In my youth I was raised with fixed telephone lines and all their limitations. The line was occupied for others when calling, cords were always too short for a bit of privacy and the telephones were ugly in their black and grey colors. In The Netherlands almost everybody had a gray Ericsson T65. But it had a certain charm I must say.
After getting my technical degree in electrotechnical engineering I started to work for a small high tech company. Later, I switched to a large telecom company where I still work today, on 5G technology at this moment. And coincidentally one of my passions is a telephone: the Ericsson Ericofon. It is really a coincidence, because it was not for a technical reason but for a design reason that it grabbed my interest.
At a certain moment I was fed up with my DECT phone I had at home. The batteries were always empty or the phones were somewhere I couldn’t find them. So it was time for another solution… a good old fixed landline phone with a cord and without batteries.
As I was always interested in design in general I started searching for a good-looking phone on second hand sites. And there the Ericofon crossed my path. I did not really recognize this model as it was not very popular in The Netherlands.
This model was so innovative and so beautifully designed that early 2013 I was ‘contaminated’ with the Ericofon-virus. I decided to start my own modest collection after I realized there were more colors than the PTT Dark Red that I had just bought. Of course the first 3 phones were the Dutch PTT trio as they were relatively easy to get where I live.
Slowly I ended up in collecting, repairing, trading and re-selling this telephone to the best of my knowledge and skills. I learned a lot from Richard Rose, who owns the website www.ericofon.com. But also I learned from other collectors that I talk to, from all over the world.
This blog is not specifically about the history, it is about my passion for this phone in all its shapes and variations. Of course I will touch upon topics as history and technical background and explain some aspects of the phone.
All pictures on this blog are taken by myself and are from my own collection when no external source is mentioned. I do not work on the pictures in any image processing program like Photoshop or anything else. They are shown as they come from the my camera. Okay, sometimes I adjust the size or cut disturbing elements, but that’s it.
The images on this page are from the Ericsson archive. The one below roughly shows the 600 and 700 models in 1 design drawing.
Well, I plan to update regularly. If you have any questions, are willing to trade or if you want to share good tips, do not hesitate. If you have an idea on a post, let me know as well.
If you are planning to re-use one of my pictures for books/online posts etc., please notify me upfront. If you think you own one of the pictures on this site, please let me know as well. There is absolutely no bad intention.
I hope you enjoy reading!
Hi, I started collecting Cobras last year. I don’t have many as you. You have a great collection! Anyway I just came across two lots of X10 phones (Manual Service or CB model) one in dark blue, I believe you call it wedgwood blue. They are first body tall ones and inside they have the earphone connects to contacts on body. Two weeks later I found another lot of X9 (Manual Service or CB model) in Ivory color I believe you call them Candle Glow also first tall body. Anyway both lots I was told belonged to a Hotel from the 5o’s or 60’s. I am writing this to you because I read in one of your sections I think (January 2016) that you are not sure if long bodies came with CB plate.