Did I say no more phones? Got a pink 61-500.

[Greg G.]

I'll start with the line cord.  I was hoping that underneath the 10 layers of electrical tape I would find an intact spade end with the mod wires wrapped and taped up, but NO, some idiot chopped it off and did a mickey-mouse modular modification.  I'll bet it had a pink 4-prong plug originally.  I don't even want to think about that.  I guess I'll be looking for a proper modular adaptor.  Good shape, fully functional, no cracks or gouges.  Mixed dates, but all in the 60s except the receiver element, which is from 55.  CL find.  She asked for $50, I offered $30, she countered with $35.  Not a steal, but not a bad price, IMO.

[Greg G.]

More pics.

[Greg G.]

Close up of shell date.

[JorgeAmely]

Very nice catch. It doesn't seem faded at all. I am sure you will be able to bring it back to tip top shape.

[Kenny C]

it doesn't look badly discolored

[Greg G.]

I don't see any discoloration either, just has some gunk and grime that looks like it will come of fairly easy.  I did a test buff on part of the transmitter with some Novus 3, the grime came right off.  The only parts I'll give the usual Oxiclean soak are the handset and line cords.

[Kenny C]

I gotta get me a pink one sometime I am getting a 5302 some time this week from Jim S.

[HarrySmith]

Nice catch! Hard to find without being badly discolored, you got a nice one! When I got mine I had some people at work who saw it saying "I did not know they made phones in Peach!" That was my first and hopefully last sanding job! I may have a pink line cord if you need one, I will have to search my pile of cords tonight.

Never Ever Say No More Phones!! This obsession make that impossible to stick to!! Never enough!!

Kenny: You are getting a Pink 5302?? NICE!!

[Kenny C]

no just a regular old black one

[McHeath]

This is a nice phone for a reasonable price.  Amazing how gunked up it is, it's always interesting how some people can use an item forever and it still looks new and stays clean while other people can make something look like it was left out in the rain in the flowerbed for the past 20 years.  When I bought my house the place was beyond filthy, even every single light switch was icky gooey brown.  The doorknobs were thick with brown goo as well and all had to be scrubbed.  The people only lived here for 12 years.  By way of comparison my mom has lived in her current house 14 years and you can eat off the garage floor if you so wanted, and the rest of the place, phones included, always look new. 

I think you pink phone will be a real keeper with a little elbow polish. 

[Kenny C]

I think you pink phone will be a real keeper with a little elbow polish. 

can you buy this at ace or do you order it online???

[Greg G.]

This is a nice phone for a reasonable price.  Amazing how gunked up it is, it's always interesting how some people can use an item forever and it still looks new and stays clean while other people can make something look like it was left out in the rain in the flowerbed for the past 20 years.  When I bought my house the place was beyond filthy, even every single light switch was icky gooey brown.  The doorknobs were thick with brown goo as well and all had to be scrubbed.  The people only lived here for 12 years.  By way of comparison my mom has lived in her current house 14 years and you can eat off the garage floor if you so wanted, and the rest of the place, phones included, always look new.  

I think you pink phone will be a real keeper with a little elbow polish.  

I'll bet the previous inhabitants of your house were heavy smokers, and I'll bet your Mom is a non-smoker.

Flowerbed phones.  If they were designed and made by Bell Laboratories, they'll probably still work!  

I showed a picture of my pink phone to a lady friend who ooo'd and aaah'd over it, so not sure how long I'll be able to keep it now.

I'm open to suggestions on how to best rig up the end of the line cord.  My first thought is with what I have on hand, biscuits.  The cord is thick enough so that it would stay in the biscuit securely, but biscuits are rather clumsy and you still need a mod-to-mod cord to plug it in.

[Jim Stettler]

I don't know about flowerbed phones, they did make a patio phone tho.
http://www.paul-f.com/wephot.html

There is one of them that turned up and is the hands of a collector (not me)

Jim

[1954NE500]

I have a Northern Electric Pink 500 from 1961 that's exactly identical to this WE pink 500 from 1961. Only difference is a plain metal bottom(NE stopped using black painted bottoms on 500s in 1960) and the Northern Electric markings. On the base the Northern Electric marking reads

                                Northern Electric
                                Patented 1939, 1943, 1953, 1955, Rd. 1948
                                Made In Canada

On the handset-

                                Northern Electric
                                Company Limited
                                Rd. 1948
                                G3
                                Made In Canada

This is what's on the Northern Electric markings on my pink 1961 Northern Electric 500. Northern Electric used these markings from about 1956 to about 1962 on 500's made in Canada.
I also got 2 pink Northern Electric 554's, the text reads the same on the G3 handset as the 500 NE G3 handset. The text on a Northern Electric 554 case made from 1956-62  
reads-

                                 Northern Electric
                                 Patented 1953 1955
                                 Made In Canada

These are the markings and text to look for on original, unrefurbished Northern Electric 500's and Northern Electric 554's made between 1956 and 1962.

[LarryInMichigan]

When I bought my house the place was beyond filthy, even every single light switch was icky gooey brown.  The doorknobs were thick with brown goo as well and all had to be scrubbed.

That sounds exactly like my house.  For the first few weeks I was here, I had to use a napkin or paper towel to turn on or off lights.  I replaced all of the light switches.  The manager of the cleaning service that I hired right after I closed took a look at the sticky brown walls around the basement staircase and remarked that the former residents must have been "human chimneys".  The glass on the light fixtures had to be cleaned with oven cleaner.

A few months ago, I bought a NE Uniphone on ebay which arrived reeking of tobacco.  The entire dial mechanism was full of sticky brown goo.  I spent a couple of hours disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling it, but it still doesn't turn properly.  Imagine how the insides of the lungs of these people must look.


Larry