JustinJul 14
Bill
NBC reporting on a guy on Vermont refurbishing payphones and setting them up on cell dead zones for free. I kinda want to give him all my money. Thats is fucking awesome.
Jul 13 at 11:17pmWeb
Show threadBillJul 14
Hey, NBC posted the video. https://youtu.be/sbFTCYTS_bA?si=Fmxy9KKrKX62UweS
Good News: Vermont engineer restores payphones for community use

YouTube
Show threadDreaming of dad jazz.Jul 14
@Sempf very cool. Have you seen https://Futel.net yet?
futel.net

The Futel website

Show threadBillJul 14
@michaelcoyote I hadn't but someone mentioned it. I guess there are a few, so cool!
Show threadDreaming of dad jazz.Jul 14

@Sempf

I'm so glad people are doing these kinds of things to keep public telephony alive.

Show threaddarf 😈Jul 13
@Sempf I've met some truly odd duck engineers in Vermont in the best possible way. POTS is how I got my start and it's awesome to see people continue driving this.
Show threaddanjmcsJul 13
@Sempf This is so cool and such a great idea! https://wheb.iheart.com/featured/lend-a-helping-can/content/2025-07-03-a-vermont-engineer-is-bringing-back-to-life-a-staple-of-the-50s-and-60s/
A Vermont engineer is bringing back to life a staple of the 50s and 60s | 100.3 WHEB | Lend A Helping Can

Patrick Schlott fixes up and installs old payphones in Vermont communities where people need to place calls—after making a key modification to remove the need for coins.

Lend A Helping Can
Show threadJessamynJul 13
@Sempf hey that guy is from my town, I can confirm he is very cool and the project is neat.
Show threadJessamynJul 14
@Sempf actually I'm assuming he's the guy I'm thinking of. It's entirely possible there's more than one. This is the one in my town. https://randtel.co/
RandTel

Welcome to RandTel

Show threadJim JonesJul 14
@Sempf That. Is. Awesome.
Show threadDavid ChartierJul 14
@Sempf Wait. So he’s putting a cell radio in pay phone boxes then sets them up to make calls for free? That’s wild!
Show threadBillJul 14
@chartier They didn't get into the tech details, but it looked that way to me from the video of him working. Arduino, I think. Dunno why he wouldn't use a raspberry pi but you use what you know, you know?
Show threadliquidlampJul 14

@Sempf @chartier

Looks like these are being setup in libraries/stores/etc where cell service is bad, so I dont think hes using a cell modem.

I'm betting hes connecting to the local buildings wifi and routing calls that way via VOIP, voice over IP. So these look like a simultaneous donation, his payphone/tech/effort and the locations power/internet.

Show threadAlex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKJul 14

@Sempf @chartier he may use an Arduino to control the power/signalling to the payphones and other linked equipment.

He appears to be using as much of the original tech as possible - payphones need various extra signalling on top of standard analogue lines - and maybe some other type of ATA (analogue telephone adapter) for the VOIP end (a commercial off the shelf one would be easiest way of dealing with things like battery and ringing voltage, and I believe some of the Grandstream ones even handle loop disconnect (pulse/rotary) dialling).

Show threadgroff6d ago
@vfrmedia @Sempf @chartier
Yep, I use a couple of Grandstream ht80x series boxes to handle pulse dialing. They've proved to be very reliable.
Show threadnot ch1cJul 14
@Sempf love this and can attest: VT has more than its share of cell dead zones
Show threadBillJul 14
@cthon1c In populated areas too! Last time we were over there we were shocked at how many places we couldn't get a signal
Show threadnot ch1cJul 14
@Sempf so retro 😂
Show threadRemnant&Jul 14
@Sempf There's another org doing this too: https://futel.net
futel.net

The Futel website

Show threadFritz AdalisJul 14
@remnant @Sempf @Sempf
There's also https://philtel.org/.
Home

Building an amateur payphone network in Philadelphia.

philtel
Show threadMeJul 14

@Sempf

So great, and I'm not the least little bit surprised. This is so on-brand for VT right now. People here working outside the capitalist economy to support those around them and provide necessary goods and services.

Show threadBillJul 14
@anne Can y'all spread some of that helping other people shit around to the rest of the country? Vermont is small but mighty.
Show threadpetes_bread_eqn_xlsJul 14
@Sempf inspired by @philtel
Show threadBun (he/they)Jul 14
@Sempf that is amazing! does he just hook them up to power lines?
Show threadBillJul 14
@bun It needs internet of some kind.
Show threadsb arms & legsJul 14

@Sempf
POTS forever! No, not that #POTS, THAT POTS!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_old_telephone_service

Plain old telephone service - Wikipedia

Show threadBillJul 14
@sb Copper is expensive, dude. No, really, two of the elders I care for are ex Ma Bell folks in their 70s And they both absolutely insist to have a POTS line in their house. The local phone people hate them horribly. It brings joy to my shriveled little soul.
Show threadMegan Lynch (she/her)Jul 15

@Sempf @sb I had a line as well. Unfortunately, ATT is so pissed off that CPUC wouldn't let them get rid of landlines that they've decided to just keep hiking prices until they hopefully drive landline folks off of it.

So DSL rates went up as well, passing on the hikes ATT made.

Show threadsb arms & legsJul 15

@meganL @Sempf
I was using my grandmother's trusty model 500 rotary up until 2008.

My favourite thing in the world was answering a call by snapping the bottom of my fist down against the cable end of the handset, popping it into the air then catching it and bringing it to my ear in one smooth motion.

Show threadRuss SharekJul 14

@Sempf

I recently emailed him about the payphone here in #ThisOldClownHouse!

Nice guy, directed me to a more geographically local project for help. :)

Show threadsb arms & legsJul 14
@Sempf
We also still have a few of these Millenium phones in our town.
Show threadJeri DanskyJul 14
@Sempf @jessamyn More reporting here:
https://www.core77.com/posts/137183/Engineer-Fixes-and-Re-Installs-Old-Payphones-Provides-Free-Calls-to-the-Public
Engineer Fixes and Re-Installs Old Payphones, Provides Free Calls to the Public - Core77

Payphones "were the only things that were built to last for decades and be out in the elements," says electrical engineer Patrick Schlott. He should know; as a hobby, he buys secondhand payphones, rewires them, then asks local businesses in rural Vermont if they'd let him install them. His goal

Core77
Show threadJessamynJul 14
@jeridansky @Sempf Definitely that is my guy! So funny, I've swapped a ton of email with him and even talked on the phone but I didn't know what he looked like. Meanwhile, my FUTEL zine just arrived today!
Show threadRich Stein (he/him)Jul 15
@Sempf
Come on down to Philly! That's what @philtel does: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1144627726/public-pay-phones-are-returning-to-philadelphia-this-time-the-calls-are-free
@jetsilver