Questions about my AE 90

[nancybc]

Hello!
I'm brand new here and glad I found the forum! Today I was at the flea market and unexpectedly found a seafoam AE 90 in great condition-at least on the outside. I am not a collector but was attracted to the little beauty as my daughter collects things from the 60's and loves this colour. When I got home I did some research to find out what it was and , happily, ended up here with all of you.

The number on the bottom is NB 92215 CSL 1006 ( it may be a 5) 9. Does that both date it and  the place  where it was manufactured?

It has the spiral cord on the bottom but there is only a black and a tan wire coming out from the top
I'd like to know if it is possible to find out  if it is working condition. Sadly, I am not technically oriented so I hope it is an easy procedure and the cord or wires needed will be easy to obtain.

I am in Abbotsford, BC Canada .Any chance there is a group or club nearby that I might visit?

Thanks in advance for any replies.!
Cheers,
Nancy

[AE_Collector]

Most likely made in Brockville Ontario by AE Canada. The NB 92215 CSL confirms the color to be AE Turquoise and that it has a Straight Line ringer which is good. The next numbers would indicate manufacture date but 1006 doesn't make sense nor would 1005. Should be something like 10-76-xx where 10 is the month, 76 the year and xx refers possibly to a plant or shift that it was made at.

Terry

[LarryInMichigan]

Welcome to the forum Nancy.  There is every reason that your phone should work, but you will need to remove the cover of the phone and connect wires.  The cover should lift off after the screw on the front bottom has been loosened.  You will probably want to get a cord with a modular connector on one end and spade lugs on the other.  Someone here will be able to tell you where to connect the wires.

Larry

[nancybc]

Thanks so much!

Terry, I looked again and it is a 10 and then a space. The 06 or 05 is smudged so it's hard to tell. It doesn't look like a 66 or 76 at all- but the last number looks like a 9 very heavy ink! Thanks for telling me about the Brockville Plant so I can look it up! Love the Turquoise colour. Do you know if it is the same as Seafoam in the States or is it a Canadian thing?

Larry: I hope someone does tell me what kind of cord to get and they are available.I only have a jack outlet so I hope there is a cord for that- spade lugs are above my pay grade-lol! I hope all the parts don't tumble out when the screw comes off.

I really appreciate your taking time to answer!
Cheers,
Nancy

[LarryInMichigan]

If you can post a picture of the inside of the phone, we should have a better idea of what it needs.

Larry

[nancybc]

Hope these are OK!

[HarrySmith]

Here is a couple of pictures of one AE90 I built a while ago from NOS kits I got from a phone club member. I did so many back then I knew the wiring off the top of my head. Now I cannot recall but I have the diagrams at home, if noone else comes up with them I will post later tonight.

[LarryInMichigan]

The layout in my one and only AE90 is quite a bit different than yours.  I believe that mine is an older model.  I indicated with red arrows where the phone line connects in my phone.  I would guess that yours is similar in that way.  Someone here may be able to verify that.  The two contacts pointed to by the arrows area actually faintly marked "L1" and "L2" below the screws.  The two loose wires which are connected inside the phone should be removed.

Larry

[AE_Collector]

Larry, your AE 90 is first generation which is basically an AE 80 desk phone turned into a wall phone. Nancy's is second generation which was a wall phone from the start.

Chances are that the two line wires go to the screws that the black and white wires come off of.

Terry

[LarryInMichigan]

The base plate of mine does look like the base plate of an AE80.  Unfortunately, there are no markings on the back.  If there were any, they have been completely worn away.

The hook on mine is satin gray.  The plastics are ABS.

Larry

[AE_Collector]

The very first AE 90's had painted hooks to match the phone color. They quickly ecided that was too much fooling around and made it difficult to change the color when it was refurbished. They changed to painted silver hooks briefly and then went to the more familiar chrome hooks.

AE was not only awful at dating things, they were also awful at stamping codes on bases. I have sets with stamps that are smudeged, partially smudged or so light that they can't be read. Oh and some that are just completely missing.

Terry