Executone Model KC Intercom

This old-fashioned intercom languished for months at a local thrift store. When they held a "50% off everything" sale, I finally broke down and rescued it.

The controls are very simple. The round knob controls the power and volume, and I suppose the left lever switches from "listen" to "speak." Between the controls lies the jeweled orange power light.

Since this set is designed to sit out in the middle of one's desk, the back piece is made of wood, finished to match the cabinet.

The simple internals are built like a battleship. Three tubes (6F6, 6D6, 6Z4) sit atop the square chassis, along with a heavy transformer. The speaker frame is heavy steel and a solid metal plate separates the transformer from the speaker. The little hole above the speaker grill in front is where you put a screw to secure the speaker frame. Somebody had put a modern alloy screw in there. I decided to leave that hole empty until I found the right size screw in brass or black.

At the rear is a little plate with five screw terminals labeled R, W, B, G, and Y, presumably to match wire colors. The G and Y terminals are jumpered together with a small metal piece that looks designed for that purpose. Above the first three terminals, somebody has penciled in the letters L, T, and G. Above the scribbled G is another crude scribble that might represent the Ground symbol.

Hmmm, what could all this mean? Perhaps L, T, and G stand for Listen, Talk, and Ground. With a little detective work, I could probably solve the mystery. Before I did so, however, I ran across a fellow who owned a master unit and was looking for a slave unit to complete his setup. After considering it for about 30 seconds, I sold him this one for the same price that I had paid. It's a cute item, but of no practical use without a master unit.