What year did phone companies ad on off switch to vintage phones.?
Vintage phones at one time had to be rented by the phone company. Eventually people could buy there own phone. At some point in all of this on off switch for the ringer was installed in old fashioned heavy dial phones. About what year did the on off switches come about.
Also could not believe that even in the 80's the phone companies still charged phone rentals on there phones. How many people never noticed? Whoops! How many thousands did you over pay?
Mmm J2014-05-13T10:38:03Z
I remember in the 1960s on what were called "2500 sets" - basically a desk-top, rotary dial phone - had a ringer "volume" thumbwheel on the bottom of the phone. This moved the bell or clapper away from the two units resulting in a softer or louder ring. If you rolled the thumbwheel enough, the bell and clapper would not touch. The clapper would move resulting in a clicking noise, no bell ringing, because the clapper could not reach the bell - essentially turning the ringer off.
As for "renting the phones" from the phone company... Customers were not allowed to attach non-phone company devices until after the "Carterphone decision", there was no "overpayment". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone
After Carterfone... well, that's a whole different historical perspective depending on your frame of reference. It did take a while for some folks to understand that they could buy their equipment rather than continue leasing. A short lived industry full of "consultants" who would review your phone bill and provide a report of savings they found (phones not in service) and they would take a cut of that monthly savings...