Rotary Phones Still in Service! (uuhhh well, WERE Still in Service)

[AE_Collector]

So my co-worker had a repair at work in january. I get a phone call from him asking me what to do. After he explains the situation to me I told him I would meet him there shortly to help out. The trouble report was "Sticky Dial" which we assumed meant Sticky buttons or touchpad etc. No, it was a SLOW DIAL. He had fiddled with it for quite awhile but once I arrived I had it woring in minutes. They had a can of WD 40 sitting on the shelf so I borrowed it. Not the approved method I'm cetain but all fixed just like that.

They had 2 AE 187 sets and 1 AE 87 set. These are KSU-less 3 line / 3 hold sets. After discussing it with the old couple who had run the business for 50 plus years it was decided that an upgrade to 2 line touch tone phones would be a good move so we placed the order for them.

Here are two of the phones in use at their business. In the second picture you can see the connecting block and an AE 33 extension ringer under the shelf that the AE 187 is sitting on. The connecting block is a 66B block which has 25 pairs of type 66 quick connect terminals in it that are internally wired to a female Amphenol plug that the phone plugs into.

Terry

[AE_Collector]

I finally got the order to go replace the phones and of course I took care of recycling the "take out's" for them as well. Actually, they were still rentals. For what ever reason, they had a couple more phones in boxes under a desk that also "went for recycling". I cleaned them all up today and here they are.

1- A group shot of the 3 AE sets.

2- AE 187 in black with the old type hard plastic faceplate and color matching set cord.

3- AE 87

4- AE 187 with the newer type with paper facemat and the new type silver/gray set cord. Also note that it was a refurbished by our shops years ago and is actually a white 187 painted black. The handset was Sand Beige in a previous life and one of the caps had been Garnet Red. All has been painted black but the old colors are showing through on all the edges due to all the use the phone saw.

5- 2 bonus phones. An ITT Data Set in light gray and a NECo 564 Key Set but equipped from day 1 with an AECo dial and an AECo handset though the handset may have been a later replacement. The dial appears to be original to the phone. BC tel used mainly AE equipment so this phone may have been ordered from NECo with some AE components, maybe due to a strike at AE at the time or some other unknown reason. Dates on it are 1961.

Terry

[JorgeAmely]

Terry:

Ejem, uuhhh well, are you planning to recycle them one more time to people in the forum?  

[AE_Collector]

They are AE's....so no one wants them! I have "extra's" of many AE phones, just not generally the ones that you are looking for because I'm still looking for THEM myself!

A light gray ITT 565 key set isn't worth anything is it? I know that one just went for big $$$ on ebaY but it was WECo, older, color matching set cord etc etc.

Terry

[JorgeAmely]

If possible and not too much trouble, can you post some under the hood photos of the black set? It will be cool to see how they crammed all the switches under the housing.

[AE_Collector]

Jorge; They are ALL BLACK except for one! Which one are you curious about? AE 87, 187 or NE 564?

Terry

[JorgeAmely]

Terry:
I thought you knew me well: AE87 of course!

[AE_Collector]

Well the AE 87 was my "best guess". They are pretty much like the 564's inside. The one that amazes me is the AE 47. A mechanical marvel inside.

I'll add some pictures of the AE 87 under the hood in a couple of days once I'm home from "the cabin".

Terry

[Babybearjs]

Great pics terry! these phones were what I started with when I started to collect phones. I still have 2 87A's and a 187.... all packed up and awaiting reuse. thanks for the posting! its good to know that the good ol' AE classics are still around!  John