TELEPHONE No. 705

The Telephone No. 705 was the ‘pay on answer’ payphone designed for use with subscriber trunk dialling (STD).  It was made by Associated Automation, part of the Elliott Automation group of companies and was intend for use in public call offices.  A more compact offering was used for privately rented payphones, using a Tele. 711 and a coinbox, mounted on a wooden back board.  A technical description can be found in the IPOEE Journal  (January 1959, page 343).

The original Telephone No. 705 (shown to the right) was relatively easy to break into, especially in remote places.  And for these reasons an armoured version of this was then produced and all the original models replaced.

The main difference in the two is that the armoured version is heavy gauge steel, originally painted grey, but later painted black and had a cash box cover that slid up.  The cash box area also protruded out at the front about one inch.  The armoured version used the Lock No. 42 for the mechanism cover but still retained the Lock No. 6 for the cash box cover.

Although the later version reduced break-ins, people then started to remove the whole unit by smashing the rear of the telephone box, with sledge hammers, in an attempt to release the fixing bolts.  Another problem was that the protruding cash box became a urinal for drunk individuals and this tended to seize the cash box cover lock, which was situated in the very bottom of the cash box.

Go to Box Coin Collecting No. 705 for more information.

Circuit diagram - N805.

Early version
Cash box cover slides down allowing cash box to be removed

 

Armoured BCC No. 705

Front view of the later Telephone No. 705	Internal view showing terminal strip to the left of the mechanism	External view of a rather tatty 705 in black.  Note that the lock and mechanism are missing.