John, what you had with that extension phone was a model 5302. Those phones were basically the old 302 type (as seen in Sam's picture above) that were given a new case and dial assembly to resemble a model 500. During the first half of the 1950s, the 500s were in such demand that Ma Bell couldn't keep up. Seeing as how Ma Bell was the undisputed queen of corporate frugality, they hatched a plan to give the suddenly undesirable model 302 a new look.
One of the reasons everybody wanted the 500 was the loudness adjustment for the ringer. Western Electric made modifications to the 302 base that gave it a ringer adjustment, and with the more modern looking case and dial assembly, they fooled millions of subscribers into thinking they were getting a new model 500 when they were actually getting an old, recycled many times over model 302 with a ringer adjustment. Some of the 5302 models got a G1 handset like the 500s, others kept the old style F1 handset, which looked just so wrong on a 500-type base. The G1 handsets required modifications to accommodate the transmitter and receiver elements from the F1 handset because the elements used in the 500's G1 handsets were not compatible with the 302's older technology.
I have a model 5302 with G1 handset. I was using it the den at our previous house, but it's boxed up now. I liked the idea of people thinking they were using a '60s phone when really it was much older. At first glance it's not easy to tell.
The guts from this:
Combined with a modified case from this:
Equals this:
Or this (like mine):
How they did it:
[this post was last edited: 11/18/2018-00:19]
One of the reasons everybody wanted the 500 was the loudness adjustment for the ringer. Western Electric made modifications to the 302 base that gave it a ringer adjustment, and with the more modern looking case and dial assembly, they fooled millions of subscribers into thinking they were getting a new model 500 when they were actually getting an old, recycled many times over model 302 with a ringer adjustment. Some of the 5302 models got a G1 handset like the 500s, others kept the old style F1 handset, which looked just so wrong on a 500-type base. The G1 handsets required modifications to accommodate the transmitter and receiver elements from the F1 handset because the elements used in the 500's G1 handsets were not compatible with the 302's older technology.
I have a model 5302 with G1 handset. I was using it the den at our previous house, but it's boxed up now. I liked the idea of people thinking they were using a '60s phone when really it was much older. At first glance it's not easy to tell.
The guts from this:
Combined with a modified case from this:
Equals this:
Or this (like mine):
How they did it:
[this post was last edited: 11/18/2018-00:19]
