My communication electronics instructor in college started his career working for AT&T back when AT&T held the monopoly on telephone communications in the US. His college instructor job was actually his third career. He told us about how he once screwed up and dropped all the calls between Los Angeles and San Framcisco while working on a relay station near Bakersfield, California. He said that at the time, it was a record of the most calls dropped at once. Since it was 1972, having a long distance call drop out was not unusual, so his supervisor just repowered the relay, and AT&T just never said anything. Nobody noticed. Everybody just assumed it was only their call that dropped out and redialed.
Keep it up guys still got my dad’s 81’s and his line test phone. Every operation of the selector reminds me of standing in the exchange with him listening to it while he was looking for a stuck one.
If any of you guys are at EMF camp, there is a POTS exchange planned again. (Not running on a mechanical exchange though...) We will be on it, probably sending rude drawings about by fax.
Yay, two comments of mine mentioned! I thought you'd missed the one about 81s chiropody too 😂 keep the videos coming you lovely bunch of see you next Tuesdays! 🥰
Trip down memory lane for me, I started working at South African Post Office (later called Telkom) in 1980 and worked in a Two Motion (step by step) Exchange for ten years until 1990. The exchange I worked in was a 24 hour exchange serving a total of 34 other exchanges after hours so we had to do it all - switching side, aircons, DC Power and gensets on three different types of technologies. I transferred to the DC Power side in 1990 when the electromechanical exchanges were phased out and where I stayed until I retired in 2018. On the Power side we did the DC Power, earthing, bonding, surge and lightning protection on all equipment in our pretty large area, including masts and towers. I missed my days in the exchange tough, worked with a nice bunch of guys and had a lot of fun during the quiet times...
I used to work at a factory in the Netherlands that made fiber-optic cables. I was in quality control and measured them. They were packed in small 1 to 3mm thick steel tubes (laser welded with a very special and expensive machine) and they were used to be woven into high voltage power cables so they could also carry phone or internet signals as well as power.
Analogue telephones is what i grew up with. Phone lines, modems, "phreaking": i remember lists of weird numbers to call going round on BBSes, numbers that would ring back or just play some set of tones, also there was blue boxing etc. Perhaps interesting to dive in to. :) There also is this saying "line noise was invented by [telephoneprovider]", just so people wouldn't think they got disconnected? Lovely stuff. :D
Have you got a SALT tester down there yet? I've recently found my old City of London District card wth the various numbers to ring in for automatic tests. The best one was to connect to the test desk phone and ask the ST to get someone to put the kettle on.
Funny you should say that because My father has just finished wiring in one he just got. some one got in touch with us about one standing lonely in the corner of an exchange and was even still powered on! There where two there accompanied with LIAR equipment too but I cant remember what my father said that did. Also one thing my father has been struggling with is the SALT machine according to the diagrams should have some sort of display connected to it but no record of the display unit exists that we can find. Do you know what it looked like or where it would be located? as far as we have found it could be anything from being integrated into the test desk to a box that sat on top.
I bet you didnt hear the story about a Buttinski at the very last Strowger Switch-Off. A group went to visit Crawford Exchange, a small exchange in Scotland, way back in the nineties before my time in the hobby. A certain person who ill remain nameless. went around and found a Buttinski like yours, and shoved it into a live selector, and barged into a call in progress, whilst the exchange was still operating. He was severely ticked off by BT Staff and brought shame to the visiting group.. Naughty Boy !... I wish i was there to see this.. )
In the early 2000's I did a whole load of work for BT Conferencing, I think it was their billing database server. I guess by then exchanges were pretty much entirely digitized. BUT was there ever any mechanical kit that allowed conference calls?
It’s a great question. It was certainly possible by special arrangement - engineers used to cross connect 4 people talking on pay phones for a laugh - but I’m not aware of the service being offered back in those days…
If there is any decent length to the telephone lines you need to match the line impedance. Connecting multiple lines together will disrupt the signal integrity. With the right magnetics it might be possible to to have a proper conference call but you'd lose volume. Using active amplifiers it would be technically easy.
What's the telephone exchange like at Amberley Chalk Pits museum in nearby Sussex? Can you connect these museum Stowger exchanges together? There are other museum phone exchanges including the one at the Internal Fire Museum of Power in Ceredigion. I bet visitors there would love to play Sam's synths!
Are those Divertacalls Wired up yet and when will you get round to those three, Printers, Meter Check ? And if yer going to video drying paint, make sure its genuine GPO Light Straw paint.
Have you got any tone generating machines or any old documentation for them? I'm trying to work out how to digitally re-create the dial tone "brrrrrrrrrr" the engaged tone "book book boop" and the "nope mate, you've done something stupid" tone "eeeeee". I know that , even up to the 80s, these were generated mechanically with cams and whatnot in a very Hammond Organ additive way. But I've got no details of the frequency components used. I thought a massively nerdy museum full of synths and some telephone stuff might be able to point me at the answers I seek.
It popped in my head if you want to make paint drying interesting you’d need James May. To tie it back to telephones he has a great “Reassembler” episode where he does, reassemble a telephone. Cheers
I don't watch the telephone content, have to recover my time. Only ever clicked on a video to correct you. And now I am here to check if it gets acknowledged
My communication electronics instructor in college started his career working for AT&T back when AT&T held the monopoly on telephone communications in the US. His college instructor job was actually his third career. He told us about how he once screwed up and dropped all the calls between Los Angeles and San Framcisco while working on a relay station near Bakersfield, California. He said that at the time, it was a record of the most calls dropped at once. Since it was 1972, having a long distance call drop out was not unusual, so his supervisor just repowered the relay, and AT&T just never said anything. Nobody noticed. Everybody just assumed it was only their call that dropped out and redialed.
Warning -- Do not look into laser with remaining eye
Keep it up guys still got my dad’s 81’s and his line test phone. Every operation of the selector reminds me of standing in the exchange with him listening to it while he was looking for a stuck one.
I loved this!!
Sam has made a video with a part in it where paint is drying. it was awesome.
If any of you guys are at EMF camp, there is a POTS exchange planned again. (Not running on a mechanical exchange though...)
We will be on it, probably sending rude drawings about by fax.
Yay, two comments of mine mentioned! I thought you'd missed the one about 81s chiropody too 😂 keep the videos coming you lovely bunch of see you next Tuesdays! 🥰
Trip down memory lane for me, I started working at South African Post Office (later called Telkom) in 1980 and worked in a Two Motion (step by step) Exchange for ten years until 1990. The exchange I worked in was a 24 hour exchange serving a total of 34 other exchanges after hours so we had to do it all - switching side, aircons, DC Power and gensets on three different types of technologies. I transferred to the DC Power side in 1990 when the electromechanical exchanges were phased out and where I stayed until I retired in 2018. On the Power side we did the DC Power, earthing, bonding, surge and lightning protection on all equipment in our pretty large area, including masts and towers. I missed my days in the exchange tough, worked with a nice bunch of guys and had a lot of fun during the quiet times...
I used to work at a factory in the Netherlands that made fiber-optic cables. I was in quality control and measured them. They were packed in small 1 to 3mm thick steel tubes (laser welded with a very special and expensive machine) and they were used to be woven into high voltage power cables so they could also carry phone or internet signals as well as power.
I hope at least some of that “dark fibre” was put to use, rather than forgotten!
You're making for a great stand-by presenter. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing Mitch! You are an asset to this channel! 🙂😎🤓❤
This was a fun video. You really are a natural presenter.
Okay but lets race some uniselectors. That sounds fun
Hi Telephone Mitch! Love your work on this series 💙💛
LOL, so it wasnt just me who noticed it ;) thanks for all the information you are sharing, its really interesting.
When will i see you next?? hmm ;)
Sorry, can't make it next Tuesday. Busy, signals crossed.
As a trainee comms engineer part of the PO issue kit was a"feeler gauge". 10 points to anyone who knows why :)
Relay adjusting, I am bored already. Red Label, White Label, Red label, white label.....
Fucking. Love. This. Shit.
Analogue telephones is what i grew up with. Phone lines, modems, "phreaking": i remember lists of weird numbers to call going round on BBSes, numbers that would ring back or just play some set of tones, also there was blue boxing etc. Perhaps interesting to dive in to. :) There also is this saying "line noise was invented by [telephoneprovider]", just so people wouldn't think they got disconnected? Lovely stuff. :D
Have you got a SALT tester down there yet?
I've recently found my old City of London District card wth the various numbers to ring in for automatic tests.
The best one was to connect to the test desk phone and ask the ST to get someone to put the kettle on.
Funny you should say that because My father has just finished wiring in one he just got. some one got in touch with us about one standing lonely in the corner of an exchange and was even still powered on! There where two there accompanied with LIAR equipment too but I cant remember what my father said that did.
Also one thing my father has been struggling with is the SALT machine according to the diagrams should have some sort of display connected to it but no record of the display unit exists that we can find. Do you know what it looked like or where it would be located? as far as we have found it could be anything from being integrated into the test desk to a box that sat on top.
Nice one Mitch :)
hey im famous :D
Feel the love 😀
I bet you didnt hear the story about a Buttinski at the very last Strowger Switch-Off. A group went to visit Crawford Exchange, a small exchange in Scotland, way back in the nineties before my time in the hobby. A certain person who ill remain nameless. went around and found a Buttinski like yours, and shoved it into a live selector, and barged into a call in progress, whilst the exchange was still operating. He was severely ticked off by BT Staff and brought shame to the visiting group.. Naughty Boy !... I wish i was there to see this.. )
Naught boy indeed, old habits die hard!
In the early 2000's I did a whole load of work for BT Conferencing, I think it was their billing database server. I guess by then exchanges were pretty much entirely digitized. BUT was there ever any mechanical kit that allowed conference calls?
It’s a great question. It was certainly possible by special arrangement - engineers used to cross connect 4 people talking on pay phones for a laugh - but I’m not aware of the service being offered back in those days…
If there is any decent length to the telephone lines you need to match the line impedance. Connecting multiple lines together will disrupt the signal integrity. With the right magnetics it might be possible to to have a proper conference call but you'd lose volume. Using active amplifiers it would be technically easy.
What's the telephone exchange like at Amberley Chalk Pits museum in nearby Sussex? Can you connect these museum Stowger exchanges together? There are other museum phone exchanges including the one at the Internal Fire Museum of Power in Ceredigion. I bet visitors there would love to play Sam's synths!
I totally didn't give a .uck about telephones before you got me into it! Thanks for the way you share all that!
Are those Divertacalls Wired up yet and when will you get round to those three, Printers, Meter Check ? And if yer going to video drying paint, make sure its genuine GPO Light Straw paint.
Yep talking about the to do list in the next vid. Yep exactly ha we’re trying to find the tin we have around somewhere!
Have you got any tone generating machines or any old documentation for them? I'm trying to work out how to digitally re-create the dial tone "brrrrrrrrrr" the engaged tone "book book boop" and the "nope mate, you've done something stupid" tone "eeeeee". I know that , even up to the 80s, these were generated mechanically with cams and whatnot in a very Hammond Organ additive way. But I've got no details of the frequency components used. I thought a massively nerdy museum full of synths and some telephone stuff might be able to point me at the answers I seek.
There's a video coming in the next few weeks that's right up your street!
@@THISMUSEUMISNOTOBSOLETE Wahey!!!!
Looks like you duplicated the one about ingrown toenails instead of showing the other guy who still uses his 81s ;)
It popped in my head if you want to make paint drying interesting you’d need James May. To tie it back to telephones he has a great “Reassembler” episode where he does, reassemble a telephone. Cheers
I don't watch the telephone content, have to recover my time.
Only ever clicked on a video to correct you. And now I am here to check if it gets acknowledged
First comment! Hardcore fandom there pal!