Finally, a complete one

[TinCanAlley]

So, I have gotten my hands on several of these old in-wall radio antenna sockets, but this is the first one that has the original plug. I've cleaned it up, but it still has some old paint in areas that are quite hard to reach. I think I'll leave it as is so as not to damage it. From a reasonable distance, it looks pretty new.

What I need to know is what kind of wire is needed for the plug. Is it just your standard cloth covered wire? The hole in the plug is kind of oval instead of round, but maybe this is so the wire fits snugly?

Also, I found no markings to help determine age. It was removed from an apartment in a building that was built somewhere between 1938 and '41. The socket was connected to blue wire (not cloth, but pretty old) and went up to the attic of the building. There was a long copper wire that has long sagged and fallen.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by TinCanAlley

So, I have gotten my hands on several of these old in-wall radio antenna sockets, but this is the first one that has the original plug. I've cleaned it up, but it still has some old paint in areas that are quite hard to reach. I think I'll leave it as is so as not to damage it. From a reasonable distance, it looks pretty new.

What I need to know is what kind of wire is needed for the plug. Is it just your standard cloth covered wire? The hole in the plug is kind of oval instead of round, but maybe this is so the wire fits snugly?

Also, I found no markings to help determine age. It was removed from an apartment in a building that was built somewhere between 1938 and '41. The socket was connected to blue wire (not cloth, but pretty old) and went up to the attic of the building. There was a long copper wire that has long sagged and fallen.

That ones a little different than the common Arrow-Hart type.
The original wire used was probably cloth covered rubber single conductor stranded wire. One for antenna, one for ground.
When I would see console radios at the Goodwill, many times, they still had that type of plug connected to the antenna and ground wires.
It was great, when the radio had to be moved for cleaning or decorating, but it always seemed the the radio always to be in the same location.

[Electronic M]

There were other types too...I saw one that was a normal single power outlet with 2 20's style speaker terminals for the ant and gnd connection...It was in the original house feeding the original late 20's RCA radio-phono that the outlet had been installed for.

[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

That ones a little different than the common Arrow-Hart type.
The original wire used was probably cloth covered rubber single conductor stranded wire. One for antenna, one for ground.
When I would see console radios at the Goodwill, many times, they still had that type of plug connected to the antenna and ground wires.
It was great, when the radio had to be moved for cleaning or decorating, but it always seemed the the radio always to be in the same location.

I think they might have been custom. The outlets in the building are Leviton, but the covers have a design around the edge that I can't find anywhere. I've searched high and low, but never found another to replace broken ones.

The wire used in the wall is 14ga. I guess they just used standard electric wire. As for the wire for this plug, I'm guessing it was around 16 - 18ga?

[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

There were other types too...I saw one that was a normal single power outlet with 2 20's style speaker terminals for the ant and gnd connection...It was in the original house feeding the original late 20's RCA radio-phono that the outlet had been installed for.

I've seen several types. At first most thought these were single power outlets and must have been taken out of the circuit years ago. I started looking into them and found that once the paint was removed, it said "aerial" on it. Then I put on a protective suit to climb into the attic and crawl through all the blown in fiberglass insulation to located the termination point. That's when I found the long copper wired running about 130' down the length of the attic.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by TinCanAlley

I think they might have been custom. The outlets in the building are Leviton, but the covers have a design around the edge that I can't find anywhere. I've searched high and low, but never found another to replace broken ones.

The wire used in the wall is 14ga. I guess they just used standard electric wire. As for the wire for this plug, I'm guessing it was around 16 - 18ga?

The receptacle pictured isn't a Leviton. The plates possibly are.
Even when that home was built, the wiring, rough and finish was done per bid. That home, possibly had a up-grade wiring job.
I'll look, the next time I go to the HFH Restore. Many times, they have the kind of plates you're looking for, but someone seems to be buying them up, probably to E-bay them.

[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

The receptacle pictured isn't a Leviton. The plates possibly are.
Even when that home was built, the wiring, rough and finish was done per bid. That home, possibly had a up-grade wiring job.
I'll look, the next time I go to the HFH Restore. Many times, they have the kind of plates you're looking for, but someone seems to be buying them up, probably to E-bay them.

Yes, you are correct. The switches are Leviton, the outlet is Mohican. The wall switches are ceramic with some having the ability to disassemble. This comes in handy to rebuild them if possible.

These are actually in two (close to twin designed) apartment buildings. For all the outlets they ran a black and a white. For the aerials, they ran blue and red. For the age, the wiring is in amazing shape. It isn't brittle at all and you can feel the rubber texture of the coating.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by TinCanAlley

Yes, you are correct. The switches are Leviton, the outlet is Mohican. The wall switches are ceramic with some having the ability to disassemble. This comes in handy to rebuild them if possible.

These are actually in two (close to twin designed) apartment buildings. For all the outlets they ran a black and a white. For the aerials, they ran blue and red. For the age, the wiring is in amazing shape. It isn't brittle at all and you can feel the rubber texture of the coating.

Mohican Relyon was the lower priced line of Arrow Hart&Hegeman.

Is the building wired in BX cable or knob & tube. Some areas used old style Romex without a ground, which had a woven cloth cover.

[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Mohican Relyon was the lower priced line of Arrow Hart&Hegeman.

Is the building wired in BX cable or knob & tube. Some areas used old style Romex without a ground, which had a woven cloth cover.

For the lower priced line, they sure have stood up to years of use. A few were replaced due to wear as they just wouldn't hold a plug anymore. Others were replaced with 3-pronged for refrigerators and such. About 70% still are in use.

The buildings are BX cable with the rubberized wire. That's some pretty heavy conduit as it's steel. The wiring from the outside is on some massive sized wiring (not sure what gauge, but each handles 400 amps).

There are some knob and tube in the attic, but it is stringing the wires for door bells and there's a central power supply behind a panel in the second floor hallway. The doorbells are long gone, but the wiring is still there. I found the transformer in the wall was still live, so I disconnected it.

It's fun going through these old buildings. I found an empty bottle of bourbon in a dried puddle of plaster in the crawl space under one of the buildings. I was able to clean it off without too much damage to the label. I had a date of '38 on the bottom.

[TinCanAlley]

My coming here has brought me luck. I just purchased the following from ebay. I don't need the outlet, but the cover plate is an exact match for the original of the aerial plug and matches the wall switch and outlet cover plates. This is the first time I have found a cover plate that matches what is in the buildings. I guess that since switches get used regularly, the plates get damaged more often and are replaced. Too bad I haven't found any of those yet.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by TinCanAlley

My coming here has brought me luck. I just purchased the following from ebay. I don't need the outlet, but the cover plate is an exact match for the original of the aerial plug and matches the wall switch and outlet cover plates. This is the first time I have found a cover plate that matches what is in the buildings. I guess that since switches get used regularly, the plates get damaged more often and are replaced. Too bad I haven't found any of those yet.

That single receptacle should be a Leviton.
Regarding the Mohican Relyon devices, I lived in two old homes that had them and they still held the plugs alright. I wasn't about to change them, as we didn't own the property.
Many old homes had a built-in-the-wall ironing board and they always seemed to have a single receptacle nearby. ???

[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

That single receptacle should be a Leviton.
Regarding the Mohican Relyon devices, I lived in two old homes that had them and they still held the plugs alright. I wasn't about to change them, as we didn't own the property.
Many old homes had a built-in-the-wall ironing board and they always seemed to have a single receptacle nearby. ???

In these buildings there are a total of 12 single apartments with the in-wall ironing board. Below them are outlets with a light that comes on when you plug in the iron. I guess it's a reminder the iron is plugged in, but I'm sure the plug in the outlet is also a good reminder. Unless it's dark, then it's a good reminder.

This one had the lighted receptacle removed, but I'm trying to find a replacement.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by TinCanAlley

My coming here has brought me luck. I just purchased the following from ebay. I don't need the outlet, but the cover plate is an exact match for the original of the aerial plug and matches the wall switch and outlet cover plates. This is the first time I have found a cover plate that matches what is in the buildings. I guess that since switches get used regularly, the plates get damaged more often and are replaced. Too bad I haven't found any of those yet.

In reguards to those outlet and switch covers you are saying that you are having a hard time finding those are Leviton and are from the 1940s and 1950s, the church I grew up in had pretty much every single outlet and lightswitch in the building utilizing that particular outlet and switch plate style with that exact pattern, except they were black and not white, anyways I'd say that was actually a fairly common switch and outlet plate pattern (even my grandparent's old house had some switch and outlet plates like that in there), probably the reason why you aren't finding them is because the ReStore is probably selling out of them before you can get to them because lots of home rehabbers are buying them up for fixing up their period home, because I know that at my local ReStore I've seen those type of switch and outlet plates all the time there, I just don't need them so I don't buy them, but they are around you just need to hit up the ReStore at thet right time.
Good luck.

[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by Captainclock

In reguards to those outlet and switch covers you are saying that you are having a hard time finding those are Leviton and are from the 1940s and 1950s, the church I grew up in had pretty much every single outlet and lightswitch in the building utilizing that particular outlet and switch plate style with that exact pattern, except they were black and not white, anyways I'd say that was actually a fairly common switch and outlet plate pattern (even my grandparent's old house had some switch and outlet plates like that in there), probably the reason why you aren't finding them is because the ReStore is probably selling out of them before you can get to them because lots of home rehabbers are buying them up for fixing up their period home, because I know that at my local ReStore I've seen those type of switch and outlet plates all the time there, I just don't need them so I don't buy them, but they are around you just need to hit up the ReStore at thet right time.
Good luck.

This one of the major issues with living in L.A., CA. They destroy just about everything on a regular basis. Seems that, maybe, at one point in time these were plentiful here, but lost to renovations and such over the years.

I see there are two or three ReStore places around here. I wonder if they have items going back more than 10 or 20 years. Guess I'll have to make a trip or two and check them out.

[TinCanAlley]

Well the single outlet plate arrived today. A little cleaning and it was good to go. It looks good all together, but this picture shows I have a little more detail work to do on the receptacle. A couple of the letters and some of the grooves are still showing signs of paint. I really wish that cheap and fast paint jobs weren't the norm. They painted everything and doing that numerous times over the years leaves many layers to remove.

I once removed the cover plates before a paint job on a vacant apartment, only to come back afterwards to find they painted the darn outlets!

Anyway, thanks for all the input and help.