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10 button 1965 Northern Electric 1500

Started by DavePEI, March 28, 2011, 08:18:45 PM

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DavePEI

Hi All:

This is a NE 1500 with a ten digit dial. These are getting increasingly rare these days, and were only manufactured from 1964 until 1968, at which point, the 12 digit dials began appearing in a newly designed case.

Now, I confess - this is a Frankenphone of sorts, though genuine in style and parts. All parts match in year, and were in the genuine 1500's. The body is a 500 c/d dated 1965, the dial surround and 1965 dial replace the original dial. I intend to overstamp the date on the base to reflect the fact it is now a 1500 (just add a 1 with my Neuses stamp set.)

Wiring the dial:

Green: + Line in.  Connect to net F.
Black: + Line out.  Connect to net RR.
Org/Blk: - Line in.  Connect to net C.
Red/Grn: output common.  Connect to net R.
Blue: output.  Connect to net B.

The phone works like a charm.

The scratches and paint specks showing in the photo were  buffed out before 11 pm, and it looks truly great! There should be a law against painting in the same room as a classic telephone. From the look of these, they were paint specks from the use of a paint roller nearby.

I got the original dial surround/mount from OPW and using Krylon, repainted it from its original white, and the TT dial from Vern. Smudge on dial surround is only a little bit of Novus polish I missed wiping off.

So, although a frankenphone of sorts, this phone it made from genuine parts, and was really manufactured. Western Electric made these phones, too, but used a case like the later NE 12 digit ones from the start. In the US, only the first prototypes were produced using these dial plates - but in Canada production of these lasted some 4 years before the 12 digit phones and new cases were introduced...

I just finished this conversion today. A number card window has been ordered for this phone. This one will be on display in the museum until I can find a genuine 1500 at an affordable price, then will be converted back to a 500 c/d

The following video by Johnny Cash reminds me of this phone and how it came to life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWHniL8MyMM&feature=related

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

cihensley@aol.com

Dave:

Interesting. I did not know Northern used a dial surround instead of an new case (like WECo did) for the 1500.

Chuck

DavePEI

#2
Quote from: cihensley@aol.com on March 28, 2011, 09:19:26 PM
Interesting. I did not know Northern used a dial surround instead of an new case (like WECo did) for the 1500.

Hi Chuck:
My understanding it was only for the first four years or so. Around the time 12 digit dials were introduced, they adopted the WE style TT case, though I have seen some 12 digit phones produced with the round surround. Canadians, daring to be different :) Back 40 years ago, I had a 10 digit NE wall phone with the  round dial surround, but long before I thought about having a museum, and because they were so common back then, stupidly gave it away to a next door neighbor. If only I had had the foresight to know they would become so rare and valuable!
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

Dave F

Here's my red NE 1500 set.  With the exception of a replaced line cord, this one is all original, exactly as it came from NE in 1967.

DavePEI

The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

Dave F

Quote from: DavePEI on March 28, 2011, 10:09:53 PM
Nice!

Thank you.  As you noted, these NE 10-button sets with round faceplates are not easy to come by.  It took me years to find this one.  Several months ago, a blue one sold on eBay for big bucks (around $300, if I remember correctly).

cihensley@aol.com

I think the dial surround is more attractive than the flat faced things that WECo used for TT.

Chuck

DavePEI

Quote from: cihensley@aol.com on March 28, 2011, 11:54:24 PM
I think the dial surround is more attractive than the flat faced things that WECo used for TT.

Personally, I am of mixed feelings about that, I think, because I lived though both of them. To me the newer style case is probably more attractive, but these are interesting since they are more unusual.

Back in the 70's, I think the reason I gave my wall phone away was that at the time, I was more interested in the "new" 2554's with the flat face. It was only later I began to regret it, when they became so scarce.

I was so glad that I was able to gather not only the correct parts, but with matching dates. After buffing was finished, it turned out just wonderfully, and works like a charm.

I love the look of Dave F's red one though!

Why NE delayed changing to the new case in production, I don't know. However, it left a legacy of this being a very unusual phone.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

GG



Cortelco still makes a "3554" wall set that us basically a 554 with a dial surround and a touchtone dial. 

If Dreyfuss ever made one mistake in his career (actually this would have been Genaro), or WE in adapting it for manufacturing, it was to mount the 2500 faceplate from the front with the spring clip.  That's a weak spot and subject to breakage, and needless to say the "modern"version with the little tab up top is even more breakable.  What they should have done was to have the faceplate sit "loose" on top of the touchtone dial, and then be held captive under a ridge in the main housing, much like the rotary dial numberplate, but rectangular. 

WE should have used the same mounting bracket on the baseplate for touchtone dials as for rotary dials, and made touchtone dials that worked on 425-E networks, and then all of it would have been interchangeable.

DavePEI

#9
Quote from: GG on March 29, 2011, 01:43:51 PM
WE should have used the same mounting bracket on the baseplate for touchtone dials as for rotary dials, and made touchtone dials that worked on 425-E networks, and then all of it would have been interchangeable.

Couldn't agree with you more re: the clips on the "modern" style cases. Same problem with modern NEs.

Re 425 networks: I can't vouch for the 425-E networks as I don't have one handy to check out, but a touch-tone dial will work on a 425-B. The only caveat is that the C terminal isn't brought out to a screw, on some 525B networks, so the Org/Blk: - Line in, must be soldered to net C's solder pad. C is the only terminal which isn't brought out to a screw terminal, and has a solder terminal instead.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

jsowers

This is one very miniscule detail, but then we are all about those details, so I thought I would share it. The 0 (zero) button on the red genuine NE phone doesn't have "Oper" or "Operator" on it and just has the numeral. Because of Canada being French speaking, I think. Their 12-button touchpads also have just the zero on them.

As far as looks go, I prefer the WE ribbed translucent faceplate from the WE 1500 and 2500. In certain colors like turquoise and aqua blue, it really looks nice to have that contrasting color. Dave, I agree that the NE 1500 does get points for looking unusual and has to be rarer because of fewer being made.
Jonathan

Willytx

That is a great job!

Funny, it has only been in the last few years that I knew a production version of this was made. Long before that the 3554 had me wondering if it could be done to a 500. Back then we had the phone police who would come and get you for messing with the phone. Or so our parents said.

Now I need to build one of my own. A 12 button model maybe, then I could call my bank. Where to find a 12 button dial surround without doing surgery on a 3554?


DavePEI

#12
Quote from: Willytx on March 29, 2011, 11:51:20 PM
Now I need to build one of my own. A 12 button model maybe, then I could call my bank. Where to find a 12 button dial surround without doing surgery on a 3554?

If you can't find one from someone on the list, I would try OPW if I were you. Don can supply just about anything at a good price.

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/western-electric-3554-dial-faceplate-white.html

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/western-electric-3554-dial-faceplate-aqua.html

3554 faceplate is the same as a 3500/1500 12 button.

If you require other colors, Don may have them, or these can be painted with Krylon or similar.

Full disclosure: Don and I went to the same high school and lived about two blocks away from us when we were young. Both Brockvillians, from the home of GTE/AE in Canada.

Dave
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

GG



Note, not all dial surrounds for touchtone conversion are alike.  The spacing of the set of cutouts relative to the position on the disc varies very slightly from one brand to the next, but enough that in some instances it may not be possible to get the housing on the phone correctly.

Re. soldering & 425-B networks:  I'd suggest the following.  Get a terminal strip from Radio Snack, and mount it somewhere on the base using Scotchflex double-sided tape, where it will not interfere with the positioning of other components.  Run a wire from that terminal strip to terminal C and solder that down.  Now you can screw down the spade lug from the touchtone dial to the screw on the terminal strip, thereby avoiding having to solder it to C on the network.  Any similar mods you have to make can be done similarly.  This preserves the wire from the touchtone dial in its original state, and the whole setup can be put back to original condition more readily.


DavePEI

No need to install a terminal strip, and no need to destroy the network C connection. Just build up a little solder on the network C terminal (Just add a bit to the solder already there for holding the white wire), tin the Org/Blk spade lug and tack it down. To revert, just heat up the C lead terminal, and then shake the solder off the spade lug, and voila it is intact.

No extra terminal strips or Scotchflex to remove when reverting, just touch it with a soldering iron. The tinned spade fits well on the C terminal of the network.

Sometimes the easiest way is the best.
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001