GEC MURAPHONE

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GEC Muraphone

The Muraphone was the wall telephone equivalent of the Gecophone but was introduced much later than the Gecophone (originally an iron bracket was used to convert the Gecophone for wall use).  Many Muraphones were fitted with an AC buzzer instead of a ringer.  The first Muraphones had a bakelite handset, similar to the GPO No. 164.

A classic design of the early post-war period, it had a transmission circuit similar to the BPO 332 and used a handset No. 164 the same as the BPO 332, mounted vertically over the dial.

Quoting from the GEC catalogue, “The Muraphone instrument is the most pleasing design of wall telephone. It has the big advantage that the handset must be removed before dialling can begin. The case is shaped to form a cradle for the receiver and a housing for the transmitter, so that the handset is securely held in a vertical position. The front surface of the moulding accommodates a dial; and this circular motif is repeated at the sides of the moulding by concentric segments. These are provided with outlet apertures for sound from the bell. All apparatus, including the dial, is mounted on the base; thus complete accessibility is given to all components by simply removing the case.”

Manufacturer’s designation:
ST 2500 series (standard version), ST 2600 series (tropicalised version).

Colours:
Black, ivory, Chinese red, jade green.

Users:
The Muraphone saw limited use on private (PAX, not PABX) systems installed by  Reliance Telephone Company in factories and on the railways. Some were exported to Canada for use on PAX systems.  Ivory sets were fitted as PMBX extensions throughout the (railway-owned) Queen’s Hotel, Leeds (a quantity of these, fitted with  extensible plaited cords and buzzers, came onto the collector market in the mid 1980s). In fact the Queen's Hotel is the source of just about every ivory Muraphone in collectors' hands today after a dealer bought a substantial quantity of them and sold them to collectors.

Note the slots for ventilation	Case fixing screws are exposed

GEC Muraphone K

The Muraphone K was the wall  telephone equivalent of the GEC Tele. 1000 and was released in 1956.  The design of its case was identical to the original Muraphone but had a more modern handset and internal circuitry. The handset is of the hollow handle type, titled handset Number 1 by the BPO, and accommodates the then newly developed 4T receiver (rocking armature type). The mur element in the name is taken from the Latin word for a wall.

Colours: Black, plus ivory, red and green cases with black handsets and cords.

Users:  The Muraphone K saw use on PAX systems installed by  the Reliance Telephone Company, although it would be misleading to say it was used widely. A number saw service on British Railways for instance.

Text taken from GEC publicity leaflet.

Muraphone K external view	Muraphone K internal view

New Muraphone

The New Muraphone, launched in February 1966, was an attempt to simplify the design of the Telephone 711.

Colours:
Two-tone grey, black.

Users:
None known. The product appears to have been a failure.

Last revised: 07 May, 2007