• About Author Kathy Reichs
    Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials. Her work as a forensic anthropologist is internationally recognized. She has traveled to Rwanda to testify at the UN Tribunal on Genocide, helped identify individuals from mass graves in Guatemala, and done forensic work at Ground Zero in New York. For her work with CILHI she has identified war dead from World War II; from all of Southeast Asia – she even examined the remains from the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
  • 100 Best Books
    1. ULYSSES by James Joyce 2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald 3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce 4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov 5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley 6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner 7. CATCH-22 8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler 9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence 10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck 11. UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry 12. THE WAY OF ALL FLESH by Samuel Butler 13. 1984 by George Orwell 14. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves 15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf 16. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser 17. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers 18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut 19. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison 20. NATIVE SON by Richard Wright 21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow 22. APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA by John O'Hara 23. U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos 24. WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson 25. A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster 26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James 27. THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James 28. TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald 29. THE STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGY by James T. Farrell 30. THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford 31. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 32. THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James 33. SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser 34. A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh 35. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner 36. ALL THE KING'S MEN by Robert Penn Warren 37. THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY by Thornton Wilder 38. HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster 39. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin 40. THE HEART OF THE MATTER by Graham Greene 41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding 42. DELIVERANCE by James Dickey 43. A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME (series) by Anthony Powell 44. POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley 45. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway 46. THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad 47. NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad 48. THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence 49. WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence 50. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller 51. THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by Norman Mailer 52. PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT by Philip Roth 53. PALE FIRE by Vladimir Nabokov 54. LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner 55. ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac 56. THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett 57. PARADE'S END by Ford Madox Ford 58. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton 59. ZULEIKA DOBSON by Max Beerbohm 60. THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy 61. DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP by Willa Cather 62. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY by James Jones 63. THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLES by John Cheever 64. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger 65. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess 66. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham 67. HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad 68. MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis 69. THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton 70. THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET by Lawrence Durell 71. A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA by Richard Hughes 72. A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS by V.S. Naipaul 73. THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West 74. A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway 75. SCOOP by Evelyn Waugh 76. THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark 77. FINNEGANS WAKE by James Joyce 78. KIM by Rudyard Kipling 79. A ROOM WITH A VIEW by E.M. Forster 80. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh 81. THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH by Saul Bellow 82. ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner 83. A BEND IN THE RIVER by V.S. Naipaul 84. THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen 85. LORD JIM by Joseph Conrad 86. RAGTIME by E.L. Doctorow 87. THE OLD WIVES' TALE by Arnold Bennett 88. THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London 89. LOVING by Henry Green 90. MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie 91. TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell 92. IRONWEED by William Kennedy 93. THE MAGUS by John Fowles 94. WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys 95. UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch 96. SOPHIE'S CHOICE by William Styron 97. THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles 98. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain 99. THE GINGER MAN by J.P. Donleavy 100. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS by Booth Tarkington
Rotary Dial Telephones - PMG Telecom 1960s 1970s 1980s Finger Dial PDF Print E-mail
The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send interrupted electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A. E. Keith and the brothers John and Charles Erickson. The Patent No. 597,062 was granted on January 11, 1898. The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but only entered service in the Bell System in 1919. The device was phased out from the 1970s onwards with the onset of Touch Tone dialing, which uses a telephone keypad instead of a dial. Some telephone systems in the US no longer recognize rotary dialing by default, in which case it would have to be ordered from the telephone company as a special feature, to support older customer equipment.

Refurbished Rotary Dial Phones
  • Ivory Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished plastic Case (with plastic grommet)
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    ne Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Ivory Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box). In as new condition Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Ivory Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer This particular model has a grommet to replace a hole in the case (used for control-lock phones) These are not junky phones that have been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- These are quality telephones. These phones have refurbished plastic phone shells, the electronics have been refurbished. They are not sun damaged, scratched, or otherwise damaged like many rotary dial phones sold on Auction sites or at Second Hand stores. For more details on the difference between
  • Replacement Dial Plate for 802 Telecom / PMG Rotary dial phone
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    eplacement Dial plate that sits at the back of the dial of a ACF 802 rotary dial phone.
  • Digitel Push Button telephone - decadic - early Telecom Pushbutton Phone from the 1980s
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    Rare 1980s Digitel Telephone sold by Telecom Australia. This is one of the first Push Button phones sold by Telecom Australia.They were supplied by STC and made in Denmark. Phone has adjustable ring volume and is Decadic only. In good condition - dials out clear transmission - ringer works fine.
  • Ericofon Phone Gasket replacement - Cobra Telephone
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    Replacement Ericofon Gasket Brand New! the gasket that often deteriorates on Ericofon Telephones make your valuable Ericofon like new! This is a new but remanufactured gasket (not a genuine original ericofon gasket), as good if not better than the original . Makes the Ericofon with a damaged gasket look good! The arrow points to the Gasket that in many ericofons has broken down. (The Ericofon does NOT come with the Gasket) Replacement Ericofon Gasket About the Ericofon The Ericofon is a "cult" telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the plastic cover is molded in one piece, and it is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production began in 1954. The earlier models were only sold to instit
  • Ivory Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished - NEW Plastic Case
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Ivory Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops (previously PMG) and never used since (packed in Telecom box). Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Ivory These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case replaced with a new plastic case (the handsets and cord are refurbished). The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box. You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers. . For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
  • Ericofon Ivory Phone PMG / Telecom Australia Cobra Eames Ericophone
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Ivory Ericofon Rotary Dial Phone. In good condition. Sold by Telecom Australia /PMG in the 1960s and 1970s. Has some scratches on the handpiece. Makes outgoing calls and receives calls, however it does not ring (was designed to be used as an extension phone). Dial has no cracks - works well, and it has a new gasket. Has a standard Telecom Australia plug (adaptors available here) The History of the Ericofon The Ericofon is a Swedish telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the two major components--the handset and the dial--are combined in a single unit. This one-piece design anticipated the evolution of the typical cordless phone and cell phone by several decades. The Ericofon is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production be
  • Grey Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished -NEW Plastic Case
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Grey Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops (previously the PMG) and never used since (packed in Telecom box). In as new condition Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Green These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case replaced with a new plastic case . The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box. You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here One
  • Green Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished plastic Case
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Green Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box). These rare green coloured phones Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Green These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case is also refurbished. The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box. You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers. The Green colour is rarer than most other colours.. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here
  • Replacement Dial Cover for 802 Telecom / PMG Rotary dial phone
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    Replacement Dial Label plastic cover Brand New! the item that is always missing on the Retro 800 ACF series Telecom phones This is a NEW replacement plastic dial label cover (not the paper dial label) The arrow points to the plastic piece that is often missing on 800 series phones. This does not include the paper dial label.
  • Ericofon Phone Gasket replacement - Cobra Telephone
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    Replacement Ericofon Gasket Brand New! the gasket that often deteriorates on Ericofon Telephones make your valuable Ericofon like new! This is a new but remanufactured gasket (not a genuine original ericofon gasket), as good if not better than the original . Makes the Ericofon with a damaged gasket look good! The arrow points to the Gasket that in many ericofons has broken down. (The Ericofon does NOT come with the Gasket) Replacement Ericofon Gasket About the Ericofon The Ericofon is a "cult" telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the plastic cover is molded in one piece, and it is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production began in 1954. The earlier models were only sold to instit
  • Sage Green ACF 8081 - Brand New in Box - Telecom / PMG
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    nbsp; Sage Green Telecom 8081 Brand New in box. Dates from September 1985, one of the earliest Telecom Pushbutton Telephones replacing the ACF 802 rotary dial telephones. Phone is decadic only - with volume control.
  • Grey Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished Plastic Case
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Grey Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box). In as new condition Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Grey Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer These are not junky phones that have been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- These are quality telephones. These phones have refurbished plastic phone shells, the electronics have been refurbished. They are not sun damaged, scratched, or otherwise damaged like many rotary dial phones sold on Auction sites or at Second Hand stores. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here They
  • Phone Socket Adaptor - Allows 802 Australia telephones to be plugged into RJ12 or RJ45 sockets - USA
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    ocket adaptor . This allows a standard Australian Phone to be plugged into an RJ12 or RJ 45 Socket, that is now common in Australian Homes, and is the standard socket in the USA. Note: You still need a RJ45 cable to plug this in (the standard cable that goes from the wall socket to a modern phone) For international shipping the socket will be removed fom its packaging for cheaper postage.
  • Green Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished -NEW Plastic Case
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Green Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box). These are very rare - we found some more and have very few left, and once they are all sold that will be it. Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Green These phones were refurbished by Telecom workshops in Perth in the late 1980s. These particular phones had the electronics refurbished, and the plastic case replaced with a new plastic case (the handsets and cord are refurbished). The phones have been unused since. They do have slight rub marks at the side of the phones from storage in the box. You will never find second hand phones in such fantastic condition as these phones.They have new dial labels, new dial covers. The Green colour is rarer than most other colours.. For more
  • Ivory Rotary Dial Phone - 802 made by PMG / Telecom refurbished plastic Case
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Collectable Retro Rotary Dial Ivory Phone refurbished by Telecom Australia workshops and never used since (packed in Telecom box). In as new condition Has new dial label (blank). This was the standard telephone in Australian homes during the 1960's and 70's. Telecom code was 802 ACF Ivory Thousands of these phones were destroyed - they are now rare - with ones in as good condition as this - even rarer These are not junky phones that have been sitting in someone's shed, or bought at a garage sale- These are quality telephones. These phones have refurbished plastic phone shells, the electronics have been refurbished. They are not sun damaged, scratched, or otherwise damaged like many rotary dial phones sold on Auction sites or at Second Hand stores. For more details on the difference between refurbished plastic shells and new shells click here They are
  • Northern Telecom Rotary Dial Telephone - fantastic ring!
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    otary Dial Telephone made in the USA by Northern Telecom, dating from the 1960s. This was americas standard Rotary dial telephone. Its the dial phone featured in hundreds of movies. This phone has a fantastic mechanical ring - louder than and phone you have heard. It dials decadic, and has adjustable ring volume. Dial label cover is attached but there is no dial label. A retro rotary dial phone classic!
  • Chocolate Brown ACF 805 Pushbutton Phone - Telecom
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    second hand Chocloate Brown ACF 805 series telephone. circa 1982. This was the first 'Touchfone' to replace the Rotary Dial ACF 802 by Telecom Australia. It was based on the ACF 802 metal base - so its a tough as an ACF 802. This telephone is in reasonable condition with some surface scratching. It is a rare colour.
  • Ericofon Mint Green Phone PMG / Telecom Australia Cobra Eames Ericophone
    retro rotary dial phone telephone
    One Mint Green Ericofon Rotary Dial Phone. In excellent condition. Sold by Telecom Australia /PMG in the 1960s and 1970s. Has some very minor scratches on the handpiece. Makes outgoing calls and receives calls, and it does ring . Dial has no cracks - works well, and it has a new gasket. Has a standard Telecom Australia plug (adaptors available here) The History of the Ericofon The Ericofon is a Swedish telephone handset created by Ericsson. It was designed in the late 1940s by a design team including Gösta Thames, Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg. A specific feature of the telephone is that the two major components--the handset and the dial--are combined in a single unit. This one-piece design anticipated the evolution of the typical cordless phone and cell phone by several decades. The Ericofon is considered a landmark in plastic industrial design. The serial production began in 1954. The earlier models we

 
Today the dial is a key pad or "dial pad", generally with 12 keys numbered 0-9, *, and # that perform an equivalent signalling function to that of a rotating disk dial.

In telephony, the word dialing (in present and past tense spelt with two Ls in British English and with one in American English) describes the process of the placement of a telephone call.

From as early as 1836, there were various suggestions and inventions of dials for sending telegraph signals. After the first commercial telephone exchange was installed in 1878, the need for an automated, user-controlled method of directing a telephone call became apparent. The first telephone dial patent was jointly issued to Connolly and McTighe in 1879. There were numerous competing inventions, and 26 patents of dials, push-buttons and similar mechanisms for signalling which telephone subscriber was wanted by a caller were issued prior to 1891. Most inventions involved highly complex, and expensive, mechanisms and required the user to perform complex manipulations.

The first commercial installation of a Telephone Dial accompanied the first commercial installation of a 99 line automatic telephone exchange in La Porte, Indiana in 1892, which was based on the 1891 Strowger patent designs. The original dial designs were rather cumbersome and development continued during the 1890s and early 1900s hand in hand with the switching technology. In the 1950s, invention of plastics saw the dial itself change from metal disk to a plastic ring.

In the early 1960s Bell Telephone Laboratories researched various key pad layouts to replace the telephone dial, for electronic telephone equipment. Researchers rearranged the dial numbers in a wide range of combinations from mimicking a telephone dial to the now familiar 4 row by 3 column keypad. They found the 4x3 keypad to be the fastest and most error free arrangement to operate. However, because the American telephone dial had the 0 next to the 9, they tested the arrangement with a 1 at the top and 0 at the bottom, below the 8 key. They also tested an arrangement with the 0 below the 2 and having 9 at the top, as appeared on adding machines at that time and now appears on computer and calculator keyboards, but that arrangement was more error prone as few people were familiar with adding machines at that time. Because of this research, phone key pad numbering is reversed to today's calculator and computer keyboards. However, the keypads of most cash machines usually have the same numbering as phone key pads.

Even today, rotary phones occasionally find special uses. For instance, the anti-drug Fairlawn Coalition of the Anacostia section of Washington, DC persuaded the phone company to install rotary dials on area pay phones. The goal was to discourage loitering by drug purchasers, since the dials could not be used to call dealers' pagers.