Tunbridge, VT. , Trade, an electrical engineer, Patrick Shlot has spent countless hours with new and old technology. But it was not until he found himself in the rural wormont that he realized that he could provide a public service to his penant to repair the old pay phone.
“I realized, wow, there is no cell service for 10 miles (16 km) in any direction,” he said. “The community can actually benefit from something in this way.”
Shlot, a full -time engineer of the Electric Airplane Manufacturing Company Beta Technologies, decided to contact the owners of their local general stores with the idea of installing old pay phones around the city and making them independent for public use. When he explained that there would be no cost of the host, the owner of North Tunbridge General Store Mike and Lois Gross installed their first phone to Shlot outside the store.
“Everyone is very surprised, and they are preferring, ‘Is it a real payment? Does it really work?” And I like, “Yes, but no longer spend any money,” said Mike Gross, the owner of the store. “We have used it to people that have broken. It’s a very good thing because the service is very smiling in the worm.”
The first free public phone installation was the idea of the shlotte, but he says that two other places came from the members of the community requesting the community members, inside the Latham Library and an informative booth in Randolf from Interstate 89.
“Other phones have been reaching outside, which is very good,” he said.
Schlott buys old pay phones, which can be in the $ 100- $ 500 to flea markets, internet listing or auction and can fix them in their basement workshop. All of his phones have all an internet connection to install – no coin is necessary.
“Originally, there is a small piece of tool that converts an internet telephone line into an analog line that these phones can turn off,” he said.
With the costs covering the costs, which are about $ 2-$ 3 per month for each phone line and less than $ 5 per month for calls, the shlot acts as an operator for each phone and can field or move the call, when necessary, can help users. If a user dials zero, the phone will ring the individual cellphone of the shlotte, although he uses an app to keep his number private.
So far, the phone has seen the most use in place of Latham Library. According to Schlot, 370 calls have been made since the phone was installed five months ago, to call your parents for school pickup to meet the needs of students without cellphones.
Hannah McClane is a regular in North Tunbridge General Store and says that she gets relief to know that the phone is that whenever her 16 -year -old daughters may need it.
“It makes me feel safe if the children are out and about it, if they had an emergency in such a way that they can stop it and use it. I think these are a great service,” she said.
Schlott is looking at the increased interest in service, with installing another free phone in works in the Brownwell Library in Essex. For now, he is planning to continue the costs connected to each phone, but noted that the project could be turned into scales.
He said, “It is good to see some retro that has an appeal to that old school, but also works. In fact it works to listen to the ring, take it and a dial tone, I think it has real power,” he said. “And I don’t think they should finish in a landfill. They should be recycled and kept for good use.”
