Kinda want one for my man den one day.

I purchased my Northern Telecom Centurion pay phone (made in the 80s)
from eBay. There are lots out there on eBay, and probably elsewhere too.

Make sure you get the keys with the phone, if you can.
These things are built like a tank (and weighs like one!).

Good luck,
- Sylvain.

Look at this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTOMATIC-.....7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Eric

Bell World stores used to sell the old Centurion phones from the 80's in the past couple years, and they have all the locks drilled out, so all you have to use is a flat head screwdriver to turn the mech to open the phone up, i think they wanted like $150, i'd give them a call, shipping one of these beasts will be expensive.

Also, make sure you get a mounting plate, otherwise it will be hard to mount on your wall, i have the phone, mounting plate, and phone booth so it's easy

Eric

Syvlain,  do you have it setup so you use the coins, and can dialup the phone to change the rating?

Quoted from Tuborg

Syvlain,  do you have it setup so you use the coins, and can dialup the phone to change the rating?

No, you cannot set the phone to operate on coin on a residential phone line.
The payphones use special linecards at the Central Office (Bell here) to support
the coin-operated operation (as far as I know, anyways).

There is probably a way to get the coins to be accepted anyway in the phone itself,
but I do not expect our Bell residential line to act upon receiving or not the coins signal.

I had set-up my Centurion payphone a while ago and it worked like a regular phone
(with dial tone when lifting the receiver, DTMF (touch-tone) to dial).

Cheers,
- Sylvain.

Ah.   I was reading this article

http://www.dmine.com/phworld/payphone/cocot.htm

Quoted Text

The COCOT pay phone is different than the regular telephone company (telco) pay phone since it must do all the rate information and "billing" for dialed direct (non-operator assisted/calling card calls) inside the phone rather than relying on the telco switch to do it all. This is accomplished by a built-in computer - which handles all customer-interface by a LCD screen (sometimes even an LED screen) and voice-synthesizers.

COCOT providers can check and/or change the settings on the phone remotely. The phone itself contains a special computer modem inside where the COCOT provider can dial it up and access the internal computer of the COCOT.

and it mentioned the Centurium was a COCOT (Customer Owned Coin Operated Telephone)

So that got me thinking that a COCOT phone connects to a normal residential line (i.e., the line is not a payphone line).   Would be a neat trinket to own being as I/we work @ Nortel.   I should be able to find the manuals around here somewhere....

In order to use coins, an old enough version may be rigged to use a relay that makes a closed until powered off connection upon the deposit of a coin.

ahhh... Google is your friend here: http://atcaonline.com/controller.html

Why do you want to put change into a pay phone at home? Or better yet, why even have one? I hate payphones, it's one reason I have a cell phone. Do you also rig your pins to take quarters only? Mine are on free play.

Having an indoor payphone in a home reminds me of the premise of A Night at the Roxbury. They wanted to open a club where the inside looked like the street, and the street looked like a club.

I use my payphone as a spare change collector, it works great for quarters, dimes, nickels, and no you can't make it need coins to operate, but you can just use it as a regular phone, and make and receive calls (people love the bell ringer) and it will accept the coins and drop them into the cash box.

and yes, i do have all my machines setup to use coins, as i hate when people who come over who do not know too much about pinball, end up running 4 games, and walking away from it with a bunch of games going, this way, they have to put in a coin if they want to play, no starting 4 games by accident.

Also, one of my pins has a $2 coin acceptor and one has a $1 coin acceptor so those grab the rest of my spare change, and all machines have a .984 token mech in them, and they all run on chuck-e-cheese tokens (all my friends said my basement was like chuck-e-cheese, and now it's more authentic)

Just my .02

Eric

Quoted from thunderstorm

Just my .02

Eric

Don't you mean "just my .984 token"?  

Quoted from thunderstorm

I use my payphone as a spare change collector, it works great for quarters, dimes, nickels, and no you can't make it need coins to operate,

OK, I definitely believe you.   But what I don't understand is this:

Quoted Text

COCOTS
A COCOT is a Customer Owned Coin Operated Telephone. It is a pay phone which is not owned or operated by the local phone company. Unlike phone company pay phones, COCOTS do not usually run on a coin line, they just run on a normal phone line. For a brief period some COCOT companies have were using ordinary fortress phones on coin lines, but they're not around anymore. COCOT phones have computer-like circuitry in them and they handle all the billing for the calls placed on them. COCOT phone companies have always used this type of equipment, but lately, some local phone companies have started using COCOT equipment in their pay phone service.  

I'm wondering how they can work on a regular phone line.  The above quote would make me think that a COCOT phone could be setup to accept coins on a regular phone line.   I'm confused as to how an operator could control a coin return?   I spent a bit of time trying to find some manuals at work, but no luck yet.  As to why set it up, no idea really, nostalgia, geek-fun and maybe some fun with the kids who already talk too much on the phone  

Eric you have one of the coolest gamerooms.   I like the coin idea, too, as then you "value" your game more and a special means more.   I'm just oo lazy to get all the coin doors working.  

Tuborg

Thanks for the comment about my gamesroom, it's a work in progress, took 4 years to complete, and now it's full with the latest addition of a Ripley's pinball on the weekend.

I have been reading the stuff online about the COCOT stuff, and i work for Bell Canada as a field technician, and none of this stuff makes sence to me, i'm not really sure how it works, and to be honest, people get a huge kick out of even seeing it, and everyone always says "do you have to pay to use it?" or "does it really work" and they are always shocked when they pick it up and hear a dial tone, so to make life simple, i'd just mount the phone, wire it up to your home phone line, and just use it as a regular phone / piggybank

Eric

Quoted from jonny_eh

Why do you want to put change into a pay phone at home? Do you also rig your pins to take quarters only? Mine are on free play.

Nostalgia my friend.  In another 20 years, particularly after you start having kids (if you don't already) you will begin to understand and will want to appologize for your ignorance when your kids don't understand why you'd ever want to keep that stupid antiquated XBox (or iPod, or iPhone) you've had all these years.....  

Quoted from Tuborg

OK, I definitely believe you.   But what I don't understand is this:


I'm wondering how they can work on a regular phone line.  The above quote would make me think that a COCOT phone could be setup to accept coins on a regular phone line.   I'm confused as to how an operator could control a coin return?   I spent a bit of time trying to find some manuals at work, but no luck yet.  As to why set it up, no idea really, nostalgia, geek-fun and maybe some fun with the kids who already talk too much on the phone  

Eric you have one of the coolest gamerooms.   I like the coin idea, too, as then you "value" your game more and a special means more.   I'm just oo lazy to get all the coin doors working.  

Just a guess, but I think the purpose here is to make teenagers, for example, responsible for the cost and use of a home phone line.  Or in a situation like a bar where the phone is used as a money making device.  Such that the phone records the cost of outgoing calls and they must be paid for to work, but I would suspect that the owner still receives a bill from the phone company and he empties the cash box and pays the balance of a discounted bill to the phone company (keeping the profit). The advantage to the phone company is that they don't have to service the phone and collect the cash.

That's my guess.  And if I'm wrong and it's an original idea, I need to go and patent it...

I beleive the phone and booth add to the arcade theme....most arcades had a payphone...same as why do we put gumball/candy machines and popcorn machines in as well? THEME!!


OR a big ol juke or slot machine?  THEME!!

Sure, I'd buy the nostalgia card, but here are some things that are more useful that I'd add before a payphone:
-Popcorn machine (Tuborg's was awesome at his party, would someone ever describe a payphone as awesome?)
-Slurpee machine
-Nacho cheese dispenser (OMG, I think I need to get one now! Good thing I don't have the room)
-Love tester (Why am I always a wet fish?)
-Grip tester
-Jukebox

All I'm saying is that a payphone may seem like a good idea, but I really doubt you'll ever use it. Unless you just want to look at it, which is cool I guess, but I'd rather just put up a cool poster or something.

Mike at The church of the Silverball has a working payphone, not with coins, but I still think it's pretty cool.  

Quoted from jonny_eh

All I'm saying is that a payphone may seem like a good idea, but I really doubt you'll ever use it.

Well, in my case...

   I have a gameroom;
+ I have friends (or pretend I have some);
+ Friends sometimes call me (well, telemarketers do... );
+ When I am in my gameroom, I want (sometimes) to answer the phone;
= I have a payphone in my gameroom.

Like others said, it's about the THEME.  Payphone is 'set to free play'.  I don't have a phone boot (too much real estate) but the payphone takes little room.  And I use it a lot (make and receive calls for free)


Chris

Quoted from RedFive

Like others said, it's about the THEME.  Payphone is 'set to free play'.  I don't have a phone boot (too much real estate) but the payphone takes little room.

A booth is overkill but a pedestal stand takes up very little space and  will add  that extra touch.
You can find them lightly dented for around $40. no guest has ever noticed mine is banged up on one side.
they are too busy saying "way kewl"


http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=129785

I think my Superman phone is cooler. When someone calls, it plays the Superman theme. Now that's kewl!

Johnny,

You not only described my gameroom, but also what i have in the garage,

I have a

Cotton Candy Machine (Full Size)
Popcorn Machine & Cart (Full Size - not from home outfitters)
Slush Machine (Professional 2 bowl BUNN machine)
Nacho Warmer (No Cheese Warmer, Sorry)


Basement

Love Tester (Stupid .25 cent counter top one)
no grip tester.

So i pretty much have what you are saying would be a cool gameroom yay!

Eric

SOmeone has a phone booth that they want off their property north of Burlington.  I am pretty sure it was a Kijiji ad.  A phone booth would be perfect for any house with teens. Kind of like a cone of silence, you can keep your eyse on them, but also don't have to hear everyword of the conversation.   A heck of a lot better than facebook.

Quoted from websherpa

SOmeone has a phone booth that they want off their property north of Burlington.  I am pretty sure it was a Kijiji ad.  A phone booth would be perfect for any house with teens. Kind of like a cone of silence, you can keep your eyse on them, but also don't have to hear everyword of the conversation.   A heck of a lot better than facebook.

That is until they hit college and they try to cram in as many friends as possible in order to get some kind of record.  

Quoted from websherpa

SOmeone has a phone booth that they want off their property north of Burlington.  I am pretty sure it was a Kijiji ad.  A phone booth would be perfect for any house with teens. Kind of like a cone of silence, you can keep your eyse on them, but also don't have to hear everyword of the conversation.   A heck of a lot better than facebook.

Got any more info?? Ill go pick it up for sure next week! (PM)

I have the pedestal booth as described in tacochef reply next to my vegas five times slot and the Whole family loves havin ALL the get togethers at my house......its all about the THEME with the pins and vids as well....


And i have a love tester!   one day when those numbers come up...you will all know!   i will be the guy in the the pic with the machine!

Quoted from Pharoah007

Got any more info?? Ill go pick it up for sure next week! (PM)

PM sent (yesterday).