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WE 352 question

Started by cchaven, October 04, 2010, 11:23:40 AM

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cchaven

One sees a lot of talk about the 354 wall telephone and even sees them pop up for sale regularly, but there's not much info about the 352.  I would think that being the regular non-party line variant that the 352 would be more common?  Also, Paul F's site suggests all the 352's were made by Northern Electric, not WE? 

I have a 352 with matching dates from 4/54 and it is marked as an M1 mounting on the base and has a 5H dial with straight rubber cords.  The embossing on the handset is very hard to read, as it's seen a lot of use, but it appears to say its an F1W.  The base is also marked with 'Patented 1953' and 'RD 1948'

Jeff

Dennis Markham

Jeff, first of all Welcome to the Forum.  Northern Electric marked their phones with Patent dates.  I believe the RD is Research & Development dated 1948.  So if the chassis is stamped with those dates, it's a Northern.

The F1W handset was marked by Western Electric to indicate a handset made for use with a smaller Independent Telco, not the Bell System.  I don't know if Northern marked their F1 handsets this way or not.  So you would not (normally) find an F1W handset on a Western Electric phone destined for the Bell System.

cchaven

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the welcome.  The F1W handset on the 352 is very well used and the lettering is nearly worn off but I can just make out Western Electric Company and F1W.  The dial plate is a rural plate as well..though not a party line plate...so I guess the 352 could've come from a smaller telecom.  The only other NE base I have is from a rural party line 302 with a frequency ringer.

Jeff

paul-f

Thanks for the report, Jeff.

It would be nice to see some photos, especially showing the various markings and internal components.
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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cchaven

Quote from: paul-f on October 05, 2010, 01:13:16 AM
It would be nice to see some photos, especially showing the various markings and internal components.

Sure Paul,  I'll get some pictures taken and post them soon....the phone is pretty much as I found it, other than cleaning it up externally and adding a dialcard to it.

Jeff

cchaven

Here are some pictures I took quickly...showing the front and the internals, including some closeups of the markings

paul-f

Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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paul-f

There's some good later discussion with catalog entries and wiring info here:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=14865.0
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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