Coin-Operated TV's

[LKellerIII]

I stayed in a Motel 6 in Redding, California in October 1972. In those days, you could get a single room at that spartain chain for under $10 - I think I paid $8.99 for the room. The TV was a 12 inch black and white that was operated by quarters. It was the first and only time I'd ever had a coin operated TV in any hotel or motel room, but for $8.99, I wasn't complaining.

 

[visaman]

I had my first and only encounter at the Portland Oregon Greyhound station in 1999. I got a great deal from Vancouver, BC to Las Vegas for $99 round trip! This was my first road trip by bus on my own, and Portland was the dinner stop, and I was already having doubts but I saw these weird TV seats, so I tried it, the set only picked up one channel, and it just happened to have the Simpsons (which I used to watch back then), I was so happy, because the Simpsons also aired in Vancouver at the exact same time as it was here, so it was a bit like being home. Well, I just had enough change for a few minutes, the picture was iffy and in B&W, but it was great. Long story short, 30 hours later, I made it to Vegas, but would never do that again. Ironicly I flew to Vegas in 2003 for $99! Can't even take the bus for that now :'(

In 2006, I took the train to Portland, and unfortunately they took away all the TVs :'( but I'm glad I saw one in my lifetime.

 

[WMC2006]

I don't find myself on this thread, so if I have already said this, I say it again.

Michael, are you taking over for Yeziknoradio on the task of bringing long dead threads back to life? Because that's his job. Yez might get really really mad at you for taking his job. ;D

 

[searadiofreak]

Yep, some Motel 6's were still operating on B&W coin operated tv's as late as 1978. Bellingham, WA was one example. I spent about 1.25 watching tv there on a terrible B&W tv. How times have changed. Now Motel 6 offers the same cable lineups, for the most part, that any luxury hotel would offer, sometimes even better. However, they have not gone to flat screen for the most part.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Yep, some Motel 6's were still operating on B&W coin operated tv's as late as 1978. Bellingham, WA was one example. I spent about 1.25 watching tv there on a terrible B&W tv. How times have changed. Now Motel 6 offers the same cable lineups, for the most part, that any luxury hotel would offer, sometimes even better. However, they have not gone to flat screen for the most part.

They'll get flat flats when those old Zenith sets die

 

[KML0224]

I saw the B/W coin TVs inside of Philadelphia's Greyhound terminal, before it was remodeled a few years back. Assuming they only picked up VHF, the "choices" would've been channel 3 (CBS), 6 (ABC), 10 (NBC) or 12 (PBS).

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

One funny bit from Conan O'Brien's old NBC show came in 1997 when he found out that Houston's NBC affiliate, KPRC, delayed his show until 2:40 in the morning.

The TV listings he mentions from Houston's TV Guide:
10:00 News
10:35 Jay Leno
11:35 Ricki Lake
12:35 Access Hollywood
1:05 10:00 News Repeat
1:40 Jenny Jones
2:40 Late Night with Conan O'Brien

So he travels to Houston to see if anyone stays up to watch his show. At about 9:15 into the clip, he's at Houston's Greyhound station, which still has coin operated TVs in 1997.

Sadly, they are gone now.

It would be nearly a decade after this bit aired that KPRC finally began to carry "Late Night" in pattern.

 

[NeilRattigan]

I used one at a Greyhound bus depot in Parkersburg, WV in 1976. All I could get was WTAP, the NBC affiliate on channel 15.

 

[BDBopper]

Had a longer than expected layover in Salt Lake City due to plane trouble around Christmas of 1991 . It was Sunday so My dad and I passed the time by watching a football game on a coin operated TV. It was a Broncos game if I remember correctly. It went into Overtime.

 

[Markxxx]

I'm in my 40s, but the only place I ever saw a coin operated TV was when my mum and me took a trip from Chicago to San Francisco in the Greyhound bus terminals.

They were in Salt Lake City, Cheyenne and a few other of the larger towns.

By the way, in regards to taking a bus from Chicago to San Francisco...NEVER do this...LOL.

 

[ShawnHill1]

My own experience with coin-operated TVs was as recent as 2001, while I was on bus trip from Los Angeles to Milwaukee during Christmas time. I had a layover at the Greyhound depot in downtown Denver (nice downtown area, BTW), and to pass the time over while waiting to re-board the bus, I watched some of TV. As far as I can remember, I sampled nearly each of the major stations in town--channels 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, and 31. I remember the picture quality being just absolutely terrible, especially on 2 (KWGN). Channel 7 (KMGH) probably had the clearest picture of the group, followed by 12 (KBDI, the area's secondary PBS station).

Ironically enough, our next extended layover (more extended than scheduled) was hours later in downtown Omaha...early Sunday morning with practically no one on the street, and we were stuck at the Greyhound station there for three-plus hours. This station, however, had a single large-screen TV in the lobby, and it was turned to the local then-WB station, KXVO (Channel 15). Besides the informercials and cartoons, it was an utterly-boring experience.

 

[pqgeorge]

Maybe NOT exactly about coin operated TV's, but.... it's in the same vein. My folks and I stayed at the Suisse Chalet (remember them?) in Lenox, MA back in February, 1977. Very low budget at $11.75 a night, two rooms at $17.50. A very comfortable cozy room but with a lousy B&W TV. We were able to get 3 and "a half" TV channels courtesy of the MATV system at the hotel. The regular lineup with City Grade pictures included WAST/13 ABC (via a translator W07AI on Channel 7), WRGB/6 NBC and WCDC/19 CBS (full-time satellite of WTEN/10). In the snow I could get a watchable signal from WKTV/2 (NBC) from Utica, NY and a very weak WFSB/3 CBS from Hartford, CT. No doubt, cable was plentiful in the Pittsfield/Lenox area even then, but the hotel was still using OTA. When I returned (15 years later) to the same Suisse Challet in 1992 with MY own family, the rooms were still comfy but also had oooodles of cable channels to choose from, including many of the Boston and New York signals in vibrant color! However, the rooms were getting pricey at $45 a night! INFLATION!