New to forum and A/E payhone ?

[Kpkube]

Hello,
  I'm new to the forum and new to phone collecting.
  I have an A/E payphone and wanted to see if someone can let me know what model it is.  It does not have a data tag on top.  This was converted for home use and is missing some parts.  Also would like to know if the parts that are missing are hard to find.  Would like to have the option to return it back the way is was original use.
Thanks

[rdelius]

Based on what I see LPB-86_55   Or LPB-86-10

[dsk]

Welcome to forum.
Parts are probably available but might be expensive.
It is possible to make it work with more modern parts too, looks pretty like mine, but in nicer shape.
I solved it like this: http://tinyurl.com/zy2d6rz

dsk

[Stan S]

Hello
Your payphone is an LPC 86-55 or an LPC 86-10. It was originally a semipostpay phone. Meaning the deposit was made AFTER the called party answered.

It is impossible to make a semipostpay 3-slot work today because it requires polarity reversal of the tip and ring when the called party answers. That feature no longer exists on standard phone lines and as far as I know isn't offered in the ATAs that the VOIP services supply.

If the payphone is working as a standard extension it's relatively easy to make it a PREPAY phone. You would have to remove the ringer and replace the straight brass colored chute with a prepay coin hopper and a single coil coin relay.
The wiring to the coin relay is very simple, only two additional wires.
Cost of these parts is about $50.
See attached photo.

You would also have to buy a payphone controller to make the coin relay perform the various coin functions.
http://tinyurl.com/jaf9mb5

All in all NOT an inexpensive undertaking.
Welcome to the world of payphones!

Stan S.

[unbeldi]

It is impossible to make a semipostpay 3-slot work today because it requires polarity reversal of the tip and ring when the called party answers. That feature no longer exists on standard phone lines and as far as I know isn't offered in the ATAs that the VOIP services supply.

Actually, I do believe the feature is not terribly uncommon on ATAs or media gateways today.  For example the Grandstream HT502 ATA that is also popular with collectors because it decodes pulse dialing, has battery reversal as well as CPC.
I don't have a ready-made list of ATAs that do support it, but I have run across the feature quite a few times on various ATAs.

[Stan S]

Do you know which VOIP service providers will allow you to use the Grandstream HT502?
Stan S.

[unbeldi]

Do you know which VOIP service providers will allow you to use the Grandstream HT502?
Stan S.

Well, you would have to find a bring-your-own-device provider (BYOD), but I would think any of those would support almost any device these days. SIP configuration is very much standardized these day.
I don't follow providers much anymore, my phone service is mostly free of cost, except for international service. But I have used quite a few in the last 15 years or so.  I believe even Vonage still has a BYOD plan. I liked Vonage, actually. I also recall using Broadvoice for some time.  CallCentric also supports many devices. I am sure many other providers do the same.
A Google search for BYOD VoIP will provide many others, I am sure.

The VoIP services that come bundled with triple-play packages from CATV companies usually use ATAs or EMTAs with few features configurable in the menus, while command line access via serial port or telnet provides much better configuration options, but those usually are locked and not accessible, unless one hacks the device.  I have a pile of hacked Vonage boxes, that provide callerid display, frequency ringing, dial pulse decoding, etc. They route calls via an Asterisk system.

The HT502 is a discontinued device, and the newer Grandstream boxes no longer recognize pulse dialing.  But the HT502 can be found some times as low as $15 or so used on eBay.  Sometimes, I have seen sales of dozens or hundreds of them in a lot, probably from providers that used them at one time.

[unbeldi]

Here is an HT502 mounted inside one of my C*Net gateways. The gateway is hosted on the Raspberry Pi board.

[Stan S]

Wonderful!

"I believe even Vonage still has a BYOD plan. I liked Vonage, actually."

Nope.
I bought this (see photo) because I have Vonage. Thought I'd design a PREPAY controller around it.
SURPRISE, even though it's branded Vonage they no longer supported that ATA either, and this was many years ago.

(If anybody wants it they can have it for the cost of shipping.)

If you're lucky you'll find an ATA supplied by a cable company that supports rotary dialing- that's it.
The only folks I know of that use the Voip suppliers you mentioned are the folks that play with CNET.

You added a posting while I was typing this.
I see you are one of THEM!
Have fun!

Stan S.

[dsk]

My pap2t reverce polarity at answer. I use callcentric. Dont know if it has power to operate the relay.

dsk

[unbeldi]

What you are showing there is a PAP2, which is a very common device and supported by many BYOD providers.  But that version is not meant for BYOD service.  The problem with buying a Vonage-branded (or other vendor) version is that those devices are locked to the provider out-of-the box.  These can be unlocked and instructions do float around the Internet for doing so, or one can try to figure it out oneself, but some are tougher than others.


Here are some links to Vonage BYOD plans, that I just found with a quick Google search, without further study:

* https://business.vonage.com/voip-plans/phones/

* https://business.vonage.com/voip-faq/what-kind-of-phones-are-compatible-for-byod-bring-your-own-device/

[Stan S]

Yes. I bought the Vonage branded unit because I had Vonage. Thought that would make it easier.
That didn't work out so well!

Your links are for business service. Wonder what the cost of that is?
Probably plenty!

Stan S.

[Stan S]

dsk
There is a standard Teltronics after market asembly that takes the place of the semipostpay AE relay. The Teltronics part number is SP-105.
The circuit consists of a microswitch, SCR and a reed relay. All very low current. I'm sure your pap2 will drive it. There are loads of them floating around.

See the attachment. The diagram is typical Teltronics quality.

Stan S.

[unbeldi]

Yes. I bought the Vonage branded unit because I had Vonage. Thought that would make it easier.
That didn't work out so well!

Your links are for business service. Wonder what the cost of that is?
Probably plenty!

Stan S.

It was about 5 years ago or so, when I had a Vonage BYOD plan.  I think it cost me just under $10/month with a limit on minutes, I think 500.
Probably most of the BYOD services are branded as business services, because most residential users just want to order something, plug in their phone and have it working without investing time to select the equipment to operate the phone service.  Businesses operate differently, they like selecting the type of phone system that they like best, or that they want to reuse from a service with another service providers.

[Stan S]

Just took a look at my Vonage bill on line. With all taxes the bill comes to $52.03 for unlimited service.
That's for one line. I have a second fax line. That's an additional $9.95 a month.

As I recall the first year was $9 a month for one line. After the first year it's gotchya!
Still a good deal compared to Verizon.

I refuse to 'bundle' TV, internet and telephone. We had a neighborhood outage of Time Warner that lasted a week. Folks that had TWC for everything were out of luck. I just connected an indoor antenna to the TV and watched over the air. Internet and phone unaffected. Not smart to put all your eggs in one basket!

Stan S.