Greetings, i need some help to id this dial. I always thought it was a #N10 Northern dial but there are no markings except for N2 between the 2 big screws. It has the Northern identification on the fingerwheel and center plate but nothing on the back. The #10s have 2 screws on the fingerstop and they don't have that clikety clack sound that this one has.
It was purchased installed on a N.E. 393GP wallset ... it was the only part left on the phone.
Is it an early version of the #10 or are the guts of A.E. origination ?
It is a mystery to me. Hope some one can help.
Hope the pics show up .. can't see them on preview .... if not will try again.
P.S. very nice forum you have here.
Hi NM,
Welcome to the forum! Sorry I cannot help identify your dial but it sure looks like an early one to me. I am sure somebody here will be able to hlep!
If the answer doesn't appear here soon, I know who I can ask.
Terry
Welcome to the forum, sir.
I am no dial expert, but it has a lot of elements that belong to Automatic Electric dials, such as the governor, main spring and cam to say the least.
Yet from the front it looks just like the old NECo dials that a friend of mine here was getting several hundred dollars for on ebaY. I never looked at the back of those dials to see what they looked like.
Terry
I know I saw that dial in one of Stan Swihart's new dial books.
I have the books at home, so I can check tonight. It looks like not only to be early, but also quite unique.
My Northern Catalog(ue) T7 only has #5 dials in it, but I heard that NE supplied their own dials before that. I wonder if they had Kellogg make this dial for them because of how the worm shaft is made. On AE dials the worm was machined into the shaft, but with Kellogg dials they spiral wrapped a wire around the shaft to produce the worm.
I just received this AE Mercedes dial, which is not in near as good a shape as yours. They look almost identical. AE manufactured dials in Canada for, or with, Northern. I'm still trying to gather information about the Mercedes dials, so I'm not going to be much help here.
Your dial identifies itself. It is a N2.
It and the 10 dial are part of a series of Northern dials that started with the N1. Numbers go at least as high as the N14.
Variations included different contacts, cord and number plates - and were numbered N#-A
where # is a number from 1 to 14, and
A is a letter or two
Like Western, they were occasionally refurbed and the model number changed (see photo).
The T3 catalog mentions that the N9 and N10 were improved - incorporating "steel ball bearing governor spindles and laminated worm wheels, the centre lamination of which is fibre, impregnated so as to provide an efficient lubrication between the rubbing surfaces of the worm and the gear. Fibre shoes on the governor balls give a more uniform speed and prevent the balls cutting the cup. A new design of governor pivot screw prevents back lash on the governor and also prevents it revolving when the dial is operated in a reverse or clockwise direction."
IMHO it's certainly a collectible dial.
They seem to be many time scarcer than the similar AE dials, and the variety of instruction number plates used in different regions makes them interesting to collect and display.