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Arcade Collecting => Miscellaneous Arcade Talk => Topic started by: dskansas on September 21, 2010, 01:15:28 pm

Title: Payphone problem
Post by: dskansas on September 21, 2010, 01:15:28 pm
I bought an old Verizon/GTE payphone off of eBay and got it working just fine. I had to buy a new 4.8v battery for it off of payhone.com and for some reason it won't hold a charge. I have the manual and figured out how to program it and even do a quick charge for the battery but it just won't last. So now the phone rings but when I pick it up it just keeps ringing. I was wondering if I could hook up an old Motorola power adapter that is 4.8v 350ma in place of the  battery that is 4.8v 500ma? I know these things are supposed to be line powered and was wondering if maybe since I live in a rural area if there isn't enough power to keep the battery charged up. I think it has the Protel 310 board in it if that helps any.

My other thought is that the hookswitch might be bad but since they are magnetic I was thinking that there wasn't much that could go wrong with them.

Thanks,
Dennis
Title: Re: Payphone problem
Post by: Ken Layton on September 21, 2010, 03:33:15 pm
Suggest checking with tech support at the manufacturer:

http://www.protelinc.com/ProtelWeb/ (http://www.protelinc.com/ProtelWeb/)

North Atlantic also repairs Protel & Elcotel Payphone circuit boards regardless of model:

http://www.naicomm.com/Pay%20Phone%20Repair.html (http://www.naicomm.com/Pay%20Phone%20Repair.html)
Title: Re: Payphone problem
Post by: dskansas on September 21, 2010, 04:23:47 pm
Thanks Ken, I will look into both of those links. $50 + parts sounds pretty reasonable.
Title: Re: Payphone problem
Post by: dskansas on September 22, 2010, 12:43:34 pm
I've been talking with Alfonso from payphone.com and he pointed out something that I didn't know. Apparently the phone doesn't charge the battery unless it is being used and sometimes I go a month or so without using the payphone in my gameroom. I guess this means I need to spend more time in there using the phone so it will keep the battery charged up.
Title: Re: Payphone problem
Post by: Ken Layton on September 22, 2010, 01:45:03 pm
That is correct! It must be connected to a phone line or the battery will die.
Title: Re: Payphone problem
Post by: therylmccoy on June 09, 2015, 06:29:26 pm
How often would the phone need to be used to charge the battery?