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But this one's different...

Started by Greg G., November 03, 2009, 07:06:34 PM

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Greg G.

Remember those old cartoons where Donald Duck was trying to make a decision, and he had a little devil on one shoulder, and a little angel on the other?  The devil was usually trying to convince him to give in, the angel saying "don't do it".

My "angel" was saying: "You already have enough phones to keep you busy for years!  You spend more time just taking pictures of them and typing about them than you do actually working on them!  Besides, you already have two other white phones!"

The devil was saying:  "Yeah, but this one is different.  It's an AE, you don't have a white AE.  Oooo, look at that extra long, coiled 4-prong line cord, you don't see many of those, now do you?  And look at the price, with shipping it's only $20.76!"

Angel:  "You're supposed to be saving your money for other things!  You may have to move next year!"

Devil:  "What's wrong with this place?  You know you like it here, you don't need to move! Go ahead, get it!"

The devil won.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

bwanna

lol, briny...you sound just like me. i keep buying & buying all i do is boast about the good deal i got & add to the stack of things to do.  oh well, maybe someday i will be a woman of leisure,free to do my own will all day. ;)

the devil made me do it ;D
donna

Phonesrfun

Good for the devil.  Boo angel.  Tell that angel to get a life and start collecting phones.  Maybe a white one.
-Bill G

JorgeAmely

Brinibay:

That is a genuine, possibly soft plastic, white AE-80. Color matches the schematic card inside. Ringer installed in a truck, not by the factory. Ringer is a SL, just what the doctor ordered.

Congratulations!
Jorge

Craig T


bellsystemproperty

I dare say that I am starting to like the look of the AE80 more than the 500 ;D

McHeath

QuoteI dare say that I am starting to like the look of the AE80 more than the 500

What?!?!?!? 
;)

bellsystemproperty

Well in terms of style, the 80 looks more curved and cool looking. The 500 probably has better quality inside makings though. Still love my 500s.  ;D

Phonesrfun

Actually, AE phones have quite a following, but not as much as WE phones, probably because WE and the Bell System was once so prevalent.  I don't know that I would consider AE to be substandard in their workmanship to WE when it came to the phones or even their other equipment.

I used to think that General Telephone was way substandard to Bell System.  When I grew up in Portland, OR, we lived in the suburbs and right next to the borderline where Ma Bell left off and GTE began.  My friends that had the misfortune of being in GTE territory had it pretty bad.  It was a joke.  However, I learned that GTE, formerly General Telephone had bought out an independant in the towns of Gresham and Beaverton called West Coast Telephone Company, and until GTE could build a new central office, they were using the old CO that had served the farmers in those areas for years prior to WWII.  The facilities were terribly outdated and way over capacity.

Once GTE got their new CO going and put in new cables and lines, you really could not tell the difference in the level of service between GTE and Bell.

I think this image was one that GTE had to fight all over the country, and was still fighting right up to the last.  Particularly since TV shows always featured Bell System products.

That being said, I do own more WE phones than AE's but I think historically AE has had a bum rap.
-Bill G

bellsystemproperty

That's intersting. Come to think of it none of my AE phones have ever had any major problems.

Greg G.

#10
Oh, and it fully functions too.  I'm getting less apprehensive about mail-order phones, this one being my 4th that arrived unscathed.  I gave the seller basic phone packing instructions, they followed them and did a very good job.  Handset wrapped separately and placed beside the phone, well packed in bubble wrap with a layer of peanuts all around.  What does that code on the schematics mean?  Here's the sides and back:
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

jsowers

Quote from: Brinybay on November 04, 2009, 06:25:54 AM
What does that code on the schematics mean?

Briny, that's one of the nicest white AE80s I've ever seen. It could be totally unfaded, which is great. You don't see many AEs with coiled mounting cords. It looks totally original too. I don't generally collect AEs, so I can't say "I hate you!" :) Your angel needs to get a day job. He or she was totally wrong.

The color code N on the stamped number on that schematic refers to Antique White. Below is a link to Paul Fassbender's great AE color chart that shows the letters and what colors they go to. And thanks, Jorge, for pointing that stamped number out. I learned something about AE 80s.

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

Dan/Panther

Quote from: bwanna on November 03, 2009, 08:03:59 PM
lol, briny...you sound just like me. i keep buying & buying all i do is boast about the good deal i got & add to the stack of things to do.  oh well, maybe someday i will be a woman of leisure,free to do my own will all day. ;)

the devil made me do it ;D

Bwanna;
Heres' a news flash, I've been totally retired for 14 years now, and I have no less pending, and no more accomplished, than the day I retired.  It's still 10 in, 1 out.
Problem now is sometimes i go into boxes, and wonder, "Why did I buy That?" Then I get rid of it at yard sale, or whatever, then a year later, I wish I had it back, and buy another one, for ten times what the original one cost me. Then justify it by saying inflation made it worth the current price.
D/P

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

bwanna

donna

Greg G.

Quote from: jsowers on November 04, 2009, 08:41:51 AM
Quote from: Brinybay on November 04, 2009, 06:25:54 AM
What does that code on the schematics mean?

Briny, that's one of the nicest white AE80s I've ever seen. It could be totally unfaded, which is great. You don't see many AEs with coiled mounting cords. It looks totally original too. I don't generally collect AEs, so I can't say "I hate you!" :) Your angel needs to get a day job. He or she was totally wrong.

The color code N on the stamped number on that schematic refers to Antique White. Below is a link to Paul Fassbender's great AE color chart that shows the letters and what colors they go to. And thanks, Jorge, for pointing that stamped number out. I learned something about AE 80s.

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

Oh yes, I forgot about that chart, I have it bookmarked.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e