericofons appear in all kind of flavors. Original North Electric, the Dutch PTT dark, the CEAC painted, and of course the 700. And since last week I also have a Metallic Nichco in dark brown color as well. Rick from Canada was so kind to offer it to me and it is in perfect condition. Thank you Rick!!

Nichco dark brown in full morning sun.

In full sunshine, it lights up. The metallic is so beautiful!! This brown Ericofon is much darker than the Metallic Nichco Orange that I have although the picture above seems to show something else.

Brown (yes it is the same phone) on the left and Orange on the right.

For a long time I was doubting if I should add these metallic series to my collection but I am glad I did it.

How many Nichco metallic colors there are is not really known but I have seen 12 different around. Randomly divided over the wedge and flat case rotaries but also in TouchTone makes at least 36 possible variations. At this moment I have 5.

Detailed metallic paint

Teenage Lightning (10th Birthday Version)

Although the site is not yet up and running for 10 years, I have actually started my collection 10 years ago late February 2013 (Hurrah!).

When I started I focused on the Ericofons themselves, but later on I also started to get some related items. Most of them I have already shared here: historic pictures, promotional items, boxes, stamps, etc. It is actually fun!! Walking through the 1950s till the 1980s, 4 decades of history. So I will keep on collecting, I guess for the next 10 years as well. Not only the phones themselves, but also the historic surprises.

Last month I got some nice posters from the late 1970’s. These posters sized 35×25 cm (14×10 inches) were used in a store for promotional purposes. That is why there is some ‘sunwear’ on the colors. But that also has its charm.

Accident Insurance II

In December I gave some considerations on buying Ericofons online. With this post I want to focus on a specific topic in this area: painted Ericofons.

Sometimes you run into a specific color that you want (or need in my case 😉 ). Before you get carried away an click the ‘buy’ button there is a simple check you might be able to do because sometimes Ericofons are painted and do not show the original color. First thing of course is to ask the seller. But the seller might not respond to your question, might not know or just might say it is original…

The 2 colors brown are different, but the principle of the check is the same. On the left you see a different reflection on the phone around the holes of the microphone. This one is clearly painted, as paint, even if professionally applied tends to go around the sharp edged corners of the holes. The thicker the paint the higher the impact. Even with thin layered paint it can be visible. But of course it also depends the pictures you have.

Of course the pictures above were ‘exaggerated’ to show the principles of this small check you can do yourself. Just to make sure there are no surprises. Although surprises are sometimes great as well.