Restoring a modified Gray 23D Paystation

[oyang]

Some time ago I got a pay phone (before I knew anything about telephone wiring and function) just because I thought it looked great as a decoration. Now I am thinking that I could get this thing working.

I'll post photos when I get home from work, but I can get started with asking advice for the first of the many problems I'll face with this unit: How can I get the coin box open?  Fortunately, a local locksmith was able to make a key to open the phone to get to the guts, but the lock for the coinbox is obviously much more complex.  I got some 10L keys to show the locksmith, but he was still unable to get it open. 

I see two potential solutions to ask you about:

1. Inside the phone there is an opening to the coin box, and apparently the lock is held in place by 4 simple screws. Has anyone been able to use a flex shaft screwdriver to free the lock via this approach?
2. The lock has a number, L24777.  Does anyone happen to have that key (I started a thread in the payphone section earlier, asking about that, and whether it would be worth trying to catalog pictures of all keys)?  Alternatively, does anyone know of a locksmith manual that might actually show all keys?  The locksmith told me that sometimes lock companies did have such manuals.

It was pointed out to me that this 23D has been modified; it has a dial that appears to be an early WE 4H (there are two filled drill holes by the stop).  I only got a chance to look at the inside for the first time today after I picked it up from the locksmith, so I'll post pictures later, but a quick glance showed very old wiring inside the phone, so I think it is an "original" modification done long ago rather than recently.  The phone also looks like it has been sitting in a barn or shed for 50 years; almost all the original outside paint is flaked off.

Assuming it has a dial, how would this have worked?  Would it have been hooked to a subset, and would the caller have had to talk to an operator first to verify payment before dialing? If it needs a subset, would one of those AE minisubsets be installable?  Is this project do-able by a still relatively inexperienced phone fixer-upper?  Will the Flash save Central City after the end of season 1?

Merci beaucoup as always,

Otto

[G-Man]

How did you determine that it is a 23D?

An original 23D does not have enough room to mount a dial nor a coin escrow relay.

Photos would be of immense help to determine whether you have a paystation or payphone. I have included a jpeg from the Gray catalog showing a 23D.

(Also, you may want to move this to the payphone section;-)

[G-Man]

Here is a clearer photo of a Gray 23D.

[oyang]

Here are pictures of the exterior. The dial is clearly marked WE, and as I mentioned has the filled holes characteristic of an early 4H dial converted from a 2.

[oyang]

And pictures of the insides.  Looks like a modified 23D to me based on all the pictures I've seen of them, but you be the judge....

[G-Man]

You are correct that lower-housing, vault-door locks are complicated. 10L locks were first manufactured by George Long, who besides being an officer of the Gray Paystation Company, started the Long Security Lock Company to manufacture payphone locks for both Gray and Western Electric.

10L corrugated keys have the upper-side cut to open wafers, while the lower front is cut to open pin-tumblers. Normally locks use either wafers or pin-tumblers, but not both!

Though a few have succeeded, they are generally considered to be unpickable by even the most skilled locksmiths. Of course your locksmith is correct that manuals exist for a lot of locks so they can be "Code-Cut" by referencing their number. However, as has been discussed throughout the years by industry insiders and collectors alike, those codes never left the factory and most likely were destroyed when the closed down.

If these codes were still available, then Paul and Jody would have been doing a land-office business cutting replacement keys for collectors. While it is highly improbable that someone else will find the same key in their collection, you might luck out.

As far as indexing photographs of these keys, there were many thousands of keying combinations, far too many to catalog.

Once we find out the actual model number of your instrument, several on this and other collector's list can offer advice on how to (hopefully) non-destructively remove your lock.

[G-Man]

Dials were not a standard offering by the manufacturer and the addition of one, and most likely, would have been a hack.

The only possibility that it was done by/for an operating company would be if they were willing to allow free local calls since your set is incapable of automatically collecting or refunding coins.

If it were located at a high traffic location that generated a lot of toll calls, then a small company may have hacked it in order to not being forced to install expensive coin control circuitry to handle coin calls, in the central office.

If a user wanted to make a long distance call, he would have to dial an access code or "O" to be connected with a toll operator to complete the call.

While the above scenario is possible, it is more likely that someone installed the dial for novelty home use. Here are a couple of other links to similar hacks:

   
• http://www.telephonecollectors.org/pictures/?id=358285742
• http://www.telephonecollectors.org/pictures/?id=358285861

[G-Man]

I forgot to mention that unlike the lower vault locks, upper-housing locks are keyed-alike and duplicates can be purchased from Jody and others for a reasonable fee.

[G-Man]

Otto, I don't know if this is the same Coopersburg as shown on the dial card, but it is an interesting story just the same:

   
• https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19850307&id=7_QrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AW0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2420,713505&hl=en

[G-Man]

Otto, a closer look at the wiring harness shows that someone did an excellent job at wiring your set; at least from the portion that I can see. It would be a shame to destroy it, so it's likely worth the extra effort to trace the wiring so you can connect it directly to a subset as it originally was; whether externally or with a mini-network if you can find room for it internally. Also, a closer look at the screw terminals may tell us what is needed without tracing.

[G-Man]

Otis, I'd have to remove my coin collectors from the wall they are displayed on, but I seem to recall that there are 4-screws that retain the backplate to the rest of the coin collector. Since I am not able to verify whether my memory is serving me correctly, take a look at the backside. If so, then remove them and the two should separate from each other.

I also don't recall whether there are holes through the backplate that would allow a long screwdriver to reach the lock retaining screws. I do recall that in the distant past, I have opened up the coin drawer without have to resort to destructive means. Otherwise others on the forum should have a better memory than I have.

[oyang]

Very interesting.... Professor Google seems to say there is only one Coopersburg in the USA, so I wonder whether this is a wiring job done by that person. Geez; 1985 is well within memory and I can't believe how time flies. It does look like it was updated at some point in the past; the bulldog transmitter is obviously not original to the era, and the wiring to the dial is newer than the other wires.

I assume that the coin transit hardware can come out easily with removing a few screws, to give me access to behind the dial?

I do intend to trace all the wiring with my meter, because it needs to be checked anyway even if I can see what is connected to what.  I'll need to get out some sandpaper; the terminals and screws are so oxidized that they don't conduct by touch.

It does look like there is room for a mininetwork.... once I've mapped all the terminals I'll be turning to you for help regarding how to do it!

I'm attaching a picture of the back. In the lower portion behind the coin box, there are 4 holes that aren't positioned for a screwdriver to reach the screws holding the lock.  There are only 2 screws, both of which appear to have been intentionally sheared off.  I will try to remove them with an extractor, with the hope that the coin box separates and gives me access to the lock.

Thanks,

Otto

[Stan S]

Hello
That 23D was rebuilt by the Telephone Repair & Supply Company (TRS). It is what's referred to as a 'Dan Mac' phone. Dan Mac was Daniel McNulty. After WWII TRS took standard Gray coin collectors and larger manual 3-slots and rebuilt them for dial use. 

Unlike most of the homebrew hacked junk you see on Ebay, that payphone does have a place in history. It is an example of American ingenuity done at a time when new payphones were just begining to be manufactured after WWII and were in short supply. I'd leave the phone just the way it is.

Yes, the vault compartment can be accessed from the back. However, you will have to 'back drill' the two mounting screws that hold the back 'L' bracket to the bottom of the phone. This must be done with a drill press and a new sharp drill bit. Don't attempt it with a hand drill!  Once the bottom is free from the back you can unscrew the lock through the holes in the coin tray.

You will not find a key to open the bottom lock.  Once the lock is out of the phone it can be taken apart and re-levered to an orphaned key by a fellow named Jody and a few other folks who advertise on Ebay.

[oyang]

Thanks for the info Stan..... That's a very interesting piece of info to have.  I intend on restoring it and not altering anything. It's clear from looking inside that this was done cleanly and professionally.

As for those two retaining screws, I don't have a drill press.  I was planning on using a screw extractor and a hand drill:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ontel-Speed-Out-Speed-Out-Screw-Extractor-4-Piece-1000264/205110987

Do you advise against this?  Seemed to me that with care this should work without damage.

Turns out that Jody is a short drive from me, and lives just around the corner from my in-laws whom I visit every weekend.  I've already talked to him, and we will meet up this weekend!

Otto

[Stan S]

Otto
Don't try it with a hand drill. I'd find someone that has a drill press.  Maybe Jody will do it for you.

You might also consider buying a copy of Phoneco's (Ron Knappen's) Payphone book. Well worth having.
Stan