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is this an AE 80

Started by Doug Rose, April 09, 2012, 01:12:42 PM

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Doug Rose

I have had this down in my pile of phones to be worked on for a few years now. I thought is was AEs version of the 500 set. Phone was really filthy. Turns out it is all bakelite, shell and handset. Metal finger wheel and a porcelain black dial plate under the finger wheel. This is really an attractive phone once I got thru the layers of sh*t! Kind of cool card inside the shell. Is this an AE 80?....Doug
Kidphone

AE_Collector

#1
Yes, very old original type AE 80.

The very first ones had the porcelain number plate dial with a plastic outer extension. Thye very quickly went to a one piece plastic number plate after the 80's were introduced in 1954 or 1955. Yours quite likely originally had a straight handset cord as well. It has a Straight Line ringer with volume adjustment. It should have the manual compensator adjustment on the base as well.

For the first 5 or so years they had the chrome plungers, funny shaped rubber feet and metal fingerwheels (on the black sets).

I don't think the shell is bakelite though, just the handset. Shells are usually soft plastic. Thought I don't recall carefully checking the earliest shells on the phones with the two piece number ring. I think I only have one of them. Do you think it is a bakelite shell? It would be pretty fragile wouldn't it?

Terry

Greg G.

That's a beauty!  Amazing how nice boring ol' black can look when polished all nice and purty-like!
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

AE_Collector

#3
All that is needed is a number card. I would choose the black background one with the largest area for writting the number in as the correct "vinatage". See the second picture I posted in the AE Set code survey thread:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=5514.msg67058#msg67058

Terry

Doug Rose

Terry...it's bakelite. I used stripper and fine steel wool on it and a LOT of elbow grease. This was a mess! It was caked with junk and had white paint all over it. This poor boy was abused. It was either the trash (Monday is trash day) or try to clean it up. I'm glad I tried. Nothing like a relaxing day off ;D. I can't find a date anywhere. What is your guess....thanks...Doug
Kidphone

AE_Collector

#5
It's an AE, cut your losses and stop looking for a date now! I don't have charts of dates/features but do know that only the earliest 80's had the two piece number plate arrangement. I have heard bot 1954 and 1955 as the year that AE80's were introduced. I am quite certain that they had gone to the one piece number plate by 1957 so that leaves a 1954 - 1957 possible date range for this one.

It sounds like I had better check the shells of my earliest 80's a little closer. I knew that the early handsets were bakelite (like WECo 500's were as well) up to the 1960/61 time frame (only on BLACK AE 80's) before they switched to plastic.

The way AE40's busted when dropped I would think that a much thinner bakelite shell on an AE 80 would explode if looked you looked at it wrong!

Terry

Doug Rose

I knew it was bakelite the minute I took the shell of the base. That's when I decided to try to refurb it. Trash truck had already come by  :o This poor guy, besides the condition he was in,  has had more phones piled on top of him in the next phone to be repaired piles. Probably would have happend again but we haven't had any flea markets or yard sales around here yet. Thanks for the info on this, I'll hang on to him for awhile. I'll get a straight handset cord and a dial card later. It's time for a Silver Bullet!....KidDone
Kidphone