Blindingly Gardenia White AE80

[phoneguy06]

Hey all,

I thought I'd share with all of you my latest antique mall find. Given how difficult it is to find a truly white phone that hasn't been yellowed by years of cigarette smoke, sunlight, or both, I was amazed when I walked by this; as you'll see, it's a late production 80 with two base plate screws, and even has the later style ringer that until now I thought only came in 80Es. The colour code on the base is 19 (Gardenia White), so I know for sure this has never been painted. There is also the number "76", for 1976? Weren't 80s discontinued and replaced with the 80E in 1975? Anyway, there is slight yellowing in a few tiny areas of the case, but I think this is the nicest white set I've ever seen; even the feet are still really rubbery and pliable. The photos were taken even before I dusted or cleaned the phone at all, the price tag remnants are still on the handset. Cheers!

[JorgeAmely]

Very nice find and congratulations! The ringer arrangement is truly interesting. Seems like a hybrid between a C4A and the AE older ringer.

[HarrySmith]

Nice find
Congratulations

[Dennis Markham]

Very nice find!  Someone must have kept it tucked away all of these years to have it be so nice. 

[phoneguy06]

Very nice find and congratulations! The ringer arrangement is truly interesting. Seems like a hybrid between a C4A and the AE older ringer.

Do any of your 80s have this ringer in them? Have you bothered picking up a ahem *plastic piece of junk* ahem 80E just for interest's sake? I should also mention that they actually SOUND very much like a C4A, instead of the slightly higher-pitched original ringer in the 80

[JorgeAmely]

None of my 80s have this type of ringer inside. I don't have an AE80E, but if I find a nice looking one for cheap, I'll buy it.

Long time ago I bought a painted AE80 for 99 cents. I made a photo album of its restoration:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Amelyenator/AE80White#


I posted some pictures here of the EasyOff method I used to remove the factory paint job:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1232.15

[AE_Collector]

Yeah, that is the newer AE ringer usually found in 80E's. There appears to have been an overlap of at least a year in production of 80's and 80E's. Maybe the overlap involved different plants. In Canada, AE moved telephone set production from Broickville Ontario to Lethbridge Alberta somewhere around 1975 I believe. This was to free up room at Brockville for the CO switching production of the #1EAX and then the #2EAX followed finally by the GTD5. To the best of my knowledge, Lethbridge started with 80E production so maybe Brockville continued with 80 production until Lethbridge could fully meet demand.

I have seen 80's with the newer ringer in them but assumed that was done due to refurb of the set but potentially the last of the 80's had the new ringer that was produced for the 80E's in them.

Nice find Michael !!

Terry

[McHeath]

Gee what a nice phone!  That ringer is unique to me, it certainly is interesting how it appears to have a dad who was a C4A and a mom who was an AE 80. 

Speaking of yellowing of old phones, we went through an estate sale today and everything in the house was badly yellowed from smoke damage.  There was one WE 2500 in the kitchen and even it was yellowed from it's original ivory.  I don't come across white phones that are really white much, so you got a real prize.

[JorgeAmely]

Phoneguy06:

Could it be possible for remove the dial and take a picture of the network? I am curious to see what kind of ringing capacitor they use in your phone, since it is not visible in any of the pictures you have shown so far.

[phoneguy06]

Thanks for the compliments everyone. Jorge, I will eventually dismount the dial in order to take a photo of the network for you./Gracias a todos por los cumplidos. Jorge, eventualmente quitaré el disco para poder sacarle una foto de la red.

[LarryInMichigan]

I have a badly discolored white AE80E with the same ringer in it.  I bought the phone a couple of months ago at a local garage sale because it was $1.  The big problem with AE80Es is the flimsy card behind the semi-transparent cover which surrounds the dial.  The card has the numbers and stripes printed on it, and every one I have seen has water, coffee, mold, etc. stains on it as well.  Does anyone sell replacements?

Larry