An Antique ? Automatic Electric ? 3 Slot Payphone With A Working Coin Mechanism
This auction is best view using Internet Explorer ___ __
Submitted For Your Consideration: An Automatic Electric Model LPC 82-55 ? Prepay, 10 cent, 3 slot payphone.
_____ This Has To Be The Most Unique Antique (?) Payphone Currently Being Offered On Ebay!
Because It has a fully functioning coin mechanism.
It was never in service.
It is brand new. _____
As a matter of fact, this 'antique payphone' is only two weeks old. That's the reason for the (?) after 'Antique' in the title of the auction.
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Payphone History The Gray Paystation Mfg. Co. held the patent for the gravity drop coin signaling mechanism used in 3 slot payphones, and manufactured them for the Bell System until 1935. In 1948, Automatic Electric bought the payphone division of The Gray Paystation Mfg. Co. In 1957, Automatic Electric became part of General Telephone and Electronics (GTE). By the mid-1980s, Automatic Electric (GTE) discontinued manufacturing 3 slot payphones and scrapped their stock of finished sub-assemblies and parts. Somehow, a small quantity of all of th e assemblies and parts necessary to build 3 slot payphones survived. I am fortunate to have a source for these NOS parts. The assemblies pictured below are exactly as they were removed from the GTE warehouse in the mid-1980s. They have been in storage for over 20 years. _____ The Payphone Is Supplied With:
A telephone line coupler/power supply A top and front mounted instruction card holder with instruction cards The proper vintage locks and keys and A chrome plated Automatic Electric vault door
_____ The Payphone Top Assembly
The picture below is a 'stock' photo of a top assembly just like the one used to build this payphone. It is right out of storage and is an example of exactly how I receive them. These tops were built and tested by GTE.
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Payphone Bottom Assembly The pictures below are 'stock' photos of an assembled bottom as I receive them and exactly like the one used to build this payphone.
The last digit (A) in the part number designates the color (black). Rotary LPC payphones were available in 12 colors. A- Black B- Beige C- Med. Gray D- Dark Green E- Ivory F- Red G- Turquoise J- Pink M- White K- Lt. Blue S- Chrome _____
'Automatic Electric' (?)
The picture below shows the payphone with the top removed.
The long blue printed circuit board is the speech network. This circuit electrically matches the transmitter and receiver of the handset to the telephone line. There are many auctions on Ebay for payphones that have these 'blue boards' that say they are Automatic Electric payphones.
THEY AREN'T
These boards were built by the Teltronics Corp. of Gainsville, Florida. Teltronics manufactured complete, inexpensive 'after market' circuit boards for Automatic Electric 3-slot payphones. They were used by refurbishers to rebuild payphones economically and get them 'out the door' and back into revenue-producing service as quickly as posible. Although not high quality, they did an adequate job. ___ A Teltronics board was used to build this payphone in an effort to keep the auction's reserve as low as possible. It's not an original Automatic Electric part, but it's been rebuilt and should give another 40 years of reliable service. Using Automatic Electric internal parts would have made the reserve price of this auction much higher. _____
Added Circuitry
After the payphone was assembled, a coin control module that I designed and manufacture was installed. The coin control module is mounted between the switch hook assembly and the left side of the blue printed circuit board at the top of the back casting. ___ When these payphones were in service, deposited coins were collected only if the called party actually answered. Unfortunately, do to changes in telephone technology, a payphone that is capable of operating that way today would be very expensive. Since this payphone is being used for amusement purposes and is not a revenue producing public telephone, the coin return/collect function can be timed.
The payphone switches from coin return to collect 60 seconds after the initial deposit is made . This gives enough time to: Dial all the digits of the phone number, even if it has lots of 9s and 0s, which take the most time to dial Allows time for the call to connect Gives the called party time to answer after 3 or 4 rings ___ Timing this function adds coin control at a realistic cost. _ __
The coin control module operates the coin mechanism of the payphone exactly as it would have operated when the payphone was in actual service.
A small external 9 volt power supply powers both the coin control module and the coin mechanism.
The control module and the coin mechanism take no power, receive no information, and are totally isolated from the phone line.
This payphone was designed to operate with modern features such as 'Call Waiting'. There is no need to worry that this payphone won't work with your present telephone service, or if you change telephone service providers in the future. A Rotary To Touch Tone Converter can be added outside of the payphone at the wall jack, if it becomes necessary.
Every original detail has been duplicated in the design of this unique payphone; even the precise timing of the delay when deposited coins are returned or collected. These details are what give this payphone 'PERSONALITY' ___
USING THIS PAYPHONE IS LIKE TAKING A STEP BACK IN TIME!
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The pictures in this auction are the actual item you will receive. They are not 'stock' photographs. If a 'stock' photograph is used it will be identified and used for historic or educational purposes. ___
Obviously the fun of using this payphone is making outgoing calls because you are using the coin mechanism. You answer incoming calls as you would with any phone. ____
PLEASE! Make sure your telephone service provider supports rotary dialing before you bid.
If they don't, you will have to add a Rotary To Touch Tone converter between the payphone and the phone line. ___
This payphone was never intended to be used as a profit-making public telephone. It is sold for amusement purposes only!
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Scroll down and look at the pictures with detailed descriptions.
Please do not hesitate to email any questions you may have.
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Coin Control Module
The brain of the payphone is the programable coin control module. It's the small 'black block' at the top of the back casting mounted between the hook switch and the printed circuit board.
The coin control module tells the coin mechanism of the payphone how and when to operate. The operation of the coin control module and the coin mechanism is a function of the length of time the payphone's handset is off hook after the initial deposit is made.
When a dime or two nickels is deposited in the payphone, a short circuit that prevented the dial from functioning is removed and a signal is sent to the coin control module. When the coin control module receives this signal it tells the coin mechanism to: Eventually refund the initial deposit if the handset of the payphone is hung up before an elapsed time of about 60 seconds from the time the deposit was made; Eventually collect the initial deposit if the handset of the payphone is hung up after an elapsed time of about 60 seconds from the time the deposit was made; Perform this refund / collect function with a delay of 2-4 seconds after the handset is hung up (this timing is dependent on the model and vintage of the payphone); Perform this refund / collect function for a period of 1 second so that the deposited coin will have sufficient time to clear the coin mechanism before it resets. ___ Automatic Electric payphones have a second assembly associated with the coin mechanism that 'counts' the number of nickels that are deposited. If you scroll down to the picture of the inside of the payphone's top it is highlighted. When the coin control module signals the coin mechanism to reset, it is 'talking' to two assemblies that are mounted in different areas of the payphone. These two electro-mechanical assemblies, resetting at different rates, give Automatic Electric payphones a unique mechanical sound. It's another one of the characteristics of these payphones that give them 'Personality' ___
Each coin control module is individually programmed to assure the operation of the payphone it is installed in is historically correct. The coin control module is doing what the telephone company central office did in the past. ______
The Payphone's Top
This is the inside of the payphone's top. Notice the nickel counting assembly that is mounted on the coin track. The coil (* ) is an electromagnet that restores this assembly to its 'normal' position when the coin control module tells the coin mechanism to reset. It is this device and the coin relay operating together that give Automatic Electric payphones a unique sound when they collect or refund deposited coins. The lock is a type 29S. It is the proper lock for all Automatic Electric payphones. Below is a close-up of the GTE inventory tag from 1979. ___
Phone Line/Power Supply Coupler With An Electronic Ringer
The coupler connects the payphone to the telephone line and a 9 volt power supply that powers the coin control module and the coin mechanism. It has a built-in electronic ringer. ___ Below is a close-up of the coupler with the cover removed. The green device is the speaker for the electronic ringer. The ringer circuitry is under the speaker.
The back of the coupler is covered with double-faced tape. It is easily attached to a baseboard near the floor below the payphone. The gray telephone cable plugs into the telephone line. The small power supply plugs into a standard 110V outlet. The power supply is UL listed.
The payphone plugs into the connector in the top of the coupler. _____
Instruction Cards This payphone comes with a top and front mounted instruction card frame. The front instruction card is a photocopy of an original 'Autelco' Automatic Electric. The top card is a resized copy of a GTE booth card. It is being supplied with this payphone purely as a decoration. ___ Booth cards were advertising that were mounted in frames inside phonebooths. They were never intended to be mounted on the payphone. _____
Locks
The payphone is equipped with a 29S lock and key for the top and a 10L lock with 2 keys for the coin vault. _____
Condition
Although this payphone has been assembled from 'new old stock' parts, that does not mean its condition is flawless.
The new assemblies used to built it were in stock or storage for over 30 years.
Their boxes were opened for inventory, handled, and moved around.
They might have small scratches and imperfections.
However, I would say that the condition of this payphone is EXCELLENT.
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Memories
If you lived in an area that was serviced by an independant telephone company you definately used Automatic Electric payphones.
I'm sure the sounds produced by these payphones will bring back memories.
___
There is no shortage of Automatic Electric payphones on Ebay; they are not rare.
However,
I doubt that you will find one as properly engineered and well built as this one.
I'm absolutely sure you won't find one that mirrors every characteristic of the way these payphones operated when they were in actual service. ____
Payphone Personality One of the characteristics of 3-slot payphones that gave them their personality was the delay after the handset was hung-up, until the deposited coins were returned or collected. If you were a kid in the 1950s and 60s and grew up using 3-slots you didn't just hang-up the handset of a payphone and walk away. Back then ten cents was 'big money'! A candy bar cost 5 cents. A Coke (in a real glass bottle) was a dime. Maybe 'accidently' the coins in the payphone would be returned instead of collected. So, you stood and watched the payphone and waited and waited and waited! Remember?
This payphone was designed to mirror every original characteristic of the way you remember these payphones operating in 'the good old days'. ___ Any 3-slot that purports to operate like it did when it was in service, and instantly returns or collects the deposited coins when the handset is hung-up, is poorly designed and not historically correct.
___ If You Own A 3-Slot Payphone If you already own a prepay 3-slot payphone that is in 'as removed from service condition' and you would like the coin mechanism to operate, click on 'See Other Items' at the beginning of this auction. I manufacture an outboard payphone controller for that purpose. ___ Adding an outboard controller to your payphone is more cost-effective than buying a payphone with built-in coin control. ___
Directors, Set Designers & Prop Houses Because this payphone functions exactly as it would for the period in time it represents, it is very easy to work with. There is no need to 'act' that the payphone works; plug it into any phone line and it does. Plug another phone into the same line and you can talk to, cue, or prompt the actor during the performance while he is using the payphone. This payphone is ANIMATED; it is not just a visual prop. The sounds produced by this payphone when coins are deposited, refunded or collected can be used as a source of authentic audio.
_____ Sorry, No Popcorn The video that follows won't win any awards but it does an adequate job demonstrating how these payphones function. Pay close attention to the timing of the various coin functions. Notice the time delay before the payphone returns or collects deposited coins. 3-slot payphones NEVER instantly returned or collected deposited coins when the handset was hung up. ___ The nickel counting assembly is shown resetting from the one nickel position because the travel of the armature is more pronounced and easier to see. ___ This payphone was designed to mirror every original characteristic of the way these payphones operated in actual service. ___
The telephone audio you hear is from a 'Spokesman' telephone amplifier connected to the phone line and out of camera view. ___ The 3-slot in this auction is not the one being demonstrated in this video. However, it operates exactly the same way. ___
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A Suggestion
If you have an interest in antique payphones you should get a copy of this book.
'Payphone History' is the most comprehensive study of the evolution of the payphone ever undertaken. It is the result of an enormous amount of research. It covers over 100 years of payphone history. The author, Ron Knappen, is a recognized expert on the subject. The book is available on Ebay. Do a search for Ebay seller: THISUNDTHAT5HNQ
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Thanks for looking and have a great day! ____________
Terms of Sale
Bidding
If you have zero feedback you must contact us before bidding.
If you have more than 3 negatives in the past year you must contact us before bidding.
We reserve the right to cancel any bid for any reason.
P ayment
Payment is by Paypal ONLY!
New York State residents must add 8.7% Sales Tax or email a valid
Tax Resale Certificate after the close of the auction.
Shipping and Insurance
We Do Not Make A Profit On Shipping!
No local pickup - all items must be shipped.
We only ship via UPS within the U. S.
Insurance is MANDATORY!
We ship the next business day after payment is received.
We only ship via UPS in the US.
Shipments to Canada and Australia are by USPS.
Foreign bidders please note:
Shipments are via USPS
Customs Declarations are filled out accurately.
What is on the Customs Declaration is what is in the box.
The declared value on the Customs Declaration is the exact amount of the winning bid.
The winning bidder is solely responsible for all taxes, fees and duties.
Packing
Their is no charge for packing.
Packing material is a cost of doing business.
The payphone is encased in 2 inches of bubble wrap.
It is then double-boxed with bubble wrap between the two boxes.
The outer box is an extra heavy duty type ECT-44.
_____
Every effort is made to insure that what comes out of the box at your end is in the
same condition it was in when it went into the box at our end.
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