I won an auction on eBay earlier this week and got the phone today. Its a Gray/Western three slot 234G. It has a F1 handset on a straight black rubber cord. I will post pictures as I really know very little about payphones. One thing I noted is it will not let nickels fall into the coin box. You have to manually release them and then they drop into the coin return. I would like top get an idea what I have and how to best preserve it and hook it up. Pictures coming.
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Even though the backplate is marked 234G, your phone looks closer to a Western Electric 191G.
If it is wired correctly, the line should connect (red) to R and (green) to Y on the hookswitch.
The plastic terminal strip at the top, that the 101-type induction coil is mounted, is from a 234G. Originally, the 191G had a metal plate for mounting the 101-type induction coil.
The lower part, marked "Gray/Western" is actually pre-1934. It was originally part of a phone with separate transmitter and receiver rather than a handset.
I couldn't locate a diagram for the 191G, but here is a diagram in TCI library for the 181G, which is like a 191G except that it was for 5 cent deposit rather than 10 cents.
http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/browse/wiring-diagrams/doc_details/2137-coin-collectors-181-tl
Would you mind providing the ebay item number?
The ebay listing number is 322795423477
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Western-Electric-3-Slot-Pay-Telephone-/322795423477
Also, I did get a dial tone and it receives and dials. I assume I would have to get a controller of some sort in order to make it work with coins?
Are this one a so called semi post pay?
dsk
Butch
Your payphone was built as an extension phone. The coin relay is a decoration that just fills an empty space on the tray. The relay is from an Automatic Electric payphone, designed for Local Prepay service. There's no way of making that relay function with any payphone controller.
Local Prepay service was a combination of Semi-Postpay and Prepay service that was never used in Western Electric payphones.
If you want coin control, the easiest and least expensive way to accomplish that is to change the hopper and the coin relay to a single coil type. Both parts are fairly easy to find and not very expensive. Take a look at Ebay #302481629972. Both parts are used in that payphone.
The coin track in your phone is for 10 cent initial deposit. The first deposited nickel will be held in the track and only fall after a second nickel is deposited. Then, both nickels will fall together. That's assuming the coin track is properly adjusted.
There's a flat spring called a 'Gate Operating Arm' that is missing from your handset hook. It's the part that releases the first nickel from the track when you hang up the handset if you don't deposit the second nickel or decide not to make the call.
Stan S.
Thanks, Stan. The nickel indeed drops when a second is added. I like the idea of getting a controller, because otherwise it's essentially a house line with a piggy bank feature. What about wiring an external ringer? What type would I need, and how would i wire it.
With a lot of help and parts from some of our knowledgeable members I managed to get the old Gray-Western working and on the wall. It's a tad high, probably not within BSP spec, but I am a tall guy. Many thanks to Stan S. and PayphoneInstaller for their patient assistance as I got this thing going. I suppose it's on to the next challenge for me.