My 302.

[Stephen Furley]

In another thread I said that I had four American 'phones; I was wrong, I've got five, I was forgetting my 302.  It's in a terrible state, and unlikely ever to work again, but it might be possible to do a cosmetic restoration on it so it could go on display.  The handset would clean up, but the transmitter and receiver are full of mud, as is just about everything else.  The body is metal, but almost all of the paint has gone, and there is quite a bit of white corrosion on the metal.  The handset cord, and part of the line cord are there, but have rotted; I assume these could be replaced.  The dial could be a problem, it's totally seized, and rather battered, probably had a few bricks dropped on it, maybe I could clean up the finger wheel enough for non-functional use.  This 'phone spent a long time, quite possibly years, underwater in the flooded basement of a derelict building in Camden, New Jersey.  It was given to me by a demolition worker at the site.

If I could clean up the body, what would be the correct type of paint to use on it?

[benhutcherson]

Heck, I bet you could even make it work again. You can't kill the things.

The originals were fairly shiney, so a good spray gloss enamel should work well. Bake it on for maximum durability.

A lot of the Ebay sellers seem to like powder coating. The biggest issue I see, though, is that it tends to obscure the markings. Also, you can't do it yourself, as it requires specialized equipment

[Dan/Panther]

Stephen;
If this phone can be saved most any can.
D/P
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=218.0

[McHeath]

Hmm, I bet that it could be made to work, it might even work if you disconnected the dial and hooked it up.  They are odd beasts these phones, very durable. 

[Sargeguy]

I have a few that were in rough shape when I bought them.  A couple had obviously seen some time outside in a dump.  With a good cleaning and replacement of the cords and feet, they worked fine.  What type of dial does it have? I did manage to screw up a #6 dial so it never worked again, but that was on my first 302. #4s and #5s are more durable.

[bingster]

I'm not sure that even the die-hard 302 could be made to work if it spent a decent length of time submerged in wet mud. 

At any rate, since you're not going to actually use this phone, I don't think the paint you use needs to be terribly durable.  Sanding the metal case smooth, and then priming it should be all the prep you need.  Follow that up with a decent black spray paint, and it'll look great on a shelf. 

[Stephen Furley]

What type of dial does it have? I did manage to screw up a #6 dial so it never worked again, but that was on my first 302. #4s and #5s are more durable.

I don't know; how do you tell the difference between them?

I'm not sure that even the die-hard 302 could be made to work if it spent a decent length of time submerged in wet mud. 

At any rate, since you're not going to actually use this phone, I don't think the paint you use needs to be terribly durable.  Sanding the metal case smooth, and then priming it should be all the prep you need.  Follow that up with a decent black spray paint, and it'll look great on a shelf. 

I can't remember exactly when I got it, but It was during the first week that the NJ Transit River Line was open; I went over to have a look at the line, and the  driver, who spoke to me on the platform at the riverside in Camden didn't seem very impressed with the filthy object that I was taking onto his nice new train.  It was well wrapped up in plastic bags, and wasn't dripping mud everywhere.

[Stephen Furley]

What ore the correct type of cords for a metal-bodied 302?  Riund cloth I would assume, but brown or black?  Wat remains of the line cord is cloth, but I can't make out what colour it was.  The handset cord is coiled, but doesn't look right for a 'phone of this vintage.

[benhutcherson]

I've never seen any color of cloth cord on a 302 except for brown.

Straight black rubber cords are also correct, however my personal opinion is that brown cloth cords look much nicer and classier on a 302.

[Dennis Markham]

Brown cloth would be appropriate.  As the years went by it would not have been uncommon to find a straight rubber or vinyl black handset cord and even a black coiled handset cord.  But brown cloth would most likely been on them when they were born.  

Sorry Ben, I posted this after you made your remark.  I hadn't read it yet.

[Stephen Furley]

I've bought another one, it's slightly different to my 'wreck'; different dial for a start.  The 'phone didn't cost me much, but the postage did.  I think I'm going to leave this in original condition, apart from cleaning, and have it as a working 'phone, and restore the other one cosmetically for show, but not to working order.  Because the body of the old one is in such a poor state I won't really be losing anything original by re-painting it etc.

[Stephen Furley]

My second 302 arrived today, as did my fourth test set.  This is the 302:

http://tinyurl.com/oxxom4

Neither of the cords is original; I think I might replace them.  The plug is a fairly modern  one, which I think I might replace with an older Bakelite one which I've got.  A bit of paint scratched off here and there, but not at all bad for its age.

It had no dial card; I've fitted a black 'Wait for dial tone' one with the text dropped out in white, and 'Wait' in script.  I'm not sure if this is appropriate for this model, but it looks reasonable.  I've also replaced the rather yellowed and scratched plastic covering disc with a new one, but I've kept the old one as well.

There are no markings at all on the bottom of it, but the inside of the base, the ringer and the transmitter are all dated 9/38 in red ink.  I haven't managed to unscrew the receiver cup yet.  There is a date on the dial, but I can't read it without removing the dial, which I haven't done.  The handset is marked 'BELL SYSTEM Manufactured by Western Electric Company' and what looks like 'F1'; I've left my glasses at work, and I'm having difficulty reading it without them.  The inside of the case seems to be marked 'H-1' in read, near the rear screw.  The dial plate seems to be in very good condition.   There's a bit of corrosion inside; I think it may have had some sort of liquid spilt on it at some time.  There was a small dead spider inside.  The feet are not bad, I think a bit of attention with a suede brush will bring them up ok.

The dial sounds rather noisy, but doesn't seem to be slow; were they always like this?  The dial on my other one is totally seized and won't turn, so I can't compare them.

The line cord is four-conductor, with one wire to each pin of the plug, and none joined.  Any idea how this is connected?

I plugged it in, and there was no dial tone, but if I move the dial I can sometimes get one; sounds like the dial contacts need cleaning.

Three things about it surprised me.  Firstly the weight, this thing weighs a ton.  I don't remember my other one being this heavy, but I suppose it must have been.  Secondly, the size; it's quite small for a set with an internal ringer.  Again, I don't remember the other one looking so small.  Thirdly the sound quality, for the brief moment that I was able to hear anything through it before it cut out again; it sounded surprisingly good for a 'phone of this vintage.

When I've got it working reliably I'll have to do a comparison with my GPO 328.  The 328 is considerably younger, but the design of the two models would have been only a few years apart.

I think the price I paid was reasonable, but I don't really know what the gong rate for one of these, of this vintage, is.  The postage made it rather expensive, but there's no way around that.  I was lucky, it somehow slipped through customs without me having to pay tax on it.

[Dennis Markham]

Stephen, is the case metal or plastic?  Since you said it weighs a ton, it's probably metal.  It would be interesting to learn which dial you have there.  It is noisy in the sense that it grinds or in the return clicking sound?  If the click is loud it may be a #4 dial (more desirable and nearly worth the price of the phone alone).  If it's a more subdued clicking it may be a #5.  It should read that on the back of the dial, 4H, 5H, 6A, etc.

Look in the Board "Technical Stuff" for a diagram made simple for wiring the H1. Here is a link to three pdf files.  It's the top one:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=890.0

Is the spider American or English?  If it were alive you could tell by having it walk down the road.  If it walks on the wrong side, it's English. 

[BDM]

Adding to what Dennis has posted. The dial is either a #4 or #5. Both will make a "clikity-clak" sound, but the #4 is much louder. W.E. dials have a unique sound to them. I can tell it's metal by the paint flake in the pics. The network coil, ringer and base should also have date markings. Glad you were able to get a piece of American history That phone was a staple for many years in many homes. BTW, the H1 indicates a single non part line phone.

[Stephen Furley]

Stephen, is the case metal or plastic?  Since you said it weighs a ton, it's probably metal.  It would be interesting to learn which dial you have there.  It is noisy in the sense that it grinds or in the return clicking sound?  If the click is loud it may be a #4 dial (more desirable and nearly worth the price of the phone alone).  If it's a more subdued clicking it may be a #5.  It should read that on the back of the dial, 4H, 5H, 6A, etc.

Look in the Board "Technical Stuff" for a diagram made simple for wiring the H1. Here is a link to three pdf files.  It's the top one:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=890.0

Is the spider American or English?  If it were alive you could tell by having it walk down the road.  If it walks on the wrong side, it's English. 

The body is metal.  Against my better judgment I've removed the dial, the light in my room is very poor, and without my glasses it's almost impossible to see what I'm doing.  The dial was stuck to the rubber gasket, and had to be carefully peeled away.  It is a 4A dial, this is clearly marked in red.  There's some other marking further round, on the other side of the governor; there's something in a circle, could be a B or R possibly, but the bottom half of it is not there, and probably never was, there's a rough spot on the metal at that point.  None of the red print seems to have come off on the gasket.  there's also what looks like 'IV-88'; can't be April 1988, so I don't know what this is, it definately doesn't look like '38'.

It's difficult to make out which terminal is connected to what, and I don't have a test meter handy at the moment.  There are four terminals arranged in an arc along the bottom, and one on the other side of the contacts, near the governor.  This terminal has both wires of what looks like miniature white bell wire connected to it; these wires go into the handset cord, and are clearly modern.  The position of these wires may be preventing proper operation of the pulse contacts.  There are also red and black wires in this cord, red goes to one of the terminals on the induction coil, and black to one of the other four terminals on the dial, and has just broken off when I touched it.  The handset cord has been very badly installed, there are no spades fitted, and most of the strands of wire seem to have been cut in striping it; there's almost nothing left to actually connect to the terminals.  I've made a note of where the red wire goes, and I'll re-terminate that tomorrow.  I'm not sure which terminal on the dial the black wire was attached to; it was one of the centre two of the set of four, but I'm not sure which.  The line cord is modern-ish, but has been properly terminated.  Other than that in the cords, the internal wiring  seems to be original, and in good condition.

Of the wires from the line cord, yellow goes to one of the three terminals on the small square block between the gongs and the capacitor, green goes to another terminal on the network thing, red goes to yet another terminal on it.  There doesn't seem to be a black wire, but there was at the plug end, I'll have to check this again tomorrow in better light.

It's gone midnight now, and I'm going to bed; I'll look at the diagram tomorrow.