On numerous occasions, reenactors have told me that they bring postwar FF54 field telephones to events because they are afraid to use their WW2 FF33 field telephones in a wet, dirty environment.
The FF33 was designed to be used in the hostile environment of a battlefield… If used properly. Specifically, German soldiers kept the FF33 lids closed. When the FF33s were not in use, the handsets were placed on top of the lids. This protocol was followed on the wet, dirty battlefield or inside a clean, dry office.
The FF33 has a rubber weather seal between the lid and the body. This seal allows the handset cord and telephone wires to pass out of the phone with the lid closed. The seal also keeps rain water, mud, and grime from getting into the phone.
Sometimes the original rubber becomes hard and brittle. But by turning some screws, the bad rubber can be replaced with new rubber cut from a bicycle wheel inner tube. It’s actually quite easy.
Incidentally, I once bought an FF33 that appeared to have been partially submerged in dirty water for decades. The magneto was locked up. Upon taking it apart, I discovered that the magneto was packed full of mud. I cleaned it out, put it back together, and the FF33 worked! It was rusty and beat up, but it still worked!
There is also fear that reenactors will step on and damage the FF33 handset cord. If the handset cord becomes damaged, it can be easily replaced with new, cloth covered, 4-conductor cord. I buy my cord from Phoneco, Inc., with the following web address: https://phonecoinc.com/
Check out my new book on WW2 German field telephone equipment…https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/rotwang-manteuffel/world-war-2-german-field-telephone-equipment-a-basic-guide-for-reenactors-and-historians/paperback/product-976w9q.html?page=1&pageSize=4
WW2 German Field Telephone Equipment 