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233G payphone arrived today

Started by KeithB, August 30, 2010, 08:09:16 PM

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HarrySmith

A question just came to me while looking at the picture of the upper housing. Why are there holes drilled in the back of the coin slots? I imagine there must have been a purpose.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

Shovelhead

I wondered about that too. The only reason that I could see for it was to POSSIBLY be able to have a way to push out a bent coin that got stuck in the slot.

Doug Rose

What is it that makes this such a cool payphone. I have a beater on eBay 300460894222 this week and have 200 views and 35 watchers. Is this a "so called rare" payphone....thanks....Doug
Kidphone

KeithB

#18
Your 223GT is a bit earlier model than my 233G, but there's nothing particularly 'rare' about either model.  It's the fact these phones were so prevalent through the late 1950s, all of the 1960s, and even the early 1970s that makes them easy to clean up and restore.  Yours appears to have the coin relay intact, and the inclusion of a backboard and ringer/subset are certainly positives.  The chrome pieces could use some love, but they're easily replaced and/or brushed clean and re-polished.

Al of the BSP documents for these phones are available at the TCI website.  Look in section 506 if you want more information.

I definitely believe you have a much better chance of getting at least $100 for yours than the guy with auction # 150480360598 .  Good luck!!

KeithB

I knew this was coming.  ::)  The wife asked me to strip the antiqued brown paint off a pair of intricately patterned metal shelf brackets she purchased and re-paint them white this weekend.  While I was cleaning some of the smaller phone parts this afternoon, I got one of the brackets stripped and cleaned off.

My order from G-Tel arrived.  The coin relay is a perfect fit, but I still need to find the complicated wire bracket :( that fits into the relay mechanism and coin chute.  The coin box I ordered from them was too tall for this phone, but their new lid fits the old coin box perfectly. :D Saturday I'll work on be cleaning the back plate and mounting board.  I've already masked off the orange paint stamps to preserve them (of course!)

If you ever need some original fabric-covered Western Electric wire, I purchased a few feet of green, grey, and red wire from eBay seller 'tajacobs'.  He has loads of this stuff in different gauges, colors, and covers.  I know two wires from the coin mechanism were cut out, so I'll be replacing those.   

Doug Rose

Quote from: KeithB on September 03, 2010, 09:28:51 AM
Your 223GT is a bit earlier model than my 233G, but there's nothing particularly 'rare' about either model.  It's the fact these phones were so prevalent through the late 1950s, all of the 1960s, and even the early 1970s that makes them easy to clean up and restore.  Yours appears to have the coin relay intact, and the inclusion of a backboard and ringer/subset are certainly positives.  The chrome pieces could use some love, but they're easily replaced and/or brushed clean and re-polished.

Al of the BSP documents for these phones are available at the TCI website.  Look in section 506 if you want more information.

I definitely believe you have a much better chance of getting at least $100 for yours than the guy with auction # 150480360598 .  Good luck!!
Hey Keith...thanks for the insight....Doug
Kidphone

Phonesrfun

If you have any skills at electronics and wiring things on a circuit board, there are some circuits out there in the public domain that will activate the coin relay. 

A word of caution:  Since these coin relays operate at 100volts DC, these are considered to be high voltage and need the neccessary precautions when wiring them. 

The central offices used to provide the needed collect/return voltages to the coin relay based on call status.  Since we cannot hook these to an old-time central office, these coin relay circuits simulate the call progress with a timer.  They assume that if you place a call, and do not hang up within, say, 60 seconds that the call went through and will collect the coin on hang-up.  If the call lasts less than the allotted time, it will return the coin on hang-up.
-Bill G

KeithB

#22
Thanks, Bill.  :)

Doug Alderdice's original payphone controller circuit was very comprehensive, but since then Stan Schreier has developed a newer and simpler circuit with good functionality.  I'm comfortable with basic electronics and soldering, but I'd rather not consider building a controller until I complete some primary goals:
1) The phone restored with all parts and wiring per BSPs.  ;D
2) An external subset added to provide equalization and ringing  :)
3) Applying a simple bypass via additional and/or disconnected (but retained!) wiring.

KeithB

Shovelhead:  While searching for the few missing pieces of my coin mechanism, I found this web page from a vendor using the following contact information:

TRIAD, Inc. (Telephone Repair Innovations and Development)
P.O. Box 7669
3286 Hoffman Norton Road
Warren, Ohio 44483

Voice: (330) 847.6597
   Fax: (330) 847.7538

E-mail: payphones@triad-online.com

Their prices are certainly fair enough, so I'll probably be giving them a call after the holiday to obtain the few missing parts I need.


KeithB

I stripped and wire-brushed the back of the phone and the steel plate that covers it.  After they were wiped clean, they were both primed.  Tomorrow they'll both get painted with Rustoleum Satin black.  The coin vault and top of the phone will get lightly brushed one more time, then primed.  They'll both receive a gloss black enamel finish.  It looks like I may have most parts of this phone cleaned and re-painted by Monday afternoon.

I'm still waiting for a few parts to arrive next week: (a) a vinyl overlay for the dial numbers, and (b) a coiled rubber handset cord.  I also need to find a real locking door for the coin vault.  All the doors on eBay seem to be for the later single-slot phones, so I'll probably have to write some e-mails and make some phone calls next week in an attempt to find one.

Does anyone think an F1 handset will look out-of-place on this phone?  It's originally from 1962, so I hope that should be okay.

Phonesrfun

#25
As far as an F1 handset, check to see if an F1 will properly seat in the hook.  F1's had a wider receiver, so it may noticeably ride up higher in the hook's U-shaped recepticle.

Payphones in the 60's were routinely seen with F1 handsets, but I think those were on the older 1NN sets.  According to Ron and Mary Knappen's (Phoneco) "Payphone History" book, it seems that the 233 was made for the G handset and the 685B subset, which is technology based on the 500 set.  Earlier payphones that used an F1 handset used the 101A induction coil, and were based on 302 technology.

There is, of course, no reason why an F1 handset could not be used.  It is totally up to you, but I think originally your set would have come with a G handset.

The "Payphone History" book contains a wealth of information about the evolution of payphones, and all the bezillion different variations that ever came out.  It is about 476 pages in total.  The organization of the book suggests that it was probably compiled from years and years of tedious and copious notes.  Many, many pictures and lotsa information.
-Bill G

KeithB

Thanks again, Bill.  You've given me lots more to read and learn!  :D

Wallphone

This eBay seller put a F1 on an AE payphone & it looks nice.
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Automatic-Electric-Three-Slot-Coin-Payphone-Paystation-/110577048276 <
I'm not sure if he was mentioned but there is another seller of the circuit to make the payphone work.
His name is Rod Lanthier and he was on the History Channel episode of "Coin Operated" with Gary Goff.
This is his website - > http://www.threeslotpayphone.com/ < and here is a clip from the History Channel episode, > http://youtu.be/TEi673JUSac <
Dougpav

KeithB

Great resource, thanks for pointing it out! :)

I found an easy solution for the handset this morning.  Early this morning I saw a 1962 500 C/D deskset on eBay with a reasonable BuyItNow price.  If that handset doesn't look correct, I don't think anything would.  Now if the coiled cord arriving from Phoneco this week is suitable, I'll be down to obtaining just a locking vault door and a few more coin relay pieces.

It's a good thing the weather is absolutely beautiful this Labor Day weekend.  It's allowed me to get a lot done outside, stripping, wire brushing, sanding, priming.  I put the first coats of satin black on the two back parts, and right now they're drying while I get to enjoy watching a little baseball.  ;D

KeithB

Rod Lanthier is selling me a vault door complete with lock and key, and once I get the phone assembled and wired properly, I'll probably purchase a controller circuit from him as well.

Today I put the final coats of black satin paint on both back pieces and baked them in the oven.  The original vermillion red model/date stamps survived intact. :D I covered them with blue Scotch painter's tape and was worried the paint might come off, anyway.  The fingerwheel and dial holder/frame were painted with gloss black enamel and baked, also.  Finally, The coin vault and the upper body of the phone were primed today.  Here are pictures of those two parts.  (I saw there were contact marks along the right edge of the coin vault, so I've sanded those out after taking these pictures.)