Electrically and acoustically, the 500-series telephones had better efficiency and gain characteristics than their predecessors. The transmission efficiency was 5dB higher, and the receiver efficiency was 2.5dB better on long loops than on the 300-series telephones. A significant improvement was the use of equalization circuitry to achieve automatic gain adjustment. The sets could be deployed with equal performance on short or long local loops from the central office. The G-type handset was newly developed to help realize this efficiency. The older F series handset was already operating at the peak of its acoustic and electrical design efficiency. The G handset remains the standard handset on many phones, including public payphones. For the initial years, from 1950 to 1953, the 500 was available only in black with a metal finger wheel. In 1954, color telephone sets were available in ivory, green, dark gray, red, brown, beige, yellow, and blue. Gray, blue, yellow, and red sets were initially assembled with black dials until the colored parts became available by 1955. So-called two-tone color varieties were available, which consisted of a black set having the housing substituted with a color plastic part. They were offered as an attractive color combination for a reduced fee from the price of a full-color telephone. In 1957, gray, blue, beige, and brown sets were replaced with lighter pastel hues in light gray, aqua blue, light beige, white, and pink colors. Issuance of brown sets continued for multi-line business sets for several years. Turquoise sets were added in 1964, and several colors, including pink and light gray, were discontinued in the late 1960s. By 1955, all color 500s were produced with clear finger wheels, while black sets retained the metal finger wheel until about 1964 when a new dial design was released. Construction The 500-type telephone consists of a rotary dial, a handset cradle, switch hook, and a handset (sometimes called the receiver) wired to the base and has a molded plastic housing covering a steel chassis. The user interface consists of only the dial and switch hook buttons. No other components, switches, or controls are necessary, except a loudness control for the ringer, which is accessible on the bottom of the phone. The handset cradle is a molded part of the housing, formed of two U-shaped chairs that cradle the handset's handle between the receiver and the transmitter cups. Each side of the cradle has a round