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Red 500 Survey

Started by poplar1, October 15, 2014, 04:07:50 PM

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Have you seen red 500s for any of the following years?

1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
Select this line to see the poll results without entering a phone above

jsowers

So would Dave's phone count as a 1961 since that's the latest date?

I have another puzzler. I have a red 511X Interphone phone that has plastics from 9-59 but a chassis and dial from 1961 and a vermilion stamp of WAR 12-65. I assumed it was a 1961 phone. Was I incorrect? Pictures below.
Jonathan

twocvbloke

My stinky Tenite red 500 is an all-1956 phone (bar the line cable):

Base - 8-56
Handset - 8-56
T & R Caps - 7-56
Transmitter 8-21-56
Receiver - 8-20-56
Handset cable - 56
Line cable - 60    (Obvious replacement)
Shell - 8-21-56
Ringer - 8-56
Network - 8-56
Dial (7C-53) - 8-56

Greg G.

Quote from: poplar1 on October 17, 2014, 12:01:18 AM
The color code was no longer stamped on dials  by 9-68 (or sooner?), but it was still indicated on the shipping box.

If your remanufactured phones don't have additional dates stamped on the bottom, or on a sticker, then you should be able to determine the refurb date by the latest dates on the housing, handle, and cords. If these four parts are all the same year, then that's an even better indicator of the reissue date. That the dials were originally green or black or not color coded doesn't matter for this poll, if the end result was a red phone.


Ok then, if going by the latest part date or refurb sticker date, in addition to the (genuine) 66, I also have 70, 72, and 74 red refurbs (I revised my vote accordingly).
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

poplar1

Quote from: jsowers on October 17, 2014, 04:38:11 PM
So would Dave's phone count as a 1961 since that's the latest date?

I have another puzzler. I have a red 511X Interphone phone that has plastics from 9-59 but a chassis and dial from 1961 and a vermilion stamp of WAR 12-65. I assumed it was a 1961 phone. Was I incorrect? Pictures below.

Odd that two phones would have 1959 plastics. My guess is that Dave's phone would have been shipped in 1961, and that Jonathan's was remanufactured at the Atlanta shop in 1965. So one vote for '61 and one vote for '65.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

jsowers

Quote from: poplar1 on October 17, 2014, 05:22:01 PM
Odd that two phones would have 1959 plastics. My guess is that Dave's phone would have been shipped in 1961, and that Jonathan's was remanufactured at the Atlanta shop in 1965. So one vote for '61 and one vote for '65.

Thanks, David. I took my 61 vote off and changed it to 65. Since there was only one 61, and now none, Dave F needs to change his vote too. When it's down to only one, it's noticeable.

I think it's odd they would both have 1959 plastics too, and mine has a red -53 color code on the 61 dial, so I guess it was reskinned the same color. The housing is stamped on two different days too. You can see the refurb overpainting on the base, so it definitely went into the refurb shop.
Jonathan

HarrySmith

If any of you have transmitter or receiver elements dated June 1957, please let me know.
especially 6/5
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Dave F

I had listed my red 532 as 1959 but, after reading the later comments, I have relisted it as 1961.  I'm still not clear on the intent of this survey.  If the intent is to determine all the years that red phones were produced, then it would be reasonable to use the date on the plastic housing as definitive proof of production in that year, regardless of the base on which it was ultimately installed.  It seems odd that a phone with '59 plastics and 6-hole receiver cap should properly be listed as 1961, as the housing could have been put on some other base at any time after original production.

DF

poplar1

#22
Dave, point taken. The housing date is more reliable than the dates on the base. I apologize for the confusion. The purpose was to validate the absence of red in a 1965 BSP cited by unbeldi in the turquoise vs. aqua discussion.

http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/document-repository/doc_details/439-500-120-100-issue-5-april-1965-telephone-apparatus-and-materials-color

Reading the BSP, it does appear that once a color was manufacture discontinued, there were no piece parts made in those colors. I'm not sure about cords, but any unpainted handset shell, receiver or transmitter cap, or housing with a date seems to indicate that it was made of a currently offered color.

I didn't want to rely on handsets or dials because they could have been on other models. However, according to the table, there were no red phones of any model being produced in 1965.

"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

Dave F

#23
Quote from: poplar1 on October 17, 2014, 11:29:01 PM
<snip>...The housing date is more reliable than the dates on the base....
So, does that mean that we should all change our survey responses to indicate only the date shown on the red housing?  If so, I will delete the 1961 response and return to '59.

DF

Edit:  For what it's worth, I have to think that the omission of references to red being produced in 1965 is an error or an oversight.  I can't believe that this color was not made in that year.

poplar1

I don't think this survey is going to answer the question of missing years, so I hate to put everyone to the trouble of opening up every red 500 just to verify the housing date. Again, I apologize for not getting it right at the outset.

The only pattern seems to be that most of us have red 500s from the 1950s rather than later. Vive Tenite.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

RotarDad

Poplar1 - I just popped the shell to confirm my '65 vote, and I do indeed have a Jan '65 red shell, a refurbishment of an original red '57.
Paul

WEBellSystemChristian

Hmm, very strange how there aren't any from 1964. ???
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

Dave F

#27
Quote from: poplar1 on October 18, 2014, 12:13:41 AM
<snip>... I hate to put everyone to the trouble of opening up every red 500 just to verify the housing date....

No need to apologize.  Heck, to a real phone collector, pulling the cover off a phone is just a way to spend some quality time!

And, according to RotarDad, the question of 1965 production is now answered.  It looks like the holy BSPs are, in fact, wrong!

Edit:  I just relisted my 532 as '59 because that's when the red housing was made.

DF

RotarDad

I would have to believe a red 500 was like red lipstick - other colors might come and go, but red never really loses its appeal.  There has to be a red shell for every year from '53 on....
Paul

poplar1

Maybe the technical writers didn't like red or ivory. Both are missing from a 1967 list of 505A and 283B plug colors as well.
(Section 461-630-105 Issue 1, Feb. 1967).

Red and Ivory are listed for 505A plugs in Issue 2 (Feb., 1969). 283B plugs are shown as manufacture discontinued in the 1969 issue, but  they still list 283B colors--which don't include red or ivory.



"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.