extensiocord repair

[sambanut]

I just bought an a.e. 35 with an extensiocord that might be salvageable, the fabric is nice except  a couple spots where it is frayed, and of course a wire is broken through in at least one spot.  Can the two ends of the wire be soldered together and be whole again or am I wasting my time thinking about it.  Any other Ideas would be helpful, the break is unfortunately in the middle of the cord.  The cord is so nice and the phone is so dirty, the cord must have some sort of protectant on it to keep the dust off.  Thank you, DAVE

[AE_Collector]

Hi Dave and welcome to the forum.

I have never had the need to attempt a repair like that on an Extensicord (fortunately). Ray Kotke here on the forum has restrung the elastic inside these cords but I don't know if he has done a repair like you require. I'll forward this thread to him so we can get his input on it.

The "wire" inside is almost certainly "tinsel" ,flat tinsel like conductors wrapped around inner strings which makes the ords VERY flexible and VERY hard to solder.

Any chance of posting a picture of the damage here so we can see how bad it is? COngrats on finding an AE 35 by the way, a sought after phone by us AE_collector(s).

Terry
AE_collector

[JorgeAmely]

A few pics will be nice. Tinsel wire can be soldered, but it takes some external flux to get a good bond.

[AE_Collector]

Ray (Kleenax) replied to my PM as follows:

Hey Terry;

In all instances where there is a frayed break in the cordage, especially in the middle, I would just throw the cord away and install a new one!

The ones that I DO end up fixing are the ones that look good, are electrically intact, and have the elastic broken.

Ray

[sambanut]

I found two breaks in the copper and the wires are so tiny (tinsel), I think at this time after getting the throw it away message I will save this cord for a rainy day project.  The phone is dirty has a dial that needs attention and some rust on the plate that anchors the handset cord on the phone.  In fact one screw is rusted tight.  Thank you for your opinions.

[AE_Collector]

I am not at home where I can compare to my phones but you might have an AE 35 there. First question is are there vents in the side of the case or just in the bottom? Of course it might have a 50 cover on a 35 base. Handset is a type 41 for an AE 50 but it could have been changed. Where are the terminals to connect the line cord to? If below the plunger it is a 50 but if up top it is a 35. Any numbers on the very back of the phone?

If you have any soldering skills you could try a repair to save the Extensicord though it on't be perfect. They aren't cheap so I don't think I would toss it out if you are trying to refurbish the phone for your collection.

<EDIT> Oops, just noticed that you said it was an AE35 right at the beginning! So definitely worth cleaning up however you can!

Terry

[rdelius]

One thing you might see is that you use 3 wires and there might be a 4th with no lugs to hold the shape and this might fix things

[sambanut]

When were the a.e. 35's made and when did the  41 handset become available?  No way the handset is original?  I'll keep an eye out for the handset with the chomies and maybe get a new extensiocord when I have the funds.  One more question, With chrome screws, does that mean the phone came with a chrome dial?  Thank you, DAVE  As I was typing this I got another message and it does look like 4 wires, I'll look closer tommorrow.

[sambanut]

That would be chromies, the chrome rings on the handset!

[AE_Collector]

I would say the AE35 was made from about 1935 to 1940. The type 41 like you have was available from 1939 or so. Therefore I guess it is possible vthat a late model new AE35 might have had a type 41 handset but I doubt it. Stub have you seen anything in catalogs?  It seems to me that the late model AE34 with the hand grip area may have had the type 41 handset? In any event, the type 38 is the one common seen on an AE35 so that is what I would look for. If it doesn't come with chrome bands you can get them chromed as those handsets all have metal bands that are usually painted black.

Terry

[stub]

The type 38 handset is all I have seen in the catalogs on a 35A5 Wall-Mounted Monophone.
This listing suggests that they were made from 1935 to 1937. ( Don't know where this information came from )            
                           http://tinyurl.com/43qngsz


The 34A3 had the 38 handset and the 34A3B had the 41 handset shown with chrome bands .    stub

[AE_Collector]

The AE40 came out about 1939 as far as I know. Presumably the AE50 came after the AE40 due to the numbering if nothing else. Also, desk phones were gaining in popularity where as most phones were wall phones of one type or another in the early years. Consequently manufacturers were concentrating on new desk models by the 1940's and then would update the wall model afterwards. So it doesn't seem logical that the AE35 would follow the AE34 and then be discontinued 2 years later quite likely a couple of years before the introduction of the AE 50. However, the fact that the AE34 seems to have been upgraded to the type 41 handset while the AE35 wasn' is interesting as well. Could be the popularity of desk models as compared to wall models though I guess. Lots of assumptions on my part....

Terry