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Cords for 302s

Started by HobieSport, October 21, 2008, 01:52:16 PM

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bingster

That's probably a sensible way to go about it.  It's easy enough to tell if the cord on a WE phone is original.  All WE cords--straight cloth, coiled cloth, straight rubber, coiled vinyl--they all have quarter dates stamped into the lower restraint just like other phone parts.  If the date on the cord is roughly the same as the dates on the other phone parts, then that's probably the cord it came with. 

Keep in mind, though, that the cord is probably the weakest part on a telephone.  They were replaced all the time, whether to replace broken or shorted cords, or to change a cord that just didn't suit the subscriber.  So one's own ideas about originality come into play.  Is a phone original if it's the way it came from the factory, or is it original if it's complete with it's subsequent modifications by the phone company?  It's a matter of personal choice.
= DARRIN =



HobieSport

What ended up deciding me is simply the prices.  Coiled cords seem 2-3 times the cost of straight rubber or cloth. :P  So I'm just going with basic black cloth cords from Old Phone works.  Maybe not completely authentic, but I like the simple look and feel of them.  Thanks for all the input everyone.  :)  -Matt

JimH

Quote from: HobieSport on October 26, 2008, 03:59:19 PM
What ended up deciding me is simply the prices.  Coiled cords seem 2-3 times the cost of straight rubber or cloth. :P  So I'm just going with basic black cloth cords from Old Phone works.  Maybe not completely authentic, but I like the simple look and feel of them.  Thanks for all the input everyone.  :)  -Matt
It seems to me I read in Larry Wolff's book some Bell System Practices postings that list BOTH cloth or rubber cords for 302s, and other models.  Either could be used, it was a matter of WHERE the phone was going to be used.  If it was a living room, cloth may have been used.  An office or factory would have rubber.  It even went as far as to say that some rubber cords "rub the color off", and should not be used in certain cases.
Jim H.

BDM

Correct Jim. To go even further, there are two different types of cloth cords. One uses cloth covered wire, with a cloth outer wrap. The second uses a cloth covered rubber wiring. Again, it depended on use, or availability. I doubt they produced cloth over cloth cords by the 50s.

Rubber cords, especially prior to WWII were used in high humidity environments, office's upon request, pay phones, factory's. I've also read in the past that Pay Phones in the 30s and beyond, may have been equipped with strain reinforced thick rubber cords.
--Brian--

St Clair Shores, MI