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Friedland York 1975

Friedland York Model Tubular Doorbell Model C963 Circa 1975


Friedland York Model 683 Tubular Door Chime - 1985

Friedland York Model 683 Tubular Door Chime – 1975

This petite Long Bell Door Chime features unusual square bells. This chime was imported from England by General Electric for the US market in a partnership with V. & E. Friedland. Longbell chimes for the UK market were often shorter in stature than their North American counterparts. This one measures 32 inches from the top of the cover to the bottom of the longest bell. The York was also exported to Continental Europe and Australia.

Another modification for the home market was the facility to use either a transformer or internal batteries as a source of power for installation in homes lacking a transformer. The shorter bells helped in this regard as less energy is required to vibrate the smaller mass of each bell. The need for batteries created another design challenge as the case had to cover the batteries as well as the mechanism.

I surmise a battery facility was necessary because much of Europe’s housing stock was built before the advent of electricity. Although British and European homes of all vintages have been nearly universally wired, low voltage doorbell wiring was not practical in many homes built before the 20th century. An episode of the BBC series Upstairs/Downstairs revolved around wiring an upper class town home on Eaton place for the first time in the early 1900s.

The York was described in a 1977 catalog:

863 YORK Two-tone housing. The distinctive square tubes in brass colour anodized finish give a rich full tone. Two-note signal for operation from one push button only. Forum 1 1/2 volt “Baby” batteries can be fitted inside the chime… Can be used with a Friedland 752 tranformer if mains operation desired.

 

      Friedland York Model 963 Door Chime Sound - The Doorbell Museum

10 thoughts on “Friedland York 1975”

  1. Hi, My husband and I inherited this doorbell (963) from his beloved grandmother when she passed away.
    We miss the thingy that brings the sticks to chime. Do you know where we can get spare parts and possibly an instruction on how to install the bell (specifically what transformer is needed)?
    Thank you!
    Abidingly,
    Helen Pater

  2. We inherited a broken Friedland York years ago. After a long search we finally found this website.
    And we glad to say that with great thanks to Electrachime.net our Friedland York chimes again.
    A couple of days ago, just in time for Christmas, we received the spare parts from Robert and could finally fix the doorbell.

  3. Hi,

    I’m looking for a replacement spring for a Friedland York 1985 (no 963).

    The chime itself is working fine and the coil reacts as it should, but the hammer isn’t touching the bells anymore. The spring is quite stretched out and has lost its form.

    Could inform me on the type of spring I need to insert in this chime? Where can I find it?

    We really want to keep this chime so any help would be appreciated.

    Kindest regards,

    Frank

    1. The Spring is a specialty item. I may have one. Please send a photo of your existing mechanism as there are minor differences that must be accounted for. I will also need your shipping location to estimate a total price.

  4. Hi, I have one of these that isnt working. I bought the batteries 4 x c 1.5 vault and they are in. Apart from the batteries there seems to be a few things missing inside. Can I send you some photos and you can let me know what it needs? Would love to get it working again. Its a 963 (280-770) Same as the picture on the left of this site. Thanks.

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