Proper Cordage?

Konrad · January 20, 2009, 01:17:24 AM

What is proper for a 302? Straight fabric covered? Brown cords on a black phone? Old Phone Works Part#?

What is proper for a 5302? Straight rubber line cord and coiled rubber handset? Old Phone Works Part#?

I've scored four inexpensive 302's and one 5302 on fleabay (blood sucking fees for seller) and want to get as many as possible working.

Thanks,

Konrad

Dan · January 20, 2009, 06:40:51 AM

I'll chime in and say both my 302's (metal 1938) and plastic tenite from 1947 have straight rubber cords and I know they are original. I don't know THEE official rules, however.

My 5302 has a thick coiled rubber cord similar to the early WE500's. It's original too.

Konrad · January 20, 2009, 09:07:49 AM

I'm all for saving what is there, but in several of my projects there is nothing to give a clue.

rp2813 · January 20, 2009, 11:39:39 AM

As kids we had a plastic 302 (40's guts) in our room and it had a brown cloth cord and seriously loud #4 dial. It's almost like anything goes on a 302. Right now I have two metal 302's from 1938 and I have a thick black handset cord (no reinforcement on the handset end) on one and the brown cloth cord on the other. Basically, whatever you think looks good is likely a combo that was used by Ma Bell.

benhutcherson · January 20, 2009, 11:51:08 AM

Straight rubber, straight cloth, curly rubber, and even curly cloth are all legitimate.

I personally think that straight brown cloth cords look best, but the bottom line is use whatever you want.

bingster · January 20, 2009, 01:28:34 PM

Quote from: rp2813 on January 20, 2009, 11:39:39 AM...I have a thick black handset cord (no reinforcement on the handset end) on one...

That brings up a good point... There were two rubber cords used: A thick rubber one with no strain relief and a thin rubber one with a strain relief segment. That brings us up to four cords that are proper when you count the straight cloth and coiled cloth. It brings us up to five if you count the different cloth patterns (herringbone and basket weave) in the straight cords.

Dan/Panther · January 20, 2009, 01:41:01 PM

I prefer straight Brown Clothe.
D/P

Konrad · January 20, 2009, 02:59:39 PM

Straight brown cloth works for me and it's the #1 seller at Old Phone Works/House of Telephones.

rp2813 · January 20, 2009, 07:05:11 PM

I don't know much about 5302's except that I want one that has a G1 handset, but I think with the 5302, line and handset cords would have been rubber regardless of handset type. I think Ma Bell was doing all she could to make those old fashioned 302's look as much like a modern 500 as possible, and wouldn't have deployed a 5302 with a cloth cord, not even if it was fitted with an F1 handset. A straight rubber cord maybe, but not a cloth one. Just speculation on my part about how Ma Bell worked her deployment strategy. Let's hear from the 5302 experts!

Steve · January 20, 2009, 07:17:17 PM

I'm no expert but I have to agree. why go through all the trouble to modernize a 302 to make it look like a 500, and use old style cords.

benhutcherson · January 20, 2009, 07:34:38 PM

I've never seen a 5302 with a cloth cord.

My 5302 with an F-1 has a straight rubber cord, and my one with a G-1 handset has a 500-style coiled cord.

Since, apparently, 5302s didn't come along until the mid-50s, I'd venture a good guess that they were also not ever fitted with a G-1 handset and straight cord.

Sargeguy · January 20, 2009, 08:14:24 PM

I use cloth for the metal bodies, straight rubber for anything from the 1940s and coiled rubber for sets from the 1950s. You may also mix and match cloth handset cord and rubber line cord and vice-versa. Coiled rubber handset cords are later but were retrofitted to earlier phones, cloth cords seem to have been used up until the end of production in 195? or shortly before.

deedubya3800 · June 04, 2011, 10:27:34 AM

House of Telephones offers their cloth cords with either vinyl covered conductors or, for a couple more dollars, cloth covered conductors. No one ever sees the conductors unless the phone is taken apart, but is there a specific call for which is proper on what? Does it matter?

For example, my 1942 ivory 302 has original straight ivory cloth cords with rubbery-feeling conductors. But it seems to me that earlier phones, like from the '20s and '30s might have had cloth conductors.

I'm on the fence because I may be needing to replace cords on a 1931 D1/E1 202 soon, and I want to get what I'll be the most satisfied with, because I'll know what's on the inside.

JimH · June 04, 2011, 10:39:12 AM

My first 5302 had a coiled rubber/vinyl cord that was so dried out and stiff it cracked apart when you tried to retract it. I replaced it with the fattest, largest loop cord I could find, and it looks great. It has the G-1 handset with the "F" capsules inside. It uses the different caps to accommodate them.

deedubya3800 · June 04, 2011, 11:06:55 AM

Quote from: JimH on June 04, 2011, 10:39:12 AM
My first 5302 had a coiled rubber/vinyl cord that was so dried out and stiff it cracked apart when you tried to retract it. I replaced it with the fattest, largest loop cord I could find, and it looks great. It has the G-1 handset with the "F" capsules inside. It uses the different caps to accommodate them.

I have two 5302s. My first one has a rather large-loop coiled cord, and the other one is a non-Bell set with the "GF" handset like yours. It came with a more typical coiled handset cord.

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Proper Cordage?