Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Talk => Collector's Corner => Topic started by: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 02:41:21 PM

Title: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 02:41:21 PM
I finally got a green 302: ebay link (http://www.ebay.com/itm/380602565016)!  It arrived this afternoon, about three hours earlier than the mail usually arrives.  The plastic is dull and has some scratches, but I did not notice any cracks.  The finger wheel is shot, and the dial barely turns, but I plugged in the phone, and the transmitter and receiver worked.  The shell is VERY tight over the base.  I loosened the screws and gently tried removing the shell, but it did not budge in the slightest.  For now, the phone is set aside until I find the nerve to try to remove the shell.

I thought that I would never find one of these for an affordable price.  This one was a $49 BIN, and I couldn't resist.


Larry

Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Nick in Manitou on March 21, 2013, 02:47:58 PM
Very nice...now I am green (with envy)!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: wds on March 21, 2013, 04:48:56 PM
Very nice.  Goes to show you can still get some great deals on Ebay.  You must have bought that one minutes after it hit Ebay?
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: George Knighton on March 21, 2013, 04:50:29 PM
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 02:41:21 PMFor now, the phone is set aside until I find the nerve to try to remove the shell.

Get ready for all the advice about where to set the oven, or how long to leave it in a car on a sunny day.  

Still trying to find my Green 302, and jealous.  :-)
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 04:53:35 PM
I just managed to gently pry the shell off of the base about one minute ago :).  Every date inside is 1953.

Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Sargeguy on March 21, 2013, 05:10:01 PM
Wow!!!  I thought the one I just bought for $185 was a good deal because it only had one corner crack and needed a fingerwheel and cords!  I have another one i paid $125 for that had a large crack in the front and discolored caps! 

To remove the base, I would place the phone on top of a furnace or radiator, in the oven on warm for 5-10 minutes (remember to set timer!!!).  With the screws loosened, pick it up and see if the base separates, don't try to pry it off.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 05:25:08 PM
Quote from: Sargeguy on March 21, 2013, 05:10:01 PM
Wow!!!  I thought the one I just bought for $185 was a good deal because it only had one corner crack and needed a fingerwheel and cords!  I have another one i paid $125 for that had a large crack in the front and discolored caps! 
I can't afford to buy one with cracks, so I bought one without cracks and will have to add my own cracks ;D

Quote
To remove the base, I would place the phone on top of a furnace or radiator, in the oven on warm for 5-10 minutes (remember to set timer!!!).  With the screws loosened, pick it up and see if the base separates, don't try to pry it off.
Too late.  It's already been pried off.  I banged the edges and corners of the base quite a bit, but it's still a slightly tight fit, so I think that I might have to resort to grinding the base corners a bit.

The dial is a 6D dated 12-53 like most of the other parts.  The ringer gongs were rotated so that the clapper was completely unable to move.  I cannot imagine why someone would have do that rather than disconnect the ringer.  Here are some inside pictures.

Larry

Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Gilas on March 21, 2013, 05:51:36 PM
Amazing find and congrats.  Still a 302 that I need to find someday.  Definitely a find of the month!!!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: AE40FAN on March 21, 2013, 05:59:07 PM
Find of the month nominee for sure!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Doug Rose on March 21, 2013, 06:20:05 PM
Larry....HOME RUN!!! What a great find at a really bargain basement price. You done good!!...Doug
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: HarrySmith on March 21, 2013, 08:16:25 PM
darn! Nice score Larry!
If you need it I have a replacement fingerwheel for you.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 08:21:46 PM
Quote from: HarrySmith on March 21, 2013, 08:16:25 PM
darn! Nice score Larry!
If you need it I have a replacement fingerwheel for you.

Thank you Harry.  I might have a finger wheel.  I am going to be busy for a few weeks, and the phone needs some cleaning, sanding, and polishing, so the finger wheel will have to wait a while.

Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: cihensley@aol.com on March 21, 2013, 08:56:59 PM
Good find at a nice price Larry.

Chuck
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: baldopeacock on March 21, 2013, 09:25:39 PM
Quote from: wds on March 21, 2013, 04:48:56 PM
Very nice.  Goes to show you can still get some great deals on Ebay.  You must have bought that one minutes after it hit Ebay?

looks like about 13 minutes, from the listing bid history.   :)

This was a steal.   Great find.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on March 21, 2013, 09:33:28 PM
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it.  I pushed the button as quickly as I could.  There was also a bid option with something like a $25 opening bid.  I almost panicked when paypal refused to let me pay.  I had to call them and wait on hold forever until someone reset something on my account so that I could make the payment.

Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Dennis Markham on March 22, 2013, 05:10:21 AM
Nice find, Larry!  Congratulations!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Dan/Panther on March 22, 2013, 12:25:41 PM
The buy of the year for sure.
D/P
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on April 30, 2013, 05:02:21 PM
I finally reassembled the green 302 today.  I had wanted to sand out the scratches and pits, but I just don't have the time, so I polished what I had and reassembled everything.  I recoiled the handset cord, but it is still very loose and quickly losing its shape.  I probably should have reversed the curls.  After I screwed the base onto the shell, the ringer stopped working.  After a few attempts to figure out what the problem was, I discovered that the back end of the ringer was sticking upward a bit and apparently enough so that the bottom of the dial cover (#6 dial) was pushing up against the ringer when the shell was all the way on the base.  I managed to bend the bracket enough so that the ringer was able to move freely.  The phone looks pretty nice, but I apparently bent the base a bit when hammering the edges, so the feet do not all sit flat on the desk, and the phone wobbles a bit.

Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: AE40FAN on April 30, 2013, 07:02:22 PM
Larry, that's a really nice phone you got for a steal!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Dennis Markham on April 30, 2013, 08:52:11 PM
Looks great, Larry.  Beautiful phone!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Nick in Manitou on April 30, 2013, 11:00:45 PM
Great looking phone.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Dan/Panther on April 30, 2013, 11:22:56 PM
Larry;
What a gorgeous phone, and job you did cleaning it up. Did I forget to say in my last post, I really hate you. ;D
D/P
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on April 30, 2013, 11:24:17 PM
It works well too :)

Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Dan on April 30, 2013, 11:44:45 PM
Love it Larry!
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on April 30, 2013, 11:51:37 PM
BTW, I polished this phone with a product called Meguiar's ScratchX2.0 which I found several months ago in the automotive section at the local Target.  It is intended for polishing out scratches in auto paint, but it does wonders on this type of plastic with little effort.

Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Dan/Panther on May 02, 2013, 03:40:52 PM
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on April 30, 2013, 11:24:17 PM
It works well too :)

Larry

Now I really hate you.
D/P
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: Doug Rose on May 02, 2013, 06:33:01 PM
Larry...that came out so well I went out and bought a bottle of Meguiar's ScratchX2.0....Outstanding job!!...Doug
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: HowardPgh on May 03, 2013, 10:45:32 AM
I think there was a modification to raise the case by putting washers at the hold down screws.  This might clear up thr dial/bell interference problem.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: poplar1 on May 03, 2013, 11:21:19 AM
Larry, it may be that the spades on the dial wires need to be moved slightly. I'm trying to find a BSP or a photo showing a 6A dial on a 302. Or find a 1952-1954 or refubished 302 to look at. (We called that the "mock procedure" where I worked.)
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on May 03, 2013, 11:26:16 AM
Quote from: poplar1 on May 03, 2013, 11:21:19 AM
Larry, it may be that the spades on the dial wires need to be moved slightly. I'm trying to find a BSP or a photo showing a 6A dial on a 302. Or find a 1952-1954 or refubished 302 to look at. (We called that the "mock procedure" where I worked.)

I did move the wires a bit, but the solution seemed to be the pushing down on the back end of the ringer so that it was no longer slanting upward. 

There is no question that a #6 dial in a 302 is a tight fit.


Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: poplar1 on May 03, 2013, 11:38:52 AM
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on May 03, 2013, 11:26:16 AM
Quote from: poplar1 on May 03, 2013, 11:21:19 AM
Larry, it may be that the spades on the dial wires need to be moved slightly. I'm trying to find a BSP or a photo showing a 6A dial on a 302. Or find a 1952-1954 or refubished 302 to look at. (We called that the "mock procedure" where I worked.)

I did move the wires a bit, but the solution seemed to be the pushing down on the back end of the ringer so that it was no longer slanting upward. 

There is no question that a #6 dial in a 302 is a tight fit.


Larry

Larry, I found my 2-54 green 302 and the wiring looks just like your picture. My ringer is also slanting upward, but there seems to be a bit more space between the curved bar and the magnet.

One of the BSPs says to remove the plastic cover when installing on a 202. Or maybe it was on a candlestick. I've never actually seen any where this was done.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: LarryInMichigan on May 03, 2013, 12:22:23 PM
I was tempted to remove the back cover of the dial, but I didn't feel like removing the dial again, the phone came with the cover on it, and I was afraid that wires might interfere or become stuck in the governor or cam or something.  At any rate, the phone is now looking happy on a display shelf with alot of other phones.

On a related topic, I just yesterday received an ivory cloth mounting cord dated 56 (ebay link (http://www.ebay.com/itm/121103066209)) to use on my ivory plastic 302, which was missing its line cord.

The ivory 302 has a #5 dial.


Larry
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: poplar1 on May 03, 2013, 01:33:15 PM
You're right; the dial cover should be on for a 302.
Title: Re: Green 302
Post by: poplar1 on May 05, 2013, 01:08:49 PM
Quote from: HowardPgh on May 03, 2013, 10:45:32 AM
I think there was a modification to raise the case by putting washers at the hold down screws.  This might clear up thr dial/bell interference problem.

Howard, you're right. Here is the reference:

3.08 On desk-type sets the terminals of the
6-type dial may obstruct the ringer clapper
rod when the ringer is mounted on a triangular
mounting bracket. To provide the necessary clearance,
two captive mounting washers should be
placed on each of the mounting screws which hold
the upper housing to the base plate of the telephone
set (see Fig. 22).

SECTION C38.545
Station Operations Manual Issue1, March, 1958
Station Sets AT&TCo  Standard

Thanks to wedophones.com

http://wedophones.com/TheBellSystem/pdf/bsp/300/c38.545-5803.pdf