Poor ebay packaging job

[guitar1580]

I've been wanting an example of the GTE AE phone, so I picked out a decent looking one that had a good price.

It's really hard to believe that it did not get broken in transit.  All that was in the box was the one thin foam sheet that only wrapped about halfway around the phone.  Why even bother with that?

As I was carrying it out of the post office, I was thinking that it felt like there was no packing in it.  I was correct.

Josh

[Babybearjs]

but it survived the shipping... they made them like tanks!

[Stormcrash]

Glad it survived:)

Hope you share some more pics. Is it an 80 or 80E?

[guitar1580]

Thanks Storm.  I'm actually not sure which model it is, and I don't even know the difference between the 80 and 80E.

I'm just starting to branch out into non Western Electric phones. 

I just now figured out how to get the clear plate off of the front, and after a few minutes I finally figured out that you have to peel the number sticker off in order to get to the screw to remove the dial wheel.  So now I don't know if I can find a number sticker or if I'll have to glue something on to cover the center.  Seems like a strange setup.

Here's one of the ebay photos.  Can you tell the model?

[Jack Ryan]

I'm actually not sure which model it is, and I don't even know the difference between the 80 and 80E.

It's an 80E (dial version)

The flat faced AE80 came to be when DTMF was introduced. After a while, AE rationalised the cases so that both rotary dial and DTMF used a flat faced case (comments based on AE catalogues).

Original AE80 attached.

I just now figured out how to get the clear plate off of the front, and after a few minutes I finally figured out that you have to peel the number sticker off in order to get to the screw to remove the dial wheel.  So now I don't know if I can find a number sticker or if I'll have to glue something on to cover the center.  Seems like a strange setup.

A cost saving exercise.

Jack

[Stormcrash]

Does it have a plastic or metal bottom plate? If it's metal it's an older AE80 that was converted to an 80E during a refurb.

The shape was originally introduced on the 80TC (Touch Call) which used a ribbed and backpainted faceplate. Later they consolidated the line between dial and tone with the 80E, changing the faceplate to transparent plastic and a paper backing mat. This allowed more color combos between shell and face with less inventory.

The 80E gets a rap for being cheaply made and somewhat fragile, but it was strong enough to survive that terrible packing job so it's still pretty sturdy. I have a white 80E rotary on my desk as I type this

[guitar1580]

Thanks guys.

Jack, interestingly, just yesterday I ordered a green AE80 just like that one.  I bought the pink one a couple of weeks ago for $13 (in my other post), then I started running into them left & right, and now I have a few black ones and a faded white one.  I actually like them pretty well.

Stormcrash, mine has the metal bottom, and I specifically looked for one with metal.  I'd think the plastic base would be more fragile.  Mine also has the paper number mat, which I thought was a little cheesy.  It would get ruined pretty easily if liquid got splashed on the phone.  Where in the heck would you get a replacement for that?  I'm sure someone is printing them out by now on the computer.

I'll bet your white one looks nice.  I wanted either white or black, but a lot of the white ones I was looking at were yellowed.

[Jack Ryan]

Jack, interestingly, just yesterday I ordered a green AE80 just like that one.  I bought the pink one a couple of weeks ago for $13 (in my other post), then I started running into them left & right, and now I have a few black ones and a faded white one.  I actually like them pretty well.

From a collectors point of view, AE80s are a good choice.

All the colours
All the frequency ringers (three different standards)
Superimposed ringing
Two different SATT systems each with multiple codes
Manual compensation
Automatic compensation
Volume control or not
Hook latch or not
The earliest has a Type 51A dial
Original shape and AE80E

You only need to collect AE80s!

Jack

[Key2871]

Well you lucked out, but I just got one that had 4 feet of bubble wrap, and some plastic bags in a box just slightly larger than the phone. And I asked her to pack it well to avoid damage. It was fine, but had it been something like that, I'm not so sure.
Though UPS is knows for their half time antics when loading trucks, if one gets left behind the big guy with steel toe boots gets to punt it across the warehouse..

[Stormcrash]

My white one is very slightly yellowed. It was in very dirty shape when I bought it as a restoration project for cheap, I just felt bad for it. It cleaned up nicely and is now one of my favorite phones even if it's a bit yellowed and the fingerwheel is a little cracked, just shows what a long useful life it's had.  I was lucky enough to find a couple NOS packs of facemats on ebay too so I have some spares and can change the color, though I really like the light green that was on it when I got it.

Some before and after photos

[guitar1580]

Jack,  sounds like you know your AE80s.  I may have my work cut out for me to get all of those.  I know I do want a red one.  Lemme know if you have any overflow.

Key,  yes, it's sad that employees get away with that, and more sad that management doesn't monitor camera footage to weed out the riff raff.  I've heard similar stories from the girl at the post office.

Storm,  Very nice!  Yes, I like it with the green.  You got lucky finding the extra mats in different colors.  I see the restored white one with a blue mat for auction now, for I think $89 – too much for me, but it looks sharp.  I'm sure I'll probably end up getting a white one at some point – but hopefully for cheap, then clean it up myself.  I see you don't have a center covering your dial screw either.  That kinda bothers me.  If I don't find a repro, I'll probably try to make something or glue something on.  I may even be able to re-attach mine.

Here is an older one that I have about $23 into, that cleaned up pretty well.  Under the top sticker, it had a nice old penciled in dial center (I'm waiting for some clear discs to arrive).  You can see where someone wrote the number upside down before they lined up the notches in the card, and had to erase it and re-write.  It has a bakelite handset & caps too I think.  I believe it may be from 1958.  It has 58 on the .4MF capacitor beside the ringer.

[Dan/Panther]

If by any chance it ever became necessary to ship with that little amount of foam protection, MY priority would be to wrap the handset as good as possible. That is where I feel the most damage happens to other parts, the handset bouncing around.

D/P

[guitar1580]

Could someone tell me the secret to taking the finger hold cover off?  I can't get it to pop loose.  I don't want to stick a screwdriver in there and tear up the plastic.  Seems like there's usually a recommended method.

[FABphones]

AE80. Shown here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?&topic=5833

[guitar1580]

Thanks Fab,  but it's the finger hold cover plate I was talking about - the rectangular cover that is held on with a single screw on a WE500. 

I've already figured out 3 different styles of AE finger wheel & dial center removal using the search feature.