# Anyone else



## Jbird66 (Oct 26, 2010)

I have a friend that has hundreds of them. He has some they are really neat!

Nice start to a collection!


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## ampman (Apr 2, 2009)

Jbird66 said:


> I have a friend that has hundreds of them. He has some they are really neat!
> 
> Nice start to a collection!


Any pics ?


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

ampman said:


> Collect these old insulators


Yup. I like the green glass ones the best but have a sh*t load of the clear ones. I have some out the rest are boxed up. There all made by armstrong


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

wireman64 said:


> Yup. I like the green glass ones the best but have a sh*t load of the clear ones. I have some out the rest are boxed up. There all made by armstrong


 I saw a bunch of them at the thrift store. They were priced @ $1.99 ea.
I'm going back tomorrow and buy a few, with my 25% senior's discount. 
I hope there's some good green ones left. They were all Hemmingray. :thumbup:


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

retiredsparktech said:


> I saw a bunch of them at the thrift store. They were priced @ $1.99 ea.
> I'm going back tomorrow and buy a few, with my 25% senior's discount.
> I hope there's some good green ones left. They were all Hemmingray. :thumbup:


Id grab them


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## TTW (Sep 14, 2012)

I just love those old insulators. Old glass bottles are cool too.

I have not collected them, but I'll start checking the local antique stores.


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## Julius793 (Nov 29, 2011)

Sure do even planted one


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

wireman64 said:


> Id grab them


 I did this morning. Two clear glass and two green glass. Some had a few chips. I bought the best ones. 25% percent discount today.


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

retiredsparktech said:


> I did this morning. Two clear glass and two green glass. Some had a few chips. I bought the best ones. 25% percent discount today.


Cool , ill post some pics of mine


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## BigDaddyWeave (Jul 17, 2012)

I have several sizes / colors of those insulators here on my desk @ the supply house--it surprises me how many people don't know what they are.

I also have a greater variety of sizes and colors on a desk and window ledge @ home. Most are either clear or the blue / green aqua color--some variance in size and manufacturer. I have also heard there are amber and a light lavender glass ones out there but have never personally seen them.

Mine have been scavanged over the years from various yard sales and flea-markets, but I also found several of them lying at the base of utility poles in rural western NC mountains when I was a kid riding my bike everywhere. Doubt they will ever be worth anything, but they are a neat slice of history and good conversation pieces.


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## Hippie (May 12, 2011)

I have a bunch of them, most I picked up along the train tracks where they were used for signal lines. There were some still in use around Richmond a couple years ago, not sure if they're still there. I think they're really cool, I've found a few nice ones at yard sales too.


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## jlmran (Feb 25, 2011)

I inherited about 60 from my step-granddad who managed a caboose back in the days of cabooses. People laugh at my telephone also.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

jlmran said:


> I inherited about 60 from my step-granddad who managed a caboose back in the days of cabooses. People laugh at my telephone also.


Dial 550 wait for dial tone, flick the hook and hang up. It will ring you back... 

My father was a telephone linemen before working at Bell Labs. He patented tone dial. They studied and told him only a couple company's in the US could possibility use it.. 
They asked how you could set it up on the dial.. 4 rows of 3 and use two symbols, give them a random tone, maybe someday it will have a use..
So because it might have some value someday, they gave him the patent and a nominal royalty for this, kind of useless technology.. 
They were to busy selling them princess dial phones. LoL


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## Mike Little (Dec 31, 2012)

Wirenuting said:


> Dial 550 wait for dial tone, flick the hook and hang up. It will ring you back...
> 
> My father was a telephone linemen before working at Bell Labs. He patented tone dial. They studied and told him only a couple company's in the US could possibility use it..


Do you mean DTMF (dual tone modulated frequency)? Cool!


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## ampman (Apr 2, 2009)

jlmran said:


> I inherited about 60 from my step-granddad who managed a caboose back in the days of cabooses. People laugh at my telephone also.


Found this a while back it still worked


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

The blue insulators are worth some money.


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## guest (Feb 21, 2009)

Yep I collect insulators too, Have three small ones, one large LAPP post insulator that had arced over and set a crossarm on fire, and I also have a fuse cutout (S&C) with two fuses...one is still good but the coating on the fibreglass was shot so it is now covered in 33 black tape, and another fuse that is blown but has the original coating (and labels) intact. Pics coming soon....

I am trying to talk my POCO into giving up a 5-15kva pole transformer for me to display.:thumbup:


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## Hippie (May 12, 2011)

mxslick said:


> I am trying to talk my POCO into giving up a 5-15kva pole transformer for me to display.:thumbup:


I bought an old 5kva from Dominion years ago for $25, its in my brother's neon shop wired up backwards with an antique choke coil to "burn in" new tubes after they've been filled. Very mad scientist looking. Ill try to find a pic or two of the setup to post


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## GrayHair (Jan 14, 2013)

*Insulator and Telephone Memories*

INSULATORS - mxslick's mention of the LAPP insulator made me think of the LAPP insulator beneath the WSM-AM tower on I-65 south of Nashville, TN. The tower was built in 1932 but I have no idea if the original insulator is still in use.

Picture of the insulator here: http://www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/ccs/wsmpix.htm

Tower, trasmitter info here: http://hawkins.pair.com/wsm.html.

TELEPHONES - Old telephones from Western Electric were built like tanks, in more ways than one. If you can find one, pick it up and you'll see what I mean by "like a tank". Not much went wrong with them: VERY occasionally regulate the dial-speed and clean the hook-switch contacts. They will probably work forever


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## jeffmoss26 (Dec 8, 2011)

I have one or two insulators. I do collect old phones


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## Archania (Mar 16, 2009)

I think I probably have about 1000 of them... Been collecting them since I was a kid. (my mom, grandma and grandpa had some) Got hundreds of them when I was on summer vacation one year when I was a kid, because they were taking a ton of poles down after they put all the lines underground near my parents house. Unfortunately I have most of them boxed up right now
The real expensive ones are the old old threadless ones, then all the goofy colors besides clear & green. I even have a couple rubber ones I found by a railroad once.


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## michoi (Jun 29, 2014)

I collect bottles and stumble upon these often, I have a few insulators but collecting them doesn't interest me. My uncle has 2 insulators completely made of bakelite, I already asked and he definately will not part with them.


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

I know a guy that likes to shoot at them from his back porch :laughing:


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

That first one up top on the left is on nearly every utility pole in this area.

Sent from my C5215 using electriciantalk.com mobile app


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

BigDaddyWeave said:


> I have several sizes / colors of those insulators here on my desk @ the supply house--it surprises me how many people don't know what they are.
> 
> I also have a greater variety of sizes and colors on a desk and window ledge @ home. Most are either clear or the blue / green aqua color--some variance in size and manufacturer. I have also heard there are amber and a light lavender glass ones out there but have never personally seen them.
> 
> Mine have been scavanged over the years from various yard sales and flea-markets, but I also found several of them lying at the base of utility poles in rural western NC mountains when I was a kid riding my bike everywhere. Doubt they will ever be worth anything, but they are a neat slice of history and good conversation pieces.



light lavender ones are quite rare and can be worth as much as 200 each depending on how dark they are.
glass insulators were generally made from end of run glass (where a color change is going on)
they were an easy way for a glass maker to make additional money on transition glass

to make a royal purple or lavender glass a small amount of gold powder was mixed in the glass batch.
and cobalt is added to make it blue, iron to make it red. chromite to make it green.
( i work in a glass factory):laughing:


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