News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Crosley 302 replica

Started by McHeath, April 15, 2009, 12:38:25 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Babybearjs

I've seen the crosley phones. too bad they could'nt just remake the originals... the technology still exists to make a real 302... but they do try... I'll stick to my originals, they just work better... and NO, they were'nt made in CHINA!
John

GG



One could of course; and PhoneCo (Ron & Mary Knappen) have some pretty darn good replica desk stands (candlesticks) and 202 type sets.  Though, replicas that good often end up getting confused for originals and  being sold (innocently or otherwise) as originals, which can become a problem. 

The difficult part is making dials because those require precision in order to work properly over many years.  Possible solutions include just making rotary dials and leaving it up to end-users to figure out what to do if they want pulse-to-tone conversion; or putting that circuit in the phone; or having the dial act only as a switch to a touchtone signaling chip; or making higher-grade touchtone keypads of one kind or another (either in the circular configuration or 4x3 but styled like the early WE pushbutton 302).   The problem of course is the * and # keys, and some of us would sooner not end up with "12-digit dials" when other solutions might work. 

That said, I wouldn't knock China: they're doing a darn good job at building nuclear power plants and bullet trains, so they know how to do high-precision technology extremely well.  They could build replica 302s that were identical to original WE if someone wanted to pay for them (though it should be stamped in the baseplate in a manner that makes it clear it's a replica, for example the letter R in a triangle or something).  Given that the Crosleys and others have been successful, I think it's only a matter of time.  If some wealthy folks in the historic telephony community wanted to get together on this, it could be a done deal, earn a fair profit for them, and throw a very interesting curve ball into a market that seems obsessed with "phones" that do "everything" except hold a conversation reliably and with good audio. 

deedubya3800

There is a video from A1 Telephone Repair that gives a really good inside look of one of these Crosley 302s. It appears to actually have weights bolted to the baseplate! I'd be interested in owning a used one if I could get it for $10 or less.

Ed D

Quote from: bingster on April 15, 2009, 03:14:06 PM
Quote from: HobieSport on April 15, 2009, 01:02:43 PMSeriously though, does anyone have a Crosley phone that has had had a lot of use?  I'm just wondering if they are reliable.

My mother has a Crosley Princess that she's used for about six months with no problems.  Of course, six months is nothing in Bell System terms.  I do know that the transmitter is much better than the one on her expensive GE cordless.  The GE makes her sound like she's under water.

If I'm not mistaken, GE employed Jacques Cousteau as their phone designer for several years, and still uses some of his design innovations...   ;D