My New AE 1A

[LarryInMichigan]

I had a sudden urge to stop by the Royal Oak flea market today, so I went and there I saw an AE 1A in great condition with a subset sitting on a desk in one of the booths.  I asked the guy if it was for sale and how much he wanted, and I couldn't believe that he was asking $75.  Needless to say, I couldn't resist.  I only had $70 in my wallet, so he sold it to me for $70.  The phone looks like it was part on a collection.  It appears to be all original, except for a reproduction line cord with an RJ11 connector on the end.  Everything works well, but the volume from the transmitter is a bit weak.  The brass bands by the transmitter and receiver have been painted black, and the paint is scratched and peeling, so I expect that I should remove the paint and polish the brass.

Larry

[Wallphone]

Nice find Larry.
I always thought that you were a western Michigander.
What brought you to my neck of the woods (and stealing our phone deals)?
Dougpav

[Craig T]

JUST DON'T CROSS THE BRIDGE! There are no phones left up here anyways  

The phone is great Larry, I would have dove at that for $70. The 302 is my oldest phone and I would like to try for something with a ringer box next. It does look well cared for, that phone should clean up real nice. I would do the same thing with the brass in the case of flaking paint.

[LarryInMichigan]

I am in southeastern Michigan, just north of Detroit.  Royal Oak is a few miles from here.  I am not adventurous enough to drive long distances for phones.  However, when I pass through western Michigan on my way to Chicago, that is a different story.  You had better hide your phones then

Larry

[JorgeAmely]

I would be nice to look up that patent number to see what new invention this one has.

[bingster]

Great phone, and an excellent deal!  The brass bands are supposed to be black, so they were painted that way from the start.  Many people strip the black off and polish the brass, but they weren't intended to be that way.  The only bare metal they used was either chrome or gold plate--brass was always painted.

[LarryInMichigan]

Thank you for the information, bingster.  That explains why the paint on the brass is so tough.  Since it is scratched and chipped already, I think that the brass would look better stripped and polished.  I wonder why people didn't care for polished brass in the old days.  The solid brass candlesticks were always "japanned" to make them black.  I have one here which is still nearly all black, but I often see ones which have been stripped and polished.

Larry

[Dennis Markham]

Great grab, Larry.  My son has been asking me if I ever go to the Royal Oak flea market.  Guess I should have when he asked about it!   Well worth $70!

[LarryInMichigan]

Dennis,

There was also an AE50 there, by another seller.  It was in decent shape, but missing the dial center.  The seller has stuck a price of $165 on it, so I didn't bother with it.  The same seller had another interesting item which I was almost tempted to buy.  It looked like a WE500 converted to a clock (like the lady in Milwaukee was doing), but it was actually made of porcelain.  I thought that it might be interesting to have an imitation phone converted to clock, but I passed.

There is still one booth there with a several 500s, 2500s, trimlines, etc..  If you ever go, it's the booth on the side with all of the chips and candy bars.

Larry

[stub]

LarryInMichigan,
                          That's a great score on the 1A . Nice looking phone and subset. If you run out of room you can send all the extras to all of us !!!!  stub

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks, Larry.  I'm going to make a run down there "one of these days".

[ntophones]

Beautiful find! What great condition--so very clean!
Congrats!
ntophones

[stub]

Larry,
          Does that subset have a induction coil in it , or is it a ringer box?  Mine had a 5 contact hookswitch and I put it on a 425  network and now it works fine.  Some of them came with a 4 contact hookswitch. Anyway you still scored big time on that phone!!!!!!  stub

[AE_Collector]

Larry,
         Does that subset have a induction coil in it , or is it a ringer box?  Mine had a 5 contact hookswitch and I put it on a 425  network and now it works fine.  Some of them came with a 4 contact hookswitch. Anyway you still scored big time on that phone!!!!!!  stub

It is difficult to see the induction coil since the picture looks straight down on the subset, but the coil is directly underneath the terminal strip on these AE subsets. There is a version that is just a ringer and condensor but I believe this one has the coil as well.

Terry

[LarryInMichigan]

The induction coil, condenser, and ringer are in the subset box.  I believe that the subset is the original correct one for the phone.  The hook switch is in the cradle right below the metal plate with the name on it.

Larry