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It Is Alive!

Started by Fabius, March 24, 2018, 09:54:33 PM

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Fabius

While driving in Mishawaka Indiana I saw a boothette mounted in front of a gas station/convenience store. I could only see the back so I had to pull in to the station to see if there was a payphone in it. To my surprise there was. And when I picked up the handset I got dial coin. I noticed the coin return door was marked Western Electric Bell System. Also the phone sign showed the Bell logo but where the sign says AMERITECH (baby bell company) a sticker saying PHONE was over it. You can see a little bit of the red line that goes across the Ameritech name at the bottom of the sticker. I even completed a call on the payphone! I forgot to check if the upper housing had the Bell in the metal on the right side. There is a sticker in that area so maybe it was under the sticker.

Payphone operated by Pacific Telemanagement Services.

http://www.ptsservices.net/public-communications/public-phone-systems/
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

AE_Collector

Another ForTec enclosure! Second one today (on the forum).

Terry

Sigmaz

I have a pal thats a PTS installer/Maintenance guy.
You'd be surprised how many phones are still out there..
Although, he does take them out quite regularly.

Protel8000

Quote from: Sigmaz on March 30, 2018, 12:37:10 PM
I have a pal thats a PTS installer/Maintenance guy.
You'd be surprised how many phones are still out there..
Although, he does take them out quite regularly.

I hadn't really thought about payphones being extinct until I decided to buy one for myself recently. Whenever I drive around a town now I play a spot the payphone game. There was one that I remember seeing locally last year, but it's gone now. Several stands/pedestals that are just empty are still standing. It's crazy how they've all pretty much disappeared.

A few months ago I was having trouble with my cell phone, where it wouldn't activate and I had to drive to another town to go to a store that could help me. I would've been out of luck had I broken down or needed to reach someone. In a way, having working payphones can almost be thought of as a public service.

I wonder how much of an area the PTS techs need to cover? I can't imagine most phones make a lot of profit unless they're in a captive audience area like an airport, or where you can't have cellphones like a court house or jail.