Feelin' like a sore loser tonight... My 51.00 sniper bid evidently wasn't enough to nab this very nice AE Type 41 handset, which would have not only solved a lot of restoration problems for me with my current AE 40 projects, but would have given me extra receiver and transmitter capsules to boot:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOMATIC-ELECTRIC-AE-40-AE-50-CHROME-BAND-HANDSET-/132130756356?nma=true&si=SnCS5CldvgHeVkXPd34H4E4TL5c%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOMATIC-ELECTRIC-AE-40-AE-50-CHROME-BAND-HANDSET-/132130756356?nma=true&si=SnCS5CldvgHeVkXPd34H4E4TL5c%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557)
I hope, at least, that someone here on the forum got it for their own restoration project, and it didn't go to someone who's just going to part it out for bigger bucks. I know what they're getting out there for the chrome caps alone, because I paid it... >:(
What about this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201872481622
With a little work you get the handset and an open dial finger wheel plus lots of other parts.
Jack
Quote from: Jack Ryan on April 02, 2017, 01:09:54 AM
What about this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201872481622
With a little work you get the handset and an open dial finger wheel plus lots of other parts.
Jack
Thanks for the heads-up, Jack. What
does look unusual about it is the unique "0"--I've never seen a metropolitan-style number plate where the 0 didn't have the word "Operator" on it, but had
only a "Z" instead. Too bad the printing on it isn't in better shape... Also, not even so much as a hint that any "Monophone" decal or stamp was ever on the bottom, not to mention the fact that it has an actual date stamp (unless it's a refurb stamp; I thought all post-WW2 AE 40s had the carry handle). Were these perhaps made under license by someone other than Phillips? I'm also not seeing any evidence that this is a Canadian version, either.
Also wondering what that green box is on the inside, below the right side of the hookswitch. Never seen that before, either.
Veeerrrrry innnnteresting... I may actually have to give that one a shot.
I don't think anyone made them except AE affiliates. This particular phone was made for the Signal Corps - perhaps that is why the number plate is different. The dial may not be AE (I can't see the ID).
The green box would be a capacitor. Perhaps the Signal Corps used green capacitors. I'm not a Signal Corps expert.
Would an MFP handset be glued together?
Jack
This is a good parts phone -- despite the cracked housing and no evidence of a ringer or talk capacitor on the baseplate. It is much older than 1951: Notice the metal dial bracket.
The phone has several indicators that the set was used in the armed forces. It was refurbished and probably treated with an anti-fungal agent as stamped on the bottom. The condenser is colored green. It has a dial with a different contact arrangement than is standard for AE, and the dial number plate does not have the OPER, as mentioned. Good parts phone. Spending over $50 just for a handset is a bit a outrageous, IMHO. Many times good AE parts phones can be found for less than that even with chrome trim. It is very common to find cracked housings on these. I have seen those sell for less than $20. I bet this phone will be a candidate.
Agreed, chrome banded handsets can quite often be obtained on parts phones for much less. Good luck!
The 4-51 date must obviously be a refurb date of this older AE40. The base may have been painted black at that time as while there are some factory black painted bases on 40's this looks repainted to me. No sign of the usual orange ink stamps used on black based 40's.
The cut away fingerwheel is a bonus on this one though maybe it will lead to a little more bidding competition. I can see the AECo diamond on the back of the dial. Most type 51's (not 51A) seem to have been cast bodies that were painted black and the refurb date fits this closely.
Is there any precedence to green capacitors in MFP sets? You can see that it is gray under the green, is the green a coating to further seal the metal canister?
Terry
Quote from: unbeldi on April 02, 2017, 08:29:08 AM
The phone has several indicators that the set was used in the armed forces. It was refurbished and probably treated with an anti-fungal agent as stamped on the bottom. The condenser is colored green. It has a dial with a different contact arrangement than is standard for AE, and the dial number plate does not have the OPER, as mentioned. Good parts phone. Spending over $50 just for a handset is a bit a outrageous, IMHO. Many times good AE parts phones can be found for less than that even with chrome trim. It is very common to find cracked housings on these. I have seen those sell for less than $20. I bet this phone will be a candidate.
I see the contact arrangement now--thanks for pointing it out. No idea what the extra (fourth) shunt contact would be for, either.
BTW, what does "MFP" stand for? Is that the indicator that it was made for/used by the Signal Corps?
Thanks again, everyone, for your input.
"MFP = Moisture Fungus Proof."
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11477.msg122598#msg122598
Quote from: KaiserFrazer67 on April 02, 2017, 12:30:24 PM
I see the contact arrangement now--thanks for pointing it out. No idea what the extra (fourth) shunt contact would be for, either.
The extra dial contacts probably aren't being used. Signal Corps dials had enough contacts to they could be used in AE or WE (or other) phones.
MFP is a good indicator that the phone is Signal Corps. So is that dial with additional contacts.
Jack
Well, folks, I just wound up winning the "Signal Corps" parts phone--US$34.99 plus $11.05 shipping from Colgate, Wisconsin (west of Milwaukee/Menomonee Falls). Evidently sombody else out there had the same idea I had about the handset and dial... :P
Tom,
I was tempted, as I have a couple AEs that would look good with those parts too...but since I heard about the item being on eBay from your post, I restrained myself and didn't pursue it.
If anyone has a pair of the chrome bands in good shape, or has a complete receiver with the chrome bands that they want to off-load, let me know!
Congrats on the purchase Tom!
Nick
Quote from: Nick in Manitou on April 03, 2017, 10:31:44 PM
Tom,
I was tempted, as I have a couple AEs that would look good with those parts too...but since I heard about the item being on eBay from your post, I restrained myself and didn't pursue it.
If anyone has a pair of the chrome bands in good shape, or has a complete receiver with the chrome bands that they want to off-load, let me know!
Congrats on the purchase Tom!
Nick
Thanks, Nick. I didn't mean to infer that the other bidder(s) were forum members; in fact, I think the vast majority of forum members are pretty courteous when someone speaks up for an item up for bids. Nevertheless, there's plenty enough folks in the know about old phones out there who aren't forum members, to be sure. I was already warned that the chrome cutaway fingerwheel and unusual dial configuration would call up competition... not to mention that it's a former military phone, probably U. S. Signal Corps.
Depending how desperate you are for the chrome AE 41 caps, both Old Phone Shop and Oldphoneworks online have the caps; but they're in the neighborhood of $65 for the pair (which was the mistake I made as a newbie a couple months ago), and you can indeed often get an entire chromed-out Type 41 handset, with the receiver and transmitter capsules, for much less than that, with a parts phone to boot.
No problem, Tom. I am glad that a forum member won the bid on those parts!
Wow...I sold a parts phone AE40 with chrome bands for $48.00 not too long ago....Don't understand why that handset brought such a premium...What am I missing?
Quote from: Partyline4 on April 06, 2017, 10:21:05 PM
Wow...I sold a parts phone AE40 with chrome bands for $48.00 not too long ago....Don't understand why that handset brought such a premium...What am I missing?
Well, I received the phone yesterday, and I can tell you this; you weren't missing much this time around. The chrome bands themselves are in fairly decent shape, but the Bakelite caps are
horribly pitted. I don't know if they can be sanded and buffed or not; I do know that some members have had success sanding and buffing some kinds of Bakelite, so I will try.
Basically the chrome bands give a very nice "dressed-up" look to the AE 40s and 50s, especially when used with a chrome fingerwheel and dial card ring. However, the rings have their own special caps; since the rings have the same outer diameter as the rest of the cap and handset to which they mate, the caps are molded with a step in them to receive the rings (they look as if they are turned, but they are not). They will not work on the plain caps unless you happen to know someone who is
very good with a lathe (or you are yourself). You'd have to use a chuck which would grab the cap from the inside, and use moderate pressure--not so much as to damage the cap, but just enough to prevent the cap from slipping while turning. You'd also have to be careful of how much plastic you take off, since the rings are a snug fit on the caps. There
are aftermarket chrome "slip-on" rings which work with plain caps offered with some "chrome dress-up" kits available through one or more of the online shops, but they just don't look the same, are not original, and cost almost as much as the original caps even though they are cheaply made.
EDIT: To be clear, the phone which I bid on and received was the "Signal Corps" phone, mentioned above (not yours, Partyline4):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201872481622 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/201872481622)
People can't see beyond the part they are looking for. If they want a chrome banded handset they don't bother looking at a 40 set with the handset they want. Of course shipping the complete phone will likely be a bit higher to ship.
Terry
FYI Same seller, another handset, from a local collector I know
http://www.ebay.com/itm/142350394957