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How much of a sin is a No. 5 dial on a D1.

Started by Stephen Furley, July 30, 2011, 08:28:41 AM

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Stephen Furley

I haven't bought any new 'phones for a long time, and I've paid off most of my credit card, so I'm thinking that maybe it's time to get another.  I'm tempted by the D1; there are two of them on Ebay at the moment, neither of them are cheap, but they're not going to be, are they?  I have problems with the descriptions of both of these.  One is from a British seller and is fully restored.  I've seen his work, and it looks very good.  However, this 'phone has been converted to work on the BT network.  More seriously, he offers various options for 'Ringer boxes', including a modern plug-in external ringer, and a small internal one, as well as large original bakelite ones.  If this 'phone can work with just an external ringer then this suggests to me that it has been more extensively modified, with a modern network fitted internally.

The other one is from an American seller, is also restored, comes with what I think is the correct subset, but has a No. 5 dial, which sounds far too late; my 302 from 1938 has a 4H dial.  How much of a problem is this?  Should I let this one go, and look for one with an earlier dial?  How often do these turn up?  The fact that there are two on Ebay at the moment suggests that they are not that rare.

old_phone_man

Stephen,

D1's show up on e-Bay often.  I would wager to say the biggest majority of them have #5 dials in them since the D1 stayed in service for some time after the introduction of the 302.  Western Electric as well as Bell System Repairmen would refurbish these with not only #5 dials but with F1 handsets as well.

I guess the question is really going to be do you want to try to find matching dates for a D1.  This should lead you into looking for not only a #4 dial but for the pinned and notched dial plate (see pictures) that went with a majority of those dials (transitional and otherwise) as well as an E1 handset.

In my opinion it really isn't a sin to get a D1 with a #5 dial.  I have a few.  I just made sure I didn't feel I overpaid for them.

ESalter

That's really neat, I never realized they made a notched AND pinned number plate like that.  How many years were those made?

old_phone_man

As best I can tell they probably only made the notched and pinned plates less than 5 years.  Some time in late '29 or early '30 was when Western Electric started making the #4 dial which placed the finger stop inside the case.  So many of these early #4 dials were made from #2 dials (you'll hear people call these Transitional Dials) or still using #2 parts, so Western Electric kept manufacturing dial plates the same way they always had except they added the notch for the finger stop.  The earliest production of the flatter dial plate (the celluloid 149), that I have ever seen, is 1934 which likely spelled the end of the notched and pinned plate. 

I have only seen notched and pinned plates in the Metro (numbers and letters) and Rural (numbers only) style.  They may be out there in the Party Line Style or some of the other un-notched pinned plate styles that Western Electric produced, but I have never seen them.  Something to keep a look out for.

Sargeguy

Stephen,
If you want a 202 with a #5 dial, PM me.  I have several that need a new home.  Most came with #5 dials, only a few had a #4.  A manual D-1 with an E-1 should cost around $50on eBay, more with the dial.  I wouldn't pay more than $75-80 with the dial.  B-1s are really low these days as well, so you may want to look for one of those.   
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409