WE 500C modified for Coin Line Use

[paul-f]

Here's an interesting variation in the 500-series.

It was probably created to end the harried shopkeeper from having to run from behind the counter to answer an incoming call on the public coin telephone in the corner of the shop.

Basically, the 500C became a limited extension.

Circuitry was added to keep the extension from being able to evesdrop on calls made from the coin telephone, but be able to answer incoming calls.  If the incoming call was for a patron, they could pick up at the coin telephone and the extension could be cut off.

For more:  http://www.paul-f.com/we500C_Coin.html

I'll have one for sale at my table at Lancaster.  I hope to see you there.

[Russ Kirk]

Very interesting phone.

In the early 80's I was set to repair a defective phone line in a county jail. I remember they had signs over the payphones that said the jail guards may monitor the prisoner's phone calls at any time.  In the main phone room, the lines for the payphones were connected to other phones in the guard's room.

[Jim Stettler]

Here's an interesting variation in the 500-series.

It was probably created to end the harried shopkeeper from having to run from behind the counter to answer an incoming call on the public coin telephone in the corner of the shop.

Basically, the 500C became a limited extension.

Circuitry was added to keep the extension from being able to evesdrop on calls made from the coin telephone, but be able to answer incoming calls.  If the incoming call was for a patron, they could pick up at the coin telephone and the extension could be cut off.

For more:  http://www.paul-f.com/we500C_Coin.html

I'll have one for sale at my table at Lancaster.  I hope to see you there.

A local bar had this set-up with a 554 and the payphone. The listed phone number for the bar  rang the 554, patrons could take the call at the bar or on the payphone. Outgoing calls were made with  the payphone. The bar had this set-up since the 1950's.

Jim S.

[savageje]

This is interesting...I guess I never really thought about it before, but I always assumed that coin lines were owned by the telephone company and that a bar or shop would typically have a separate private line for their own telephone service.  It is amazing how many variants of the 500 were produced for very specific situations like this.

[G-Man]

This is interesting...I guess I never really thought about it before, but I always assumed that coin lines were owned by the telephone company and that a bar or shop would typically have a separate private line for their own telephone service.  It is amazing how many variants of the 500 were produced for very specific situations like this.

Back then the coin lines were owned by the telephone company. That's why it was tariffed as Semi-Public Telephone Service. Most extensions on coin lines were standard manual telephones without any special circuitry to prevent eavesdropping.

[mentalstampede]

The small airport in my hometown had a similar setup in the 1970s with the listed number being a payphone outside the building that had an extension inside the office. If I had to guess, I'd wager the cost of adding an extension to an existing payphone was a lot cheaper than a dedicated line. This was in GTE territory, and I'm not sure if the extension was a manual-service device or not.

[Payphone installer]

The 500 set with a dial blank was common as were 554 wall phones and 211 space savers as answer only phones for semi- public payphone service. There were many classes of service fo public telephones,semi-public service was a service offered to people who wanted a business line at the cheapest price. It was usually present at gas stations,pizza joints,hairdressers,church's and bars anywhere where the majority of the calls were incoming and the location was public. It was not uncommon for a hairdresser to have 8 or 10 extensions off of one payphone with a button and buzzer system that allowed the main desk to bus the hairdresser to pick up the phone and take the call. Most of these sets were not equipped as the 500c you could pick up the extension and listen any time. Most of the extensions and payphones were in plain sight of each other. This service was very common for bookies to use.