Just bought a NE 2236QC - my second payphone. Restoring for Stan's controller.

shortrackskater · February 24, 2017, 03:23:58 AM

Well I just bought my second payphone. This time, I made sure it had parts inside! These seem hard to find here in Southern California and I found this a few days ago. The seller wouldn't budge on the price but shipping was free, I went ahead and did the "buy it now." With my eBay $15 coupon added, the total price was $250. It appears original but I'm no expert. I know the relay is there! It's got a backing on it so that should be a challenge to remove, but that makes it fun. There's no vault key but it does have the upper keys. I can post better pictures when it arrives next week.

..... · February 24, 2017, 05:27:37 AM

Nice find. I have that exact same one. Mine is a 1969. It was my second 3 coin pay phone as well.

Pourme · February 24, 2017, 06:25:34 AM

Welcome to the club!...I have one as well! Look forward to the pics and information on it as well!

shortrackskater · February 25, 2017, 01:23:17 PM

Thanks everyone.
Mine appears to be from 71, but I'm wondering - what was the last year the NE three slot touch tone was made?
I have a bit of a challenge when it arrives as you can see by my second picture here in this reply!

..... · February 25, 2017, 02:34:12 PM

Try this, that should help with the removal of the board.

AE_Collector · February 25, 2017, 03:30:06 PM

Yeah that backboard may not be worth keeping since someone took a saw to the bottom portion of it. At least being wood rather than a metal backboard will make your life a bit easier.

Here's mine from 1st Qtr 1970. Mine was left behind in a rental house in Tulsa Oklahoma so the owner sold it on eBay. I got it for $120 plus shipping way back in 2002. I got a great deal in the shipping as my in laws lived in Tulsa then so they picked it up. They visited us here in Vancouver twice a year and quite often drove the 2200 miles each way on their summer visit. The Payphone eventually found its way to its new home!

PS: I took pictures with iPad and posted them and they wound up on their side. Looking for the easiest possible way to get the pictures right I just hit edit on the iPad, made a very slight change (just hit "enhance" actually) and then hit save. Reposted them and problem solved.

Terry

poplar1 · February 25, 2017, 04:06:13 PM

Quote from: shortrackskater on February 25, 2017, 01:23:17 PM

I have a bit of a challenge when it arrives as you can see by my second picture here in this reply!

The top 4 bolts can be removed with a screwdriver since you have the (21B?) key to the upper housing.
Stan S. recently pointed out that when remounting the phone, it's a good idea not to install the 4 screws that are behind the vault.

Pourme · February 25, 2017, 04:33:29 PM

Terry, yours looks much better than mine....since mine lived outside at a Navel Training Hospital for many years, it is somewhat pitted. Yours looks new!

Benny

shortrackskater · February 27, 2017, 12:39:07 PM

Thanks for the advice and pictures everyone.
Yes that looks like a fairly easy backboard removal - I have a small cutting wheel that I've used for my other three slot (I ground a slot into the back side of a stuck hardened bolt and unscrewed it to the inside) and I think it will do the trick in removing those edges.
Were original backboards ever made of wood? Or, is this something someone just fabricated? I don't know enough about who technically "owned" the pay phones when they were in use, and whether store/shop owners could just choose where they were mounted and on what type of surface or whether they required a backboard.
For my soon to be arriving phone, I do have the upper key (I'll have two now!) but as in the case of my AE, no lower key for this new one. So I'll pray there's no lid on the cash box or else I guess I'll have to do the "surgical" removal of it.

shortrackskater · March 03, 2017, 07:14:50 PM

It's here! I'll be opening it later when I get back home.
Still interested if anyone knows what I wrote up above? Perhaps it was a dumb question?

AE_Collector · March 03, 2017, 11:16:00 PM

Lots of the backboards were made from plywood. Our shops made them but the payphone manufacturers may have as well. Of course there were the cast aluminum backboards likely made for or by the payphone manufacturers but they didn't have the space below where the phone mounts for the ringer box / subset to the best of my knowledge. That is what was chopped off of yours.

Payphones were all owned by the Telco (until recent years) and installed in businesses under an agreement where if the phone made enough revenue the business would get a small cut of it. Years ago some were installed where the business could use them as their phone line receiving calls for free and likely having to make the usual deposit to make a call. If the payphone didn't generate enough revenue the business may have had to pay a monthly fee to have it there as well. For a business that didn't need much in the way of phone service these arrangements may have been a better deal than if they had their own business line.

Terry

poplar1 · March 04, 2017, 01:10:10 AM

Backboard

shortrackskater · March 04, 2017, 12:21:02 PM

Thanks again for the information everyone.

Luckily whoever had this phone before, didn't use those two bolts in the vault. And since this phone came with the upper "keys" (more on that in a minute) I just unscrewed the backboard. I found a number of really sticky cocoons! I wonder what came out of them? Thankfully they didn't travel to me during shipping. The backboard looks identical to the one you pictured - poplar1, but with the lower part neatly sawed off. It's actually in good condition - just needs some painting.
The phone definitely must have lived out in the elements as there's some pitting and corrosion but I did see that in the ebay photos. Still I think it cleaned up well as you can see in the before and after pictures, especially the info card cover! The inside of the top box looks nice and clean. The inside of the back panel has some corrosion but it comes off with a little scrubbing. The phone appears 100% complete but I'm still a novice at this. I'm sure when I get to the wiring I'll be back here posting for help. I have the diagrams - thanks Stan S!
The handset says ITT - it looks original but I don't know if ITT was part of NE?
So the "keys" to the upper portion were bound with an old piece of wire. I decided to unwrap that to free the keys and I noticed one was longer than the other! Hmmmmm... ? Could this....? So I stuck the long key in the vault and it, of course, opened right up!
So this was a definite plus to my purchase I think. Funny that the seller never bothered to LOOK at the two keys he had. No cash box inside but that's okay. I'll get one eventually.
Here's my before/after pictures and a few more.

shortrackskater · March 04, 2017, 12:35:57 PM

Inside of top box.

Stan S · March 04, 2017, 01:06:28 PM

Mark
The inside of the top looks pretty clean.

Remove the diode that's across the A and E screws on the bottom of the coin track. It will interfere with the operation of the payphone with the controller.
If there's a jumper from the 'G' screw on the coin relay that's connected to the tray, take that jumper off. You want the case of the payphone to be isolated from EVERYTHING.

The internal ringer won't work with the controller. You will have to use a ringer plugged into the phone line before the controller.

Remember that phone is polarity sensitive. Be careful when you make the cable for the controller. Make sure you put the modular plug on the cable the right way- see picture in the CD that came with the controller. Then make sure the Red and Green wires are connected to the proper terminals in the phone.
If it isn't correct the first time you hang up the phone and the coin relay fires the high voltage will pop the transistor in the Touch Tone oscillator- THAT'S WHEN IT STOPS BEING FUN!

Stan S.

News:

Just bought a NE 2236QC - my second payphone. Restoring for Stan's controller.