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Joined: Nov 2009
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Hi again!

Today, I have several things to post about. First, my latest resto is a March 1974 moss green (-51) 500 with a thin three wire cord and Lugs on the end of the cord. Thankfully, no one cut the cord, so to speak.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

The chief phone tech kitty was (Buffy) trying to make a call on it but discovered that some numbskull hadn't hooked it up yet.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

This is a nice photo of Buffy's tail end as he was looking out the window to see if the (non)service landline ATT tech was here to install the T1 connection that he ordered. (He is told at least once a day that he has 'rings'!)

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]


So far, there are four phones and one type 3 speaker to have been restored. Here is a group shot.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]


Now to the current projects.

As of now, I am polishing a -51 handset from a phone that I bought several months ago on e-pay, and that arrived smashed. The seller refunded my money, and told me to throw away the phone (I kept the parts). I am doing this because a very generous soul on the TCI mailer sent me a green Call Director sans handset, so I am getting this ready. I should be done with this on Friday evening (Oct 15, 2011).

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

Another project that I am working on concurrently is a type three speaker shell in tan. It was in considerably better shape than the green one that I had got a while ago, but it did arrive with a cracked corner. I mended it with super glue, and now I am in the first stages of sanding and polishing. It came with a full length tail, but the very end was cut off, alas.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

To be continued...


Real comms took 200lb teletypes, hand keys, sounders, operators and cranked phones!
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Part two...

Now, the (immediate) future projects.

This is a black (-3) 500 that arrived just yesterday (Oct 12). It is in decent condition, so it really will not need sanding, but it will need to be cleaned and polished. It came with a nice complete tail, but it has some sort of doohicky on the end of that tail for connecting a modular cord to. I will remove that (lugs are still there!) and install a proper black four prong plug.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

I also have a black 511 two line phone coming (hopefully today) that will also be restored to add to the family.

Now this phone the first 2500 in my collection. It has hard wired cords. Speaking of which, the cord is a l-o-n-g, fat cord with the lugs and a very substantial strain relief still attached. I am sure that this was hard wired to a junction block. As you can see, it is quite filthy, and will need substantial work to get it looking good. Also, you will see that the face plate is cracked. I will need to find a replacement face plate, as I am quite certain that the old super-glue trick will not work on this and look good as well.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

While I was shooting these photos, the chief Roosterville phone company QC officer kitty paid a visit. He was not too impressed with the yellow 2500, not only because it was in such rough shape, but because he is an old school rotary dial cat. His name is Angel, probably the most misnamed animal in the world. Hell's Angel would be more appropriate, but I guess that is a good thing since he is in charge of QC.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

And here is one where he is discussing with the chief tech kitty Buffy the appalling state of ATT landline service.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

Well, that is all for now. As I previously mentioned, I am also expecting the arrival of a green Call Director minus the handset in the next day or so. When that unit arrives, I will post more photos, along with the chief financial officer kitty (Lady), the chief hospitality kitty (Missy) and the chief of personnel kity, Cali.

Best,

Joe


Real comms took 200lb teletypes, hand keys, sounders, operators and cranked phones!
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Very impressive work, Joe!


Jeff Moss

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Thanks for sharing the 500 pics. There is something wonderful about those old rotary dial phones isn't there? You have a nice assortment of colors too!


- Dave S. -

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Thank you both for the nice comments. I have (I think) three "easy" colors left... white, tan and light blue. Then, I have to get serious, and be willing to spend some serious money for the "hard" colors... Dark Blue, Charcoal, Brown, etc. (I mean "real" colors, not painted...)Strangly, I have seen numerous dark blue 500 sets that have been butchered with those (deleted) modular cords, but I do not particularly like modular cords as in my opinion, they look and feel cheap. 'Sides, I don't really like some government regulartory body mandating what sort of frikin phone connection technology to use.

It is my goal to have one plain old 500 C/D in each color with hard wired cords, to build a display for them, and eventually to have them hooked up to some sort of switch.

I guess after the 500 collection is complete, I will have to go after wall phones! (My wife is a very understanding soul...)

Best,

Joe


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Joe, I have enjoyed your progress in your quest in appreciation for the real phone equipment.

I must correct you on one thing though: "Moss Green" was ITT's version of green. It wasn't quite the same as Western Electric's. Their -51 color was referred to as just green, no moss.

While we are on the subject of colors:

ITT referred to their version of red as "Cherry Red". Western Electric's version of red (-53) was just red and the two were not even close in color matches.

ITT's "Harvest Gold" (-46) was very true to its name. Western Electric's "yellow" (-56) was just yellow with no variation from it's name. Perhaps the most broad difference in the brands' understanding of the color yellow.

No manufacturer offered "tan". It was beige, or as most of us referred to as "Band-Aid" beige. Western Electric's code was -60, while ITT used -13 and S/C used (-BE).

Ash was only available from ITT (-44) and S/C (-AS). Western's closest comparable was -50 ivory. Even ITT's -09 ivory wasn't as warm as WECO's. It is as if WECO added another cup of dark rum into their mix. Interchanging ivory plastic components did not work between brands.

Even black was a struggle with regard to nomenclature. Western Electric used -03, while ITT used -00 and S/C used (-BK).

I'll never understand how white ended up being (-15) with ITT and (-58) with WE. Wouldn't you think that such a basic color would have ended up with a code closer to black? Just wondering.

Now that you've had your color code EDucation, get with the program, Man!


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Wow! That is a wealth of information, Ed. Thanks!!


Jeff Moss

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'Bandaid Beige' is/was "Sand Beige'" at ITT.


When I was young, I was Liberal. As I aged and wised up, I became Conservative. Now that I'm old, I have settled on Curmudgeon.
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Thank you Ed! I will print out your post, and put it in my phone (note) book.

Anyway, I am curious about the rare colors, such as dark blue, charcoal, etc.

Also, I had forgotten to photograph the last of the "soon to be started" projects, a Northern Electric 666B transmitter. Here it is, with the chief phone tech kitty Buffy looking at it.

[Linked Image from i83.photobucket.com]

Thanks again!

Best,

Joe


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A few corrections to the corrections:

Ed is correct, there is no "Tan."

There is Beige -43, Rose Beige -42, Dark Beige -55, Gray Beige (no suffix has been discovered for this early one...it is the color of 200-type key telephone cabinets, described in BSP C53.152), and Light Beige -60.

Western Electric -51 is called "Moss Green." It is identical in hue to the green of other manufacturers.

Their -53 is called "Cherry Red." Some manufacturers used the same hue, and some used a brighter hue.

WE -56 is "Pastel Yellow." The faceplate is "Light Yellow" color suffix -72.

You have seen numerous dark blue (actually -57 "Mediterranean Blue") 500 sets with modular cutouts, because that color was re-released in the 1980's and later, in modular. It was also called "Teal Blue" (same color, but color suffix -145) in later years. The ones you are seeing are hard plastic, not the original soft plastic ones. Soft plastic telephones by WE make a dull thud when struck with a fingernail, and emit a foul odor when scratched. Soft plastic telephones by WE have transmitter and receiver caps that do not have a middle hole punched in them. That is the quickest way to identify them from a photo, lacking the thud or stink tests.

I can email you the entire list of WE colors, ranging from 0 to 361, if you would like to have it handy as a reference.


Arthur P. Bloom
"30 years of faithful service...15 years on hold"

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