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Author: Moon
Rating: 5
Review: I have to say, this arrived pretty quickly. Ordered on the 21st Dec, got it on the 24th - I thought at this time of year, I'd have to wait at least until next week. I love this phone. I've always been a fan of old rotary phones and I already own a 1960's phone and a 1940's black Bakelite 300 series. Obviously, they won't work with modern connections, not even with the new style plug because they interfere with the broadband. One day I'll get them properly converted. Until then, this GPO 200 reproduction will do very nicely. My initial worry was that it'd be like so many reproduction rotary dials and be made of light, flimsy plastic - but no. It's made of some form of plastic resin and it's almost as weighty as my original Bakelite phone. The handset is very sturdy - just don't hit anyone on the head with it, you'd probably kill them! The dial feels very robust and smooth. It'll take a bit of time getting used to the * and # being on the dial (if you notice, there are two extra holes on it - 12 instead of the usual 10 - to accommodate the hash and star keys) but it's worth making the adjustment. I just have to remember that the last hole is NOT a zero... I've missed rotary dial phones. My family's first phone was a rotary dial in the 70s and I used to love playing with the dial - with the handset down, of course. Another plus point - there is an actual set of proper bells in this telephone. No electronic reproduced sounds here, indeed no. A proper brrring brrring, thank you very much! Some reviewers have said that the bell ring is a bit quiet - but that's absolutely true of the model it's recreating. The robust, loud, aggressive ring came with the more modern phones in the 60s - the old Bakelite phones had a more polite ring. Just watch any old black and white film and see what I mean. Also, I've heard my genuine Bakelite phone ring and it's almost exactly the same sound as this. There is a ringer on/off switch on the base as well as a 2 step volume control for the handset. I ALWAYS turn my ringer off at night so this is a major plus point for me. Of course, I could just pull the plug out of the answering machine, but a switch is much more convenient. When you dial a number and your finger hits the metal dial stop, it moves almost imperceptibly and gives a tiny "click". This is what activates the tone dialling for each number, so your finger has to hit the stop - but it's actually quite hard to NOT let your finger hit the stop anyway, so that's no problem. The handset coiled wire is - delightfully - cloth covered rather than plastic and it gives the whole unit a feel of quality and time taken over its manufacture. This phone gives you a true retro feel of a robust, solid piece of equipment but with all the convenience of being able to function properly on a modern network. Have I said how much I love this phone?
