I Just Bought an AE34 - Phone Arrived - More Pictures Posted

[LarryInMichigan]

I just saw this phone listed by and antiques dealer for $75, and I couldn't resist (There must be some sort of medication for this, isn't there?).  The seller said very little about it, but it appears to be in very good condition.  It appears to have a North dial.  Is that normal?

I have been wanting an AE34, but the ones on ebay always seems to go for a fortune, so I thought that this may be my chance, so I jumped.

Larry

[JorgeAmely]

Larry:

Very nice grab. Does it have the induction coil on the handset or bolted to the base?

Also, could you please take a closeup of the dial and some "under the hood" pictures?

Thanks!

[HarrySmith]

Very nice, Larry! Congrats on a great phone at a great price! Just get the paint off the rings, shine it up and add a dial card

[LarryInMichigan]

Jorge,

I just bought it on-line, so I don't have it yet, but I will try to post more about once it arrives.  I sure hope that it has an induction coil somewhere (and is not just an empty shell).

Harry,

The brass handset rings are actually supposed to be painted, but the paint generally chipped.  I have an AE 1A with the same or very similar handset.


Larry

[HarrySmith]

Yeah, I know they are "supposed" to be that way but I think the whole phone looks so much cooler when they are in shiny brass

But what do I know

[Dan]

I like the rings shined up in brass also. I have a few AE40's but no 34. I love the lines of the 34 too.

[KeithB]

Absolutely SCHWEET!! looking AE34 there, Larry. 
Congratulations on finally getting one!

[stub]

Larry,
         Nice find and great price. Please post under the hood photos.
         AE 34 (1934-38 )came with a 24A36 dial (cat# AK- 11) in it.
        Hope under the hood is full!!!   
         If yours is an induction coil receiver and you don't have a diagram, I have an old one I can post for you.      stub

[Doug Rose]

Great find Larry at a real nice price. Dial looks like a North. This should clean up wonderfully.....Doug

[AE_Collector]

Great price! Hope you asked the seller to really pack it well...these are fairly fragile, especially if the handset is crashing around in the box.

Now you need to set your sites on an AE 35 to go with it...

Terry

[LarryInMichigan]

I did ask the seller to pack it carefully.  I always ask sellers to pack the phone so that it will not move around and will not have any weight from other packages resting on it, and the handset will not come into contact with or bump the base.  It usually works, but the occasional genius leaves the phone in a box with a single layer of plastic or paper around it, and/or leaves the handset lying on top of it.  I REALLY hope that that will not be the case with this phone.

The seller sent me a messages that she has shipped it parcel post.  It is coming from rural Minnesota.


Larry

[LarryInMichigan]

The phone just arrived, a few days earlier than expected.  It is a bit of a disappointment.  The shell appears to be in very good condition with no significant chips or cracks and only minor scratches.  There is no mesh covering the vents on the sides.  The ringer and condensor are missing from the base.  The handset has been painted black.  I do not yet know the condition of the bakelite under the paint.  I have not yet been able to unscrew the handset caps.  The dial is an old North dial.  One one part of the dial, there is a date stamp, in ink, of "DEC 26 1939" or possibly "DEC 26 1930".  The last number is cut off.  Another part of the dial has "5 31" stamped into the metal.  There is an adapter ring, made of some sort of fibrous resin material which was holding the dial to the shell, and it is broken in a few places.  There is nothing printed or stamped on the bottom of the base.  There is a rectangular area which had apparently once been covered by a sticker.  Here are a few pictures.







Larry

[LarryInMichigan]

Just for fun, I connected a spare 1 µF capacitor between terminals 4 and 10 of the inductor block and bypassed the dial, and the phone worked well.  The sound quality was as good as can be expected.

Now, can anyone tell me how to dismantle this dial?  There are no screws on the front the finger wheel.


Larry

[bingster]

I don't know about the dial, Larry, but I still wouldn't be disappointed in the phone.  A ringer and condenser are easily found, and even with the added cost of those two things, the price is still well below what the phone's worth.

[LarryInMichigan]

I had some help from a couple of members about the dial, but removing the finger wheel is a lost cause, so I gave up on that and cleaned it the hard way, with alot of spray cleaners and cotton swabs.  These dials were seriously over-engineered.  The finger wheel is heavy gauge stainless steel.  I expect to keep this dial with the phone for the present since it is at least time period appropriate.  Perhaps I will eventually find a 1930s phone which needs a North dial, and I can then get an AE dial for this phone.

Since I am not especially concerned about internal aesthetics, I will probably leave the Radio Shack capacitor, but I will see what a proper ringer will cost.  I still have a way to go with paint removal, cleaning, and polishing.

Larry