My Brimfield find - a WE black 3502G

[recyklotron]

Greetings,

My first WE3502G -  found last week at the Brimfield antiques market for $15. For those unfamiliar w/ Brimfield it is a 3X yearly event which takes over the entire town of Brimfield, Massachusetts.
  F1 handset w/ HA1 & F1 elements dating to 1955 & 49 respectively. The interior works are also from 1949 & the plastic body is from 2-'61. It is in good shape except for the fact that the line cord was chopped off & the handset cord has several reverses which I can't seem to rectify. It had dial tone but wouldn't ring - I attached temporary wiring to test it. The red ringer wire was originally attached to the GND terminal & following the Forum's wiring diagram for a 302, I moved it to L1 & now it works. It was actually really grimy - so much so that the cord looked gray. Here it is after cleaning & some Novus 2.

Happy hunting,

          Jonathan

[Mr. Bones]

Jonathan,

     Nice score, especially for the $! I have just one 5302, and it has the G handset. Still looking for a nice F-1 one, despite the fact they are more common. My day will come. Enjoy your nice 'new' toy, and thanks for sharing with us!

Best regards!

[LarryInMichigan]

Jonathan,

That looks like a great find.  The handset cord can be corrected by coiling it around a dowel.  Let it sit in a very warm place for a while after coiling it around the dowel.  Then give it a few minutes in the freezer.

Larry

[recyklotron]

Thanks guys

I picked up a dowel and found Larry's old post on re-coiling. These are my results - 15 minutes in a 250 oven followed by 1 1/2 hours in the  freezer.
A 100% cosmetic improval, just not as 'springy' as one might expect!
  Thanks again,
                         Jonathan

[Tom B]

Nice result. I really am pleased with my 5302 fitted with an F1 handset. Time it got rotated back into service.

[LarryInMichigan]

If you want to make the cord tighter, reverse the direction of the coiling.

Larry

[zaphod01]

Nice find! Looks like it's in great shape. I have two 5302's and a 5304 (party line version).

You inspired me to buy a dowel and try to recoil a cord on a '52 TA236/FT Signal Corps phone. It's all matching dates. $5 on eBay. The wife suggested putting the dowel in the clothes dryer. There's a setting to heat but not spin. I'll give it a shot this afternoon.

[John S]

Thats a beauty....

JOhn