Automatic Electric 96E 10

[Fabius]

I picked up at this weekend's ATCA show in Shipshewana Indiana an AE 3 slot payphone with the CHICAGO location above the coin door. The black aluminum tag on the top of the upper housing is stamped 96E 10. I don't recall seeing that type of number on an AE 3 slot tag. A wild guess is that it indicates a conversion to 10 cent operation?

I'd post pictures but I forgot to buy a 29S key, so I'll have to order one. Then I'll post pictures.

[Stan S]

No.

Assuming the payphone hasn't been 'made better' by some collector, a 96E10 was built as a 10 cent DIME ONLY Semipostpay phone manufactured by Automatic Electric.

There is a solenoid that controls a wire arm that goes across the nickel channel in the coin track. When you attempt to deposit the first nickel (after the called party answers) it gets kicked into the coin return. Only a dime will make it to flip the coin relay and allow conversation.

The thinking was that since the payphone was postpay and the deposit was made AFTER the called party answered, that it would take too much time to 'fumble' with 2 nickels. The called party would keep saying hello, hello and hearing nothing would hang up, while the calling party would be looked for that second nickel which probably fell on the floor in the dark.
Sort of logical?
Stan S.

[Fabius]

No.

Assuming the payphone hasn't been 'made better' by some collector, a 96E10 was built as a 10 cent DIME ONLY Semipostpay phone manufactured by Automatic Electric.

There is a solenoid that controls a wire arm that goes across the nickel channel in the coin track.

Well, I was right about 10 cents being involved.  When the upper housing was off at the show I recall seeing a small relay or selenoin in that location. Thanks for the information!

[Stan S]

Tom
Yup you were.

The second part of the story is after the dime (initial deposit) flips the coin relay the solenoid moves the arm out of the nickel channel. That allows nickels to be deposited for extra time.

Do you remember if the coin relay had 2 large coils or if it had a small printed circuit board with a microswitch?
Two large coils means original Automatic Electric. A printed circuit board with a microswitch is a Teltronics aftermarket replacement.

Stan S.

[Fabius]

Do you remember if the coin relay had 2 large coils or if it had a small printed circuit board with a microswitch?
Two large coils means original Automatic Electric. A printed circuit board with a microswitch is a Teltronics aftermarket replacement.

There was no PCB in the phone. It had two large coils. and there was a plastic housing over the coin relay. A paystaion collector who was looking at the phone said that cover was often missing. I'm kicking myself in the butt for not buying a key. There was a guy at the show who had hundreds of repro 29S keys. As soon as I get a key I'll post pictures.

[Fabius]

Finally got an original 29S key. Here are the pictures of the insides, Seems to pretty original?

[dsk]

Nice, and looks original (for a foreigner as me).
Anybody who knows when this post-pay phones with the double coil relay was introduced?
When did they start to put on plastic handsets (not bakelite)?
And when did  they stop using this system type of payphones. (as this one is at the pictures?)

North American payphones has a much more elegant design than what we have used in Norway!

dsk