A friend of mine recently asked me to take a look at her Ericsson Ericofon, commonly known as the Ericsson ‘Cobra’ phone, just the other day. I was away from home and so I had no test and measurement gear, no soldering iron, no tools, but we made do with a few things she had at her place.

The Ericsson Ericofon was a classic Ericsson design, originating from the 1940’s, and made all the way through to until around 1980. The phone is a classic design and has become quite collectible, with many for sale on eBay. The phone has also made appearances in lots of movies. You can read all about the Ericsson Ericofon here.

The first thing I noticed was the great Swedish build quality, down to the RIFA capacitor, right in front on your eyes as you open the phone up. There seemed to be an issue with the ringer, as we could get a dial tone, just no ring from the phone. The phone certainly needed some TLC, I oiled a few spots as best I could, using a small screwdriver to apply oil to the dialer gears and spindle, I cleaned some contacts and disassembled the ringer, all to no avail. This repair will require a part two!

In the meantime, have a look at the very nice money shots: