It's mine, I tell you.
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I contacted a company who stocks spares for UK payphones, asking them to send me a set of keys to try.
They replied with "That will not be possible" and the following photo.
@jonty challenge lock for the lock people that come to emf?
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@lpbkdotnet Yep, we realised that too!
This phone came from Bath (we've even found the phonebox), but I'm not sure I can be bothered to chase engineers. We know the lock was changed in 2007 as we did some keyhole surgery to extract the logbook.
@jonty Oh it's that one!
I had wondered who won it.
Unfortunately, although I do know a few current and ex engineers from the westcountry, none of them were in Bath as far as I know.
However, I "might" know someone who knows someone... It may come to nothing, but it can't hurt to ask.
I had previously asked someone who I know used to steal cash from payphones in the early 90s how they got in
Unfortunately their methods were horrifically destructive - so not a suitable approach here!
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I contacted a company who stocks spares for UK payphones, asking them to send me a set of keys to try.
They replied with "That will not be possible" and the following photo.
@jonty aren't these all tubular keys and your phone has a "normal" key?
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@jonty aren't these all tubular keys and your phone has a "normal" key?
@nicoduck Correct! They have now concluded that they aren't allowed to sell us a key, but could unlock it for us.
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I contacted a company who stocks spares for UK payphones, asking them to send me a set of keys to try.
They replied with "That will not be possible" and the following photo.
@jonty that is a really cool response
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@nicoduck Correct! They have now concluded that they aren't allowed to sell us a key, but could unlock it for us.
@jonty why aren't they allowed to sell a key? Are they allowed to sell a key to another locksmith? Or if you can get the bitting, I could cut one (I happen to have a locksmith license now and a key cutting machine)
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Do I have the keys? No. Can we pick the lock? Also no.
When I bought a German 1990s "Clubtelefon 2", I was able to disassemble the set to remove the lock, and then take the lock to a locksmith to have a new key made for it.
Mind you, the Clubtelefon 2 is not meant for high-security. The lock mechanism is made of plastic.
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@NekoEd @becomethewaifu Correct! A friend brought one over for me in his hold luggage.
@jonty @NekoEd @becomethewaifu
When I was in Canada a couple of years ago, I nearly used one (at Grand Beach Provincial Park, Manitoba). But it wanted something incredible like $3 for the first minute, and I'm still not 100% sure it was hooked up.
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@sa I have an entire box of ATAs, don't worry - the main problem is going to be getting into the damn thing as we don't have keys!
The fun problem is going to be reverse engineering the firmware to figure out the phone-home configuration protocol, if you fancy helping with that
German payphones will not work with most ATAs, because they expect 60 V open-circuit and 32 mA loop current, as against 48 V and 20 mA from a typical ATA, but there are a few. Better still, there are ones which support both the higher power and the central-office time-pulse charging method. But how British payphones work I have no idea.
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It's mine, I tell you. My own. My precious.
@jonty Do you have the older 2-slot, Built-Like-A-Tank ones?
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@jonty Oh it's that one!
I had wondered who won it.
Unfortunately, although I do know a few current and ex engineers from the westcountry, none of them were in Bath as far as I know.
However, I "might" know someone who knows someone... It may come to nothing, but it can't hurt to ask.
I had previously asked someone who I know used to steal cash from payphones in the early 90s how they got in
Unfortunately their methods were horrifically destructive - so not a suitable approach here!
@jonty sadly I drew a blank on the keys
However, they did offer me these locks which look like they "might" be the right fit
They've had the pins removed, so will operate with a screwdriver - but (assuming they fit) will still hold the case shut without looking too "wrong"
Let me know if you want these spares as a backup option in case you end up with no options apart from drilling.
It might be more fun to lend it to the EMF locksport village as a challenge though?
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I contacted a company who stocks spares for UK payphones, asking them to send me a set of keys to try.
They replied with "That will not be possible" and the following photo.
@jonty Try this guy!
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@jonty @NekoEd @becomethewaifu
When I was in Canada a couple of years ago, I nearly used one (at Grand Beach Provincial Park, Manitoba). But it wanted something incredible like $3 for the first minute, and I'm still not 100% sure it was hooked up.
@publius @jonty @becomethewaifu I've seen a handful in the US in the distant past (25 years ago).
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@jonty sadly I drew a blank on the keys
However, they did offer me these locks which look like they "might" be the right fit
They've had the pins removed, so will operate with a screwdriver - but (assuming they fit) will still hold the case shut without looking too "wrong"
Let me know if you want these spares as a backup option in case you end up with no options apart from drilling.
It might be more fun to lend it to the EMF locksport village as a challenge though?
@lpbkdotnet Oh yes please! I kind of wanted it functioning for EMF so we'll see how desperate I get...
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@jonty why aren't they allowed to sell a key? Are they allowed to sell a key to another locksmith? Or if you can get the bitting, I could cut one (I happen to have a locksmith license now and a key cutting machine)
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@1000millimeter @jonty In Germany, you can only do locksmiths stuff (for money) if you're reliable (money/tax wise) and don't have a criminal record.
license in that term meas "just" that the administration registers your business and doesn't decline the application. -
@1000millimeter @jonty In Germany, you can only do locksmiths stuff (for money) if you're reliable (money/tax wise) and don't have a criminal record.
license in that term meas "just" that the administration registers your business and doesn't decline the application. -
@1000millimeter @jonty it escalated a bit and maybe one day I earn the money I just invested in machines and key blanks?
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@lpbkdotnet Oh yes please! I kind of wanted it functioning for EMF so we'll see how desperate I get...
@jonty @lpbkdotnet Love the fediverse for conversations like this one!
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@lpbkdotnet Oh yes please! I kind of wanted it functioning for EMF so we'll see how desperate I get...
@jonty I'll see what I can sort out. It may take a week or two for me to be in the same place as the locks - but I'll send them your way when I can.
I don't expect they'll cost enough for me to be worried about passing the costs on - but I'll let you know if they're above that threshold.
