My first 5302!

[Adam]

I normally collect phones from the 60's and 70's, but reading the stories and seeing the pictures here on this site have broadened my horizons!  This week I bought my very first 5302 from eBay, and I got it yesterday!

It is pictured below.  The shell is not in perfect shape, it's got some minor scraping, but it's overall very shiny and what I would consider "for general use and display" condition, which I generally prefer, as opposed to "museum" condition.

What made me go for this one was the straight handset cord.  I know those are not unknown, but I had been looking for a nice 5302 with a G1 or GF handset, and had never seen one with a straight handset cord on eBay before.  This phone has a G1.

As received, the dial did not have a number card retainer.  I added one from my parts box, along with a copy of a number card from another earlier acquisition.

The dial is wonderfully easy to dial, smooth and quiet, unlike the noisy 7 type dials in the 500's.  And of course, the ring is wonderful.  The inside was dusty but absolutely no rust inside or out.

I'm very happy with this phone and have put it right to use!

(Stay tuned, I won another older set I haven't received yet.  More on that soon!)

[HarrySmith]

Nice One! Congrats

[Adam]

Thanks!

By the way, I was slightly but pleasantly surprised that this phone, basically a 302 in sheep's clothing, with guts made in 1948, sounds BETTER than any phone in my collection, and better than any phone I've ever used.  Granted, the phone is connected to a VERY short loop (my house wiring to an ATA).  But it sounds loud but not overly loud, perfectly clear with absolutely no distortion, and an overall "warm" quality to the sound.  It's like the difference between listening to an old vinyl LP as opposed to a modern CD.

Do these sets and 302's sound the same with F handsets?  Better?  Worse?

[cchaven]

Since the 5302 uses the internals of the 302, I'd imagine that they'd sound pretty much the same.  I'm a big fan of 302's myself, having a number of them of different types.  Thats a really nice 5302 you picked up...congratulations.

Jeff

[bingster]

They should sound the same as a 302.  Even though it's got a G-style handset, if I'm not mistaken the handset is bored out to accept the F1's receiver and transmitter elements, making the entire phone electrically identical to a 302.  

[Adam]

Thanks, cchaven.

I think you guys misunderstood what I said slightly.  I know the 5302 is the same inside as a 302.  What I was saying was that the 302/5302 sounds so much better than the more modern 500.

And bingster, you're right, there was a GF handset which was a G handset with F handset internal parts.  But my phone doesn't have that, it has a standard 1959 bakelite G1 handset.  So I was asking, how does my 302/5302 with a G1 handset compare transmission/reception-wise, as opposed to a 302/5302 with its more standard F (or GF) handset?

-Dave

[Dewdrop]

That's a NICE looking phone.

I have five black rotaries: 1 WE 302, 3 WE 500's (another one is on the way), and 1 Stromberg Carlson 1243.

Maybe I'll come across a 5302 soon.

Debbie

[Kenny C]

I have 2 black 500's 3 302's a 202 and a 197? 565 I got 2 days ago and I got a soft plastic Light gray 500 too I am gonna post pictures of it when I find the camera

[deedubya3800]

I love the 5302, and yours is a very nice one. What is the date on the inside of your shell? Mine is originally a 1946 phone with a shell dated 1-5-60. The shell date is usually the only key to a conversion date, with the possible addition of the stress reliefs on the cords. Everything else on a 5302 was usually used parts from other phones. Mine also has a G1 handset with the T1/U1 elements, but I have a coiled cord. You can see mine at http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3323.0

[Adam]

Mine has a recondition date on the base in vermilion, 4/59.  But thanks for pointing out that that's not the date of conversion!  I just went and looked again, the markings on the inside front of the shell says 5-22-56.  Pretty early for 5302, right?

[deedubya3800]

Anything is possible. '56 is fairly early as the 5302 started "production" (of sorts) in '55. But it is possible that the conversion might have been done later than the shell date, using a shell that had been in storage or used before. It's so hard to dependably date a 5302 since they were nearly 90% reused parts.

[Kenny C]

mine is dated somewhere around the middle of 1959 if i remember right