#16
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I can think of at least two newer payphones near where I live. They have small VFD readouts, accept plastic as well as coins and at least one has a full set of letter keys on it. So now this region is only one century behind.
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#17
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And this is good or bad?
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#18
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It was a joke. I meant that this region is lacking in a lot of things that are standard in other provinces.
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#19
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Interestingly, as late as 1989, there were phone numbers not directly dialable in the US:
https://www.yarchive.net/phone/inward_operator.html Gives an interesting account of some of the fun stuff you could encounter in the phone system, back then... |
#20
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I live in a very small town (population just under 3100) in northeastern Ohio. There are no more pay phones here. The last one I remember seeing was in the supermarket three blocks down the road from my apartment. That one was removed a couple years ago, as was the phone outside the convenience store near the lake, just up the road from here.
I guess the sheer popularity of cell phones pretty much killed pay phones as everyone, or so it seems, has at least a basic cell phone these days, with many folks upgrading to so-called smartphones as soon as their wireless carrier makes them an offer. (I did this a couple of years ago, and have never looked back.) The wired phone carriers aren't out of business yet, but they are nowhere near the communications giants they once were before wireless came in. I know folks who don't have landline phones in their homes anymore, instead using a cell phone for day-to-day communications and other business. "The times they are a'changin'", as the old song says; this is very true nowadays with just about everything, including the telephone, which has come a very long way since the days of hand-cranked wall phones of the 1900s (the ones where you asked an operator to dial or to connect you to the number you wanted to call) and slightly earlier. If he were alive today, Alexander Graham Bell would be astounded to see the telephone system he invented (and after whom the Bell System was named) having come this far. I honestly don't think he could have imagined a day in which people would be able to call others on a portable phone that can fit in a pocket and is run by a battery, much less be able to do their banking, shopping, etc. from just about anywhere, just by using a smartphone.
__________________
Jeff, WB8NHV Collecting, restoring and enjoying vintage Zenith radios since 2002 Zenith. Gone, but not forgotten. |
Audiokarma |
#21
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To quote the Wilipedia article ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nortel...nes#Millennium ):
Quote:
As the Wikipedia article mentions, without the control from the Central Office they are otherwise unusable. Up until a few years ago every station on the SkyTrain had at least three in the ticket hall. The rapid adoption of cellphones meant that TransLink was paying more to lease them than they got back and most stations removed them. Last edited by MIPS; 01-14-2019 at 08:59 PM. |
#22
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A payphone with a minicomputer included,
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#23
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There is an Amish-owned country store that I've been to in Pennsylvania that still has a working pay phone in the parking lot. They had GTE in that area instead of the Bell System so it's odd looking to my eyes. Even there, I doubt it gets much use. I've seen many Amish using cellphones.
We were at a National Park earlier this year and they had a 60's vintage phone booth built into the wall of the gift shop with the phone still there but a sign stating it was for decoration only. It also gave directions to a real pay phone located elsewhere in the complex. This was an area with very spotty cell reception. It was a real hold-out for getting a cellphone. The final straw came when I made a deal to get some free vintage magazines that were posted online. The giver wanted me to call when I got close. I had to drive an extra 10 minutes out of the way to find a pay phone.
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Bryan |
#24
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I've got a mobile (cell) phone for years. Anyway, I use two simple phones, old, monochrome display. Older then 13 years
In Romania the are 0 pay phones left in use. Probably you can call 112 (Europeanen version of 911), but no more. Otherwise, you may have to ask somebody to let use the phone. |
#25
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There are a couple that work at the jersey shore , saw one some other place that had a sign that said Yes it works !
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Audiokarma |
#26
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I have spotted a pay phone !
In parking lot of a coffee shop on Rt. 101A east in Nashua N.H. 73 Zeno LFOD ! |
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