Just out of total curiosity, I'm trying to identify a system I remember seeing a lot as a kid in the 80s at the Dierbergs and Grandpa Pigeons stores here in St. Louis. I remember the phones looked somewhat similar to the original Nortel SL1 "wedge" phones, with the round Western Electric style handset, and a brown or wood grain faceplate. Pretty sure they were these: https://usedphones.com/phones/electronic-phones/nitsuko-tie-ek-820-12238.html or these: https://usedphones.com/phones/electronic-phones/nitsuko-tie-ek-820-12237.html

I also remember a very distinctive, and loud, warble tone before a PA announcement was made. And 2 digit station numbers.

Anyway, that's about all I remember, just curious. I deal with all IP systems at work everyday, but I have a growing collection of older stuff at home, wouldn't mind adding one of these systems.

Thanks!

In the second pic, those were TIE EK516 models. They were very popular in the 80s. They later came out with the 'Econo-Key' sytem, that used a much simpler flat-pack KSU design, but it stuck with the classic 80s ivory with woodgrain scheme.

TIE ECONO-KEY PHONE

Which systems would these phones have been used with.

I remember seeing a lot more of the first phone that looks more like a Nortel set than the wood grain ones.

Never mind answered my own question, the EK516 duh!

Did they make a larger version that used these phones? I remember Dierbergs stores having a lot of phones and a lot of phone lines.

Oh yes, they made much bigger systems. I believe that the next size up from the EK516 was 12X32. The next and largest step was 24X64. The cabinets and separate power supplies were huge.

The 516 was a flat pack type. the phones looked like EK but were different. EK 820/1232/2264 was a square box with slide in cards. it was the cheaper side. The Ultracom 820/1232/2264 was the bigger dog. phones looked different and was a 3 wire system with off hook
announce. I could not carry a 2264 power supply up 1 flight of stairs today. Most likely could not even pick it up. But I put in a load of them in the day.