The AE 3 slot that was referred to here:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=16098.msg166747#msg166747
(http://www.ebay.com/itm/231921162262)
sold for US $1,425.00. Is that reasonable? What makes it valuable - is it comparatively rare?
Thanks
Jack
Others can comment on value but it is in remarkably good condition, seems to me to be complete and the keys and coin box are included. Others who know pay phones may discuss the phone itself.
These are all of the eBay photos for posterity.
Paystations got upgraded through the years .this makes the older ones expensive..Note the bronze handset hook,type 38 handset and the metal and porcelain dial shroud.expensive parts to replace.I do wonder about the dial plate with dots instead of blank.I think dots were used on Leich equipment before the arrows were introduced on the earlier type 80 sets with the 2 piece dial
Thanks guys.
So is $1425 reasonable? What would the phone be worth at a telephone show?
I don't know enough about them to have recognised a bronze hook as significant but the phone does look good except for the dial and the instructions.
The instructions imply pay on answer (semi-postpay?) but Stan's comments say prepay. What does the relay of a semi-postpay payphone look like?
Jack
Quote from: Jack Ryan on April 27, 2016, 07:45:09 PM
The instructions imply pay on answer (semi-postpay?) but Stan's comments say prepay. What does the relay of a semi-postpay payphone look like?
Jack
Here is one example of an AE semi-postpay relay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Coil-Relay-For-3-Slot-Antique-Payphone-Pay-Telephone-Phone-Part-/161972747233
Note the absence of springs on the AE semi-postpay relay. The shorting contacts on the top right are opened by the coins, so that the caller can hear and be heard.
The relay is reset when the caller hangs up. At that time the reversed polarity of the line, that occurs when the called party answers, returns to normal polarity. The current flowing through the coil causes the relay to reset.
Quote from: poplar1 on April 27, 2016, 09:41:28 PM
Note the absence of springs on the AE semi-postpay relay. The shorting contacts on the top right are opened by the coins, so that the caller can hear and be heard.
The relay is reset when the caller hangs up. At that time the reversed polarity of the line, that occurs when the called party answers, returns to normal polarity. The current flowing through the coil causes the relay to reset.
Thanks for that. It certainly looks large and robust enough to perform its function.
I assume that the coin holds the contact open for the duration of the call and the reversal (un-reversal) at call completion returns the relay to normal and releases the coin.
It seems that this type of payphone should work on any line that provides answer supervision in the form of a reversal. Do ATAs that perform a reversal have enough grunt to operate a semi-postpay payphone?
Jack
Not exactly. The coins go directly into the vault. ("Do not pass go. Do not collect $200", to use a Monopoly game analogy.) It's just that as they pass, they open the contacts that have been closed by the coil action. These contacts remain open for the rest of the call, and continue to stay open with the phone on hook, until on a subsequent call, the called party answers. They have to stay open so that calls to free numbers (such as operator or information) can be completed without coins.
This AE bulletin (in TCI library) will undoubtedly be better than my attempts:
http://telephonecollectors.info/index.php/document-repository/doc_details/189-tb-702-86-i1-semi-postpay-paystations
Thanks, that'll keep me out of mischief for a while. I got the Prepay one as well.
Jack
Perhaps no one knew but I asked: Do ATAs that perform a reversal have enough grunt to operate a semi-postpay payphone?
Thanks
Jack
I doubt ATAs that do a reversal would work with the origional relays unless everything is perfect. The transistor microswitch retrofit relay is more sensitve since it does not have a large relay to move
I find the early Gray pay telephones one of the most interesting of payphone subjects. Here is a Gray 34A 11 five cent payphone. This phone is Gray,it was made by Gray. These phones were also made by A/E after A/E bought Gray. The 34A9 that was on ebay was a A/E. One of the problems with the 34A 9 on ebay was the relay and the chute, I will get into that more in a minute. Here is a true 34A11 as it was pulled from service.
34A11
The 34A9 was a prepay set the 34A11 was a post pay set.
Gray prepay relays are very hard to find. The difference in the relay is the prepay relay has a arm that moves the Coin vane to collect or return and also opens the trap so the money can collect or return. Here is a A/E prepay relay. Even a A/E prepay relay is rare.
The 34A9 that is being discussed had a post pay relay,which is understandable because the prepay is very hard to find. It is hard to say which relay would have been in a A/E 34A9, It could have been a Gray or a A/E. What ever the case may be it would have had a bent magnet relay this early in the game. Here is a Gray post pay relay with the bent magnet. Note the difference in the magnets in the early and late relay one is flat and bent. The other is round.
Here is the inside of a 34A11
Dial on the 34A11 could be whatever a independent phone company decided to use.
The chute in the 34A11 is a Gray 5 cent chute because it is still a 5 cent telephone.
In my opinion the chute that should be in the 34A9 should be a modified Gray chute like in this picture.
If you look in the 35 Gray catalog you will see this Gray coin chute in many of the pictures. I looked for it for years and finally found one. This is what it looks like. It is the only one known to exist. It looks like a later A/E but is quite different. Its marked and has humps at the top where the coins go down the track.