Jack.Winslade@f666.n285.z1.fidonet.org (Jack Winslade) (06/24/90)
A couple of months ago I wrote that I would key in this article and
send it in. It has to do with a bit of telephone trivia (and
local-interest Omaha trivia) that I stumbled upon. As I said, I have
been fascinated by the 'panel' switches ever since being served by an
aging one and seeing one in operation.
We've all heard the story of how the competing undertakers resulted in
the up-and-around step switch, but little has been said about the
switch that was the first to incorporate 'common control' features
that stored dialed digits and routed calls through the switching
apparatus. The 'panel' switch was designed primarily for larger
metropolitan areas. To see one in action was an unforgettable
experience. It reminded me of something that Rube Goldberg would have
designed. Motor-driven rollers drove contacts on rods up and down in
front of panels (hence the name) of contacts. Pulsing mechanisms kept
track of the positions of the sliding rods, and when the position was
correct, the contact was 'tripped' onto the appropriate set of
contacts on the frame.
The panel system, although regarded as quirky and far from perfect,
was Ma Bell's mainstay until (and after, in many cases) the
introduction of #1 crossbar in 1938.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(From _Omaha_World-Herald_, Sunday, December 11, 1921)
SAY IT WITH FINGERS TO GET 'AT' WITH NUMBERS
Seventy-six Hundred Phones of ATLantic Exchange Now Are Automatic
MOST MODERN IN U.S.
Omaha at midnight became the first city in the United States to have a
commercial machine switched telephone service. In several cities
automatic phones are in use but the system installed here is the last
word in machine switching, according to experts.
Seventy-six hundred subscribers of the ATLantic exchange are effected
by the change from manual to machine switching.
Bancroft Gherardi, vice president and chief engineer of the American
Telephone and Telegraph Co., and F.B. Jewett, chief engineer of the
Western Electric Co. personally made the final inspection and gave the
word to 'cut em over.'
Jewett said the company plans to install the system in several other
cities, including Chicago, Kansas City, and Patterson [sic] New Jersey.
Old Operating Room Deserted
For the first time since 1893, the operating room of the old telephone
building was quiet and deserted.
Promptly at 11:59 o'clock 100 trained electrical workers took their
places, each with a special duty to perform, and at a signal, each did
his particular task and the 'cut-over' became history.
This morning 100 operators, clerks, desk attendants who were handling
the business of the ATLantic exchange went to work in the other
exchanges or are engaged in some new duty connected with the new
system. A.F. McAdams, district commercial manager, was emphatic in
stating that no employe [sic] will lose a position because of machine
switching.
The machine switching equipment was secured at a cost of approximately
$2,000,000 and is the result of ten years work in designing by some of
the most prominent electrical engineers of the country.
Urge Limiting Calls
Omaha is the first city to have a complete unit. Parts of the present
system have been used, but as a unit it is the first time any city has
used it. The equipment was ordered in the fall of 1917 when the need
for new equipment to handle the volume of business became apparent.
While highly pleased with the manner in which the change to machine
switching service last night, telephone people are urging ATLantic
subscribers to limit their calls for a few days to only those which
are necessary, because the operating forces which handle the calls
which originate in the ATLantic central office and terminate at some
one of the manual switchboards are entering upon their new duties for
the first time.
Under the new service, he will take the receiver from the hook and
listen for the 'dialing tone', a humming sound which will indicate
that the call mechanism is ready to receive his call. Having heard
it, he will insert his finger in the hole in the dial through which
the letter 'H' may be seen, pull the dial around to the finger stop
and release it. He will then repeat the ... [copy unreadable -
dialing letters and numbers] ... the figures 0, 5, 1 ... Shortly after
dialing the last figure he will then either hear a 'brrrring' sound,
indicating that the bell at the called telephone is ringing, or a
'buzz-buzz-buzz' sound indicating that the line called is in use.
Enough lumber was used in the crates necessary to ship the equipment
to have built seven two-story houses of the standard eight-room type.
Seven times around world.
Wire used, if stretched out to a single strand, would be sufficient to
encircle the world seven and a half times.
The establishment of machine service in Omaha not only meant the
installation of a tremendous amount of equipment in the central
offices, but it meant equipping 378 private branch exchange
switchboards with the relays and other necessary equipment to provide
machine switching service over these boards. In addition, it was
necessary to change a large number of telephone instruments by
substituting telephone instruments with dials for ones without dials.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Two photographs accompanied the article. The first was a photo of one
of the selector frames. If it is turned 90 degrees to the left, it
looks correct (upright). The newspaper staff printed it horizontally,
making it look somewhat like a monstrous Foosball table.
The second photo showed the 'girls' (their words, my quotes) at the
new 'B' boards for the new system. Their job was to receive manually-
switched calls from other exchanges in the city (and elsewhere, I
assume) and complete the calls to the machine-switched lines. The
contrast is poor, but the boards look like they are operated with
push-buttons that resemble the keys on the old 'armstrong' adding
machines.
Historical note, compiled from odd sources:
In the 1920's the panel installation was expanded to include all of
the downtown Omaha exchanges. Part of the panel installation,
including what was the ATLantic office, was replaced by #5 crossbar in
the late 1950's (another source says 1961). The rest of the panel was
replaced by 1 ESS in 1970. Parts of far north Omaha had manual
('numberrr pleeeazzze') service until a #1 crossbar installation in
1956.
Good Day! JSW
[1:285/666@fidonet] DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha (1:285/666)
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Jack.Winslade@f666.n285.z1.fidonet.org
[Moderator's Note: Thank you for an excellent article on the history
of telephones. More articles like this are always welcome. PT]