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More old phones at the flea market

Started by AdamAnt316, February 10, 2013, 07:05:26 PM

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AdamAnt316

Another visit to the flea market, another (small) haul of phones. Not quite as awesome as my two previous finds, but still pretty neat.

First up is a turquoise 500D, which I picked up for $20. Best I can tell, it's not a yellowed aqua blue phone, though I have yet to find a definitive color code on any of the plastics. Every part I've checked thus far dates to August of 1969, making this a rather nice birthday phone! The only problem with it is that the number ring around the dial is loose; any ideas as to how to tighten it down?



Next is a Stromberg-Carlson 1243, or at least that's what it looks like. The bottom plate actually identifies it as a 1250WK, which is the wall version of the 1243. Any ideas as to how this could've happened? There's some blue paint on the bottom, so I'm guessing the base actually was from a 1250 which was painted around as it hung on the wall. The dial is an Automatic Electric type, which (as usual) is rather sluggish. Is missing one of the two screws that hold the bottom plate to the housing; does anyone happen to have a spare? I can post pictures, if necessary.


poplar1

Remove the finger wheel and you will see a metal circular piece. Rotate this until the tabs fit in the slots.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

AdamAnt316

Quote from: poplar1 on February 10, 2013, 08:05:44 PM
Remove the finger wheel and you will see a metal circular piece. Rotate this until the tabs fit in the slots.

That did the trick; thanks!

Some updates: The turquoise 500 is cleaning up nicely. There is some mild yellowing, but most of the discoloration was just plain dirt. Definitely one of my nicest colored phones.

The S-C 1243/1250 continues to be an enigma. The silver mark seen in the above photograph turned out to be something stuck to the handset which I was able to scrape off using a fingernail. Still not quite sure about the history of this set, or whether or not the AE dial is original. Any thoughts?
-Adam

poplar1

You can see the true color by removing the transmitter or receiver caps. The only part that has the color code is the dial, and even that code was omitted later on. If it says
-62, that is aqua blue. -64 is turquoise.

The 1250 base and 1243 base are the same, except that the rubber feet are added for a desk phone.

SC did make their own dials, but the independent phonecos or others may have installed an AE dial or other.

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

AdamAnt316

Quote from: poplar1 on February 11, 2013, 04:15:59 PM
You can see the true color by removing the transmitter or receiver caps. The only part that has the color code is the dial, and even that code was omitted later on. If it says
-62, that is aqua blue. -64 is turquoise.

Yeah, it's definitely turquoise under the caps, as it is on the inside of the handset and the underside of the main housing. Definitely has been some mild yellowing, but not too bad, and is only visible if you look for it. The dial has no color code, just the type (9C) and the date (8-69).

Quote from: poplar1 on February 11, 2013, 04:15:59 PMThe 1250 base and 1243 base are the same, except that the rubber feet are added for a desk phone.

That's what I figured. This one does indeed have rubber feet, so I'm guessing it was converted to a desk phone by whichever independent phoneco leased it out.

Quote from: poplar1 on February 11, 2013, 04:15:59 PMSC did make their own dials, but the independent phonecos or others may have installed an AE dial or other.

Both of my other S-C phones have original dials, so it makes sense. Wouldn't be surprised if the swap was done when it was converted from a wall phone into a desk phone.
-Adam