I just got a 2/53 501 and 7/54 500 - and all dates match!

[rp2813]

That '53 is an awesome score.  It looks like it stayed in a box its whole life.  The original mounting cord and straight handset cord are a couple of rare extras.  This is the first picture I've ever seen of a C3A ringer.  Great find!  It should become your daily driver!

What about the handset and elements in it?  Are they all 2/53 too?

[mr_a500]

As I said, every date that I can find matches. Here are the dates from the 2/53 handset:








Here's another example of the "newness" of my '53. (squeamish people should look away now!) See the crud in the '54 transmitter on the left - the kind of stuff I usually see. Now, compare with the '53 on the right.



(By the way, does anybody know how to clean out transmitter crud?)

[Dennis Markham]

Mr 500, what I do to clean the transmitter crud is dip a Q-tip in Alcohol.  I work it inside each hole, maybe tilting it to get under the metal part.  Don't saturate it because you don't want the moisture to get down to the carbon granules.  Using the dry end of the Q-tip I then absorb what I've done.  Then I used compressed air to blow it off.  Again, careful not to blow air too hard, directly against the flimsy membrane.  Like it says on the shampoo bottle...repeat if needed.

Sometimes the compressed air FIRST helps to get some of the crud away.  Then I clean the exterior of the transmitter piece before it goes back inside the handset.

[mr_a500]

500:

Please, take a few close pictures of the network and tube wiring. I am sure it won't take long to make it ring.

OK, but first I'll see if I can get it wired using the 425A diagram. (That other picture actually was a closeup, but got automatically resized when posting.)

[mr_a500]

Mr 500, what I do to clean the transmitter crud is dip a Q-tip in Alcohol.  I work it inside each hole, maybe tilting it to get under the metal part.  Don't saturate it because you don't want the moisture to get down to the carbon granules.  Using the dry end of the Q-tip I then absorb what I've done.  Then I used compressed air to blow it off.  Again, careful not to blow air too hard, directly against the flimsy membrane.  Like it says on the shampoo bottle...repeat if needed.

Yeah, that's what I was going to do, but I thought maybe there was a fancy trick that only phone freaks know about.