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Got an AE payphone for my booth!

Started by jjacob, October 17, 2013, 03:32:09 PM

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jjacob

It has been awhile, but I was finally successful in getting an AE Pre Pay payphone. It is an LPB-82-55 made in 1962, complete with a Western Electric ringer from 1952.

I had been looking on ebay and Craigslist. Many of the phones were post pay. Others were missing keys so you could not see inside. Others were butchered or missing parts. Finally found one in Arkansas being sold out of an antique shop by an ex Bell Systems employee. She provided me great pictures and packed the phone so well it took me 10 minutes to unpack it. Lots of bubble wrap and double boxed.
Following the advice of those on this forum I resisted the temptation to buy a phone that was incomplete or needed massive repairs, or was post pay. I paid $200 for a complete phone with external ringer, and coin box and all keys. That included the cost of shipping.

I have the phone and am going to clean up the exterior but I am not going to repaint it. I like the slight wear and patina that the exterior shows.
The coin relay (older dual coil type) was not screwed down to the magnet and was loose but still wired inside the housing. Original screws were still there.
The phone was originally mounted to a piece of plywood with the ringer below it. Everything was hard wired. No modular plug was ever installed. I have a feeling that the relay was moved out of the way so coins would drop through to the coin box.
Ringer is Western Electric and has 531-A - III-51 stamped on the inside.

The repairs that are needed are:
1. 29S upper lock does not want to lock, even though the key turns. I will disassemble the lock to repair.
2. The rotary dial is a little sluggish and sticky and does not quite make it back to home position without a little help. Finger wheel seems a little loose in the home position. I have downloaded the AE dial repair pdf and will clean and lube.

Dave has a nice tutorial on how to hook up an LPB-82-55 for home use on his web site that I will follow.
Pics below and advice is welcome. I will eventually install a pay phone controller.
John

telcosteve

Hi.

That is one sweet Coin Phone.  I just broke down and bagged one that was in a guy's garage for years.  I have not attempted to dismantle it, but having a 29S key would be nice.  Of course I am not sure if the 29S fits or...if like WE...the key number varies, as do the locks.

Can you give me the link to the info you gave. 

Again, nice phone.

poplar1

Quote from: telcosteve on March 10, 2016, 03:11:51 PM
Hi.

That is one sweet Coin Phone.  I just broke down and bagged one that was in a guy's garage for years.  I have not attempted to dismantle it, but having a 29S key would be nice.  Of course I am not sure if the 29S fits or...if like WE...the key number varies, as do the locks.

Steve,  the serially numbered locks with matching # on locks are for the coin box (vault).
The upper housing locks require generic keys:

Northern Electric. = 21B
Western Electric. =  10G key fits 10G or 10H lock
Automatic Electric =  29-S

It's possible, but not likely, that someone installed a serially numbered Automatic Electric 10-B vault door lock on the upper housing of an AE, WE, or NE.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

HarrySmith

Congrats! Nice phone and a good price.
Patience will always pay off when it comes to buying phones.
I wanted a Black WE 1500 (10 button touch tone) for my collection. They do not come up often in black. I asked on the lists and was told there were not many made in black because Bell was pushing colors at that point. A couple did come up on eBay but for big bucks! A couple of offers from the list came up for beat up junks or partial phones, I was tempted to buy them and put one together from parts. I waited and eventually got a pristine example very cheap!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"