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Felt based 202

Started by Sargeguy, December 29, 2008, 10:27:59 PM

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Sargeguy

I just recieved a 202 that I won via eBay.

-E1 handset
-#4 dial
-felt base
-rubber handset cord
-House of Telephones repro cloth cord with modular plug
-House of telephones repro handset cord still in bag
-Spare F1 handset
-Z Operator dial plate in good shape
-Original Dial card holder with "Naugatuck" exchange

From the repro cords and the extra handset, it appears this phone was an incomplete restoration project.  Let's hope very incomplete.  I have not able to open the phone up yet, all this info was gained from a brief inspection after picking it up at the PO, and I don't have pics.  Here is the original auction:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=290284433355

I don't have a heck of a lot of experience with 202's (I own three) and I was not aware that felt bases were used.  Is this original or the result of a repair job?  The felt looks old and has sticker marks on the bottom
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Dennis Markham

Greg,

It looks like you got a very good buy on that phone.  A #4 dial and the E1 handset alone are worth your purchase price.  If you need some help wiring it up, let me know.  I'll be glad to help.  There were probably originally cord pads on the felt base.  That may be the stickers you mentioned.  Whenever you get photos we can tell for sure.

benhutcherson

Greg,

Don't you know that I have the claim on all telephones in Kentucky?

With that in mind, it is imperative that the phone be in my possession, post haste.

I will ensure its proper care, and complete it's restoration.

All others please take note-do not purchase telephones in Kentucky. You will be found out.

In all seriousness, it looks like you got a good deal on that one. Sorry that I don't have the answer to your question-I know very little about the 102/202 style telephones.

bingster

Excellent deal on that one!  I saw that one, but passed.  The E1 looks like it's in particularly nice shape--nice, deep black finish still.
= DARRIN =



McHeath

QuoteAll others please take note-do not purchase telephones in Kentucky. You will be found out.

What?!  They have telephone in Kentucky?

;)

My great-great grandpa, on dad's side, was from Kentucky.  Fought for the South as I recall.


Sargeguy

Naugatuck is in CT, so I am bringing the phone back to New England where it belongs!  That is if the phone ever came from CT in the first place.  I may have a very nice Frankenphone on my hands.  I had a minute to look inside the phone and it has been tampered with after all.  Someone installed what looks like a network behind the dial.   It is a square steel or aluminum box about 1' in diameter. The base plate has rusted where it comes in contact with the felt.  The base itself is a IV 1937 and has perfect paint while the stem and hookswitch are worn.  I have not been able to get a good look at the dial but it sounds like a #4.  The handset is shiny but has a few dings.  Still a nice buy for $70 including S&H but not the unspoiled gem I was hoping for.  I have 2 other 202s from the 2nd half of 37' so this will most likely get combined with them to make one really nice keeper, one parts phone and one to give away as a gift.   My wife likes to give my phones away to her family members.  A frankenphone 202 with repro cords, an F1 downgrade and a network would be a perfect vandidate for that role.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

bingster

The box mounted behind the dial may be a filter.  If my memory hasn't failed me, the number of the filter is 64A, but don't quote me on it.  They were installed when the pulsing of the dial interfered with nearby radio reception.
= DARRIN =



Dan/Panther

#7
Once again, I hope it's just terminology that is getting in my way here.
I also have the round sticker marks on the bottom of the base on my 202. See Photo.
HOWEVER, the base cover material, is NOT felt, It's SUEDE.
Are we interchanging the terms Suede, and Felt as one and the same ? I don't think felt would hold up very well under the weight and use of a phone, suede however would and did, suede is used on the later 302 and 500 feet, and not Felt.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Dan/Panther

#8
In the next photo, are samples of FELT and SUEDE.
The first piece is FELT, the second is the front side of SUEDE, the third is the back side of SUEDE. This is the material used on my 202, not FELT.
Maybe to save money reproduction bases like my rip off Candlesticks WERE covered in felt, but I don't think they would use felt originally. If they did, the only examples I've found have been refurbished or knock offs.
Can someone post an ORIGINAL 202 with FELT on the base.
I've worked with leather for years, and this is suede on my phone, not felt. According to the person I got the phone from, it came from their Grandmothers house, and is original.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Sargeguy

Nope it is brown felt.  The felt looks old and has sticker marks from the triangular cork stickers that one typically finds on old 202 (at least on two of the three other 202's I have). I know some candlesticks use green felt  coverings but had never seen felt on a 202 before.  I will post pics when I can access a computer that will enable me to do so.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Dennis Markham

I have seen wool covered feet and heard about wool being used on the bases of sticks and the B1's and D1's.  I have no experience with anything that was felt covered but I have read that term being used in discussions about the older phones.  Perhaps the wool/woven covers are what people are referring to when they say felt??

Perry

I have occasionally noticed restored 102s and 202s on eBay with descriptions indicating that the base was restored with felt. Here is an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280298004579&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

bingster

Candlesticks were usually installed with their bottom plates covered in a heavy felted wool, rather than suede.  It's often found to be moth-eaten, but wool is extremely durable and wear-resistant, making it a perfect choice for the bottom of a phone.  Except for one thing... Felt slides on a table top.   That wasn't all that big a deal with candlesticks since people generally picked them up to dial them (at least they did in movies), but with the handset mountings, something non-slip was needed, and so suede came into use for those phones. 

I've heard about wool felt on a 202, and I've heard about suede on a stick, but I don't think either was the norm.  You do also see the wool felt on 302 feet as Dennis mentioned, but that wasn't normal, either.  I'm not sure why it would have been done.  But one thing's sure:  Everybody can tell felt from suede. ;D
= DARRIN =



Sargeguy

The felt is made of wool and has a couple of moth holes.  I guess it is probably original.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

Dan/Panther

#14
I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just that what I read, is not what I'm experiencing in the real world. Maybe I've run across the exception to the rules, It just gets confusing to read one thing, and to experience something different. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, and didn't mean or intend to imply that someone doesn't know Felt form suede. It's just that my 202, comes from a local family, that swears it's been in their family since installed, and never refurbished. The base IS covered in suede, yet I read here that Sargeguy has an original with Felt. I'm confident that my 202 has original covering, and Sargeguy feels the same. Did they come originally both ways, or has one of our phones at some point been changed ?
I think everyone can appreciate the fact, that if at some point I show my phone, and proudly state that it is all original, I don't want to be embarrassed by someone correcting me by saying; "you are wrong they didn't come covered in suede."

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson