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I finally have a Turquoise AE 80

Started by phoneguy06, October 07, 2009, 02:58:01 PM

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phoneguy06

Hi gang,

Here's a quick photo of my newest acquisition, which I probably paid way too much for ($27 US plus a ridiculous amount for shipping to Canada). I'm sure I've seen this colour called "seafoam green", but maybe I'm mixing that up with an ITT catalogue, as they actually did manufacture that colour; in any case, the two are identical, the phone is a deeper green in real life, the ambient light makes it look slightly washed out. I was really happy to see that this one had escaped fading or yellowing. The other neat thing about this for me is that it's my first example of a newer 80 with the printed NC circuit board, and also means that I now have one each of the three variations of lucite fingerwheels used on the 80, as this is the later one that detached in the same manner as the 500's fingerwheel. The dial bezel is still a little dirty, because I can't seem to manage to get the fingerwheel to release. Any tricks I don't know about? Jorge? Finally, the baseplate is labeled XX instead of SL or SA for the ringer; does this mean it was shipped without one? The ringer in it is the standard straight-line adjustable one.

HobieSport

That is a very nice "Seafoam Green" AE 80.

I am too much of a beginner to have any technical advice other than the colour, but congratulations!

I'm sorry about the price of shipping to and from Canada. I didn't get to vote for that.

Very nice telephone.
-Matt

Dan

#2
Very nice turqouise! I recently got an old AE80 (soft plastic) with "XX" on it. It came with no ringer too, so I believe you are right about that, even though I am no expert deciphering AE codes. I got a black AE80 for .99 cents (plus shipping) and am going to add a ringer to it.


I am seriously affraid if I get hooked on AE coloured phones I will take over the basement. I think the AE older soft plastic phones seem better built than the WE's (ducks a shoe fired in my direction).

A number card question--on my red, you simply unscrew the front screw and the fingerwheel comes off. If you try to make a number card, you can't see it because of the plastic- it has ridges and the screw goes RIGHT through the center. Are some Ae80's not meant to have number cards for this reason?
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

McHeath

Great phone!  An interesting color, minty fresh.  Funny about the shipping being so high when we are on the same landmass.

bwanna

very nice. i too am developing  quite an affection for the AE sets.  WE remains closest to my heart, tho.
guess i'll just have to add on to the house ;D
donna

JorgeAmely

#5
phoneguy06:

Check out this posting:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1049.0

The document has an excellent section on how to remove the wheel.

If still stuck, let me know.


Dan:

There are (to the best of my knowledge) five types of finger wheels on AE80 phones:
1) The last one issued was the one with a Phillips screw in the center: those use stick-on cards.
2) Before that you the hard centered wheels. The method of securing the wheel is a latch, kind of similar to WE's design. To remove the wheel, you move the latch sideways instead of pushing down, like in a WE wheel.
3) Unlike WE's soft centered wheel, this one uses a thicker Lucite wheel, with a chromed ring in the center with a retainer, celluloid and phone number card. Very elegant. (Duck, shoe flying by !!!)
4) Same as 3 above, but the wheel is made of chromed metal or
5) just painted black.
Jorge

HobieSport

I don't know the names and numbers of AE 80 colors (other than black).

I think they are rather pretty. There I said it.

When did AE 80s switch from soft to hard plastic?

My personal stupid opinion is that colored AE 80s are the next collectible mid-century telephones compared to WE 500s.
-Matt

JorgeAmely

Hobie:

Check this place for color references:

http://www.paul-f.com/AEcolors.htm

Using the "follow the leader" trend, I would say that they switched to soft more or less the same time as WE. All my mid-sixties sets are ABS. Those from the fifties and very early 60's are soft plastic.

My oldest AE80 is black with a bakelite handset and rural numbers wheel.

You get your money's worth with an old AE80. They usually weigh more than a WE500 phone of the same era.

Jorge

HobieSport

-Matt


Dennis Markham


phoneguy06

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about my phone. I'm adding a link to a photo of a turquoise 80 as photographed by phonevault.com. The image is a little dark, but it captures the green far better than does my own photo.

http://phonevault.com/media/phonelarge/AE80GRlg.jpg

Jorge, thanks for your advice concerning the removal of the fingerwheel, I know how it's supposed to be done, but I still can't angle my paperclip enough so that it pushes on the latch. I''ll PM you.

JorgeAmely

#12
Phoneguy:

A paper clip may not be stiff enough. I use a diaper pin (aka safety pin) and it works all the time.

Good luck.
Jorge

phoneguy06

Quote from: JorgeAmely on October 08, 2009, 04:02:06 PM
Phoneguy:

A paper clip may not be stiff enough. I use a diaper pin (aka safety pin) and it works all the time.

Good luck.

¡Gracias Jorge! Tuve éxito con el clip.