pay phone story

Payphone Story – Global History of Payphones and Phone Booths

Hungarian Payphone- TMM 78 and TMM 80 payphones

Wonderful phone- Hungary’s TMM 78 and TMM 80 were developed by the postal experimental institute and manufactured by Mechanikai Művek. The orange-yellow rotary model supported domestic calls; the red pushbutton version also enabled international calling and accepted multiple coin denominations. Their contrasting colours distinguished models, although the original design rationale remains undocumented.

Name	TMM 78 Orange PT Dial 1978 and TMM 80 Red PUSHBUTTON PT 1980
Date	1978 – 80 Wonderful phone
Manufacturer	Developed by the Posta Kísérleti Intézet, the Hungarian postal experimental institute, and manufactured by Mechanikai Művek, they brought electronic coin handling to public calling.
Credit	With thanks to- www.postamuzeum.hu

TMM 78 and TMM 80 payphones

Hungary’s TMM 78 and TMM 80 payphones combined bold colours with a distinctive sculpted housing, creating some of the country’s most recognisable public telephones. Developed by the Posta Kísérleti Intézet, the Hungarian postal experimental institute, and manufactured by Mechanikai Művek, they brought electronic coin handling to public calling.

The orange-yellow TMM 78 featured a rotary dial and accepted a single coin denomination. It supported local and domestic long-distance calls. Up to seven coins could be inserted together, remaining visible through a small window until used. A specialised mechanism checked the coins.

The red TMM 80 replaced the rotary dial with a recessed pushbutton keypad and supported local, domestic and international calls. Its electronic payment system could be configured to accept as many as four coin denominations, again holding up to seven coins. Budapest’s Telefónia Museum dates its examples of both models to 1980.

Their visual appeal lies in the contrast between the brightly coloured body, black handset and silver instruction panel. The handset sits vertically within a deep recess, while an armoured cord protects its connection. Large pictograms explain the calling sequence. On the red example, a plaque urges users to look after the telephone: “It could save a life.”