Introduction and My AE..

[Stan S]

Is this the coil set I would need??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161972747233?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Yes, if you are building a semi-postpay phone.
Why would you want to build a semi-postpay phone?

[Stan the Man]

Ok, so if I'm understanding what I just read, I want the LPB-82-55??  I don't as of yet have a grasp for this payphone stuff..
So maybe this is what I need..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131722540783?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Stan

[G-Man]

 

   
• Prepay- Initial coin deposit is needed before call is completed. Refunded if line is busy.
• Semi-postpay-  Coin not deposited until after the called party answers. Otherwise conversation unable to take place. No refunds are possible.
• Postpay- Coin(s) are deposited when requested by operator. Depending on circuit arrangements and payphone configuration, refunds may or may not be possible.

[Stan S]

Stan
How old are you and where did you grow up? I'm assuming you want that payphone to work like you remember them working when they were in service.

The most 'animated' type of service is prepay. If you grew up in a big city you probably never used or even saw a postpay 3-slot.

If you want the payphone to work like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vz1FtGl2YY&index=20&list=UUZBTcAYaxN3ghqlWJvwFnpw
you want prepay.

If you're old enough to remember having to deposit a dime before you got a dial tone you don't want an Automatic Electric payphone of any model.
If you want the phone to work like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301867681278?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

you want a Western Electric.

A pictures is worth a thousand words.

The other Stan

[Stan the Man]

I like to say I'm not that old,.. I remember green stamps, oatmeal glasses, and gas being .32 cents a gallon..
Payphones were not something I ever paid that much attention to ..
I know what the different types are,.. Prepay,semi, and postpay.. I just didn't know which of them would be the easiest to put a controller on.. Which would be the easiest to work with.. The LPB-82-55(prepay)looks like the configuration I want.. The more I read the more I learn.. It may take a minute but I'll get there..

Thanks,..Stan

[mentalstampede]

I found out to my chagrin that payphone systems are deceptively complex. If you want a phone to collect coins and simulate working like most people remember them working, prepay service is what you want.  There are controllers that are (relatively) simple to simulate Western Electric type Prepay service.

If you just want a phone that looks the part, makes and receives calls, and is a neat coin bank, then the phone as you have it is quite adequate.

[G-Man]

I like to say I'm not that old,.. I remember green stamps, oatmeal glasses, and gas being .32 cents a gallon..
Payphones were not something I ever paid that much attention to ..
I know what the different types are,.. Prepay,semi, and postpay.. I just didn't know which of them would be the easiest to put a controller on.. Which would be the easiest to work with.. The LPB-82-55(prepay)looks like the configuration I want.. The more I read the more I learn.. It may take a minute but I'll get there..

Thanks,..Stan

If my earlier description of a prepay payphone matches what you recall while growing up, then you should contact Stan Schreier and purchase one of his payphone controllers.

   
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5jB4VyVFFw

Both Stan (The Payphone Man),  Jim Engle (Payphone installer) and Dick Pitzer, are unequaled experts in the field of early payphone collecting.

Also, depending upon what area you grew up in, a Western Electric 3-slot may be more suitable.

[Stan the Man]

 I am finding out just how complex payphones are/were.. Even some of the terminology is foreign to me.. I will feel and seem like a real ignoramus until I learn more about them,.. please keep in mind, I didn't know anything about them two weeks ago,.. and sometimes I tend to get ahead of myself..
My radio hobby has not made me a dime, but I get great satisfaction from bringing something back to life, that hasn't made a sound in decades..
My AE has been a house phone/piggy bank for 20 years,.. its time for it to work like it was meant to.. No matter how it worked back in the day.. With a few parts, a schematic, and some help from people here, I feel confident it will work out..   That will be a great satisfaction.. And hopefully I'll learn something in the process..

Stan

[dsk]

You are right, it is complex, so I gave up getting min in 100% original order, but I got a function described over as semi post pay. 
When I go off hook, I hear the dial tone and may dial. When party answers, I hear them, but they do not hear me until coin is deposited.
As I have configured mine, a coin is a coin!
On a regular POTS line i may not receive calls without paying a coin. With an ATA configured as described I get more functions. 
Look at this thread: http://tinyurl.com/zy2d6rz
dsk

[Stan S]

Stan
There is a chance that Jim (Payphone Installer) might have the exact number wiring harness you missed on Ebay.
The induction coil isn't part of the harness but getting one is no problem. Actually, getting a few pounds of them  wouldn't be a problem.

There were dozens of different wiring harnesses for the various model 3-slots that AE manufactured. Only get the number that was in the auction.

As far as the wiring in the top of the payphone goes, your top can be wired as prepay, semipostpay or local prepay. It's just a matter of moving a few jumpers. Assuming you want the payphone to be an initial deposit of ten cents, you might have to find the proper number nickel counting assembly (the thing with the microswitch and the piece of spring  wire). The one in your top might be the correct number. It's hard to tell from your pictures. If it isn't, that's NOT a problem either. I might have an extra.
See attached.

[Stan the Man]

Hey Stan S,..  All I can say is that I "think" what is in my phone top is a nickel counter(P-60530-H)..There is a micro switch w/spring lever..  I will take some better pics and post them.. I would like it to be a two nickel(ten cent)deposit, but that's not a big deal.. A wiring harness would be  SUPERGREAT!! That would save so much work and headache.. I've been looking at the schematic for the LPB-82-55, it would be a pain but I could make up a harness if need be.. I may already have the resistors/capacitors that it would take..
I will definitely need a coil.. And I will have a few questions once I get into it.. I have a prepay coin hopper w/relay on the way,..I hope everything is ok with that..

Stan T

[poplar1]

Even when Phoneco had mostly old pay phone parts rather than the currently offered 90%+ repro, they often substituted these non-AE networks. In 1986, I asked Ron why he would remove perfectly good networks from the AE and even from WE 236Gs.

He said they did this so that when (not "if"!) they came back, any of his employees would be able to work on them.

[Stan S]

Stan
This came from the TCI library:

http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/browse/document-repository/doc_details/1901-payphones-lpb8255-tl

It's the schematic for an LPB82-55
You probably already have it.

The parts list for an LPB82-55 specifies P-60530-C. The only thing that's important (forget about the dash) is that the restoring coil resistance is about 40 ohms.  A lot of the different dash letters signified lead colors and length for the various model payphones. Electrically they were pretty much the same.

Put an ohmmeter on the coil and see what you get. You can also test the restoring electromagnet with a 9V battery. See if it resets the spring wire from being caught in the groove to the triggered 'UP' position. It's like a circa 1950s bi-stable switch.

If you're curious what's under the brass colored box that's part of the assembly, it's a pendulum. It was used to prevent outside physical shock (somebody slamming the side of the payphone) from 'flipping' the position of the spring wire without putting in the second nickel.

[Stan the Man]

Hi Stan S,..Yes that's the schematic I've been looking at.. I make a habit of studying the schematic for a while before I ever start working on anything.. I'll put a meter on it tonight when I get home.. The upper coin chute I have in the top is a NOS unit I picked up on fleepay..(mine was missing the nickel counter assembly).. It was for a different model,.. It had a terminal strip on the bottom of the chute, so the leads are a bit short for my phone.. It won't be a problem to lengthen/replace them..

Thanks,... Stan T

[Stan the Man]

Even when Phoneco had mostly old pay phone parts rather than the currently offered 90%+ repro, they often substituted these non-AE networks. In 1986, I asked Ron why he would remove perfectly good networks from the AE and even from WE 236Gs.

He said they did this so that when (not "if"!) they came back, any of his employees would be able to work on them.

My guess was,.. later down the road, he could sell them back to guys like me..

Stan T