When I was 18 in 1982, friends moved their restaurant into a building previously occupied by a real-estate company. TELCO disconnected and abandoned a full 1A2 system on the wall with 66 blocks, Mitel tone intercom and a half dozen GTE Type 186 phones, which I played around with in my spare time and got working to a fair degree (without manuals, so that was fun) just based on what I knew from a couple of Radio Shack books and playing around with discarded phones since I was about 12.

Anyway, my crazy hobby mission now is to recreate the setup based on what I remember. This was B.C. Telephone 'BC Tel' territory in British Columbia, Canada, and we were pretty much GTE all through from subscriber sets to payphones and at least the AE 186 and AE 187 multiline sets. The KSU on the wall I remember quite well, but for the fact I can't exactly remember whether it was a Northern Electric QUJ9A or the GTE Automatic Electric equivalent, and there are exactly zero pics of the GTE/ AE 10A2 KSUs out there on the web anywhere for comparison's sake - at all - except for one pic in a 1970 version of a GTE catalogue that actually seems to show 10A1 gear.

Does anyone here have a photo of the actual base wall model GTE/ AE 10A2 KSU inside and out so I can see if anything triggers my memory? I have the NE QUJ9A here already to compare against. Also interested in finding a copy of the GTE Key Telephone System Handbook covering the 10A2 KSU and system setup if anyone has one spare - or pointer to same - and would happy to buy a 10A2 basic wall model KSU if anyone here has one gathering dust in their basement

I want to rig it all up and surprise the heck out of some people I used to work with in that restaurant, who remember high school me tinkering with the KSU and 66 blocks like some kind of mad scientist from a 30s movie. Any help appreciated.

I used to have the GTE handbook but I don't know what happened to it. I suspect it's as rare as hens teeth. I just gave away my WE handbook to a member of these boards.

I was able to get GTE equipment new back then and had a couple of systems out there. For all intents and purposes the KSUs are very much the same as the WE counterpart that information is readily available for. WE and GTE phones are interchangeable as are the 400 line cards.

-Hal

Look Here for the part numbers you may be able to find. These are manuals arranged by system type.

Rcaman

There was a GTE 10A2 manual. It was printed on Onionskin and was the size of the Manhattan White pages. I don't own it, I can find the number for you in a day or so and I have seen them occasionally on eBay.

The larger KSUs resembled the WE 16C(?) apparatus mounting cabinets. The smaller ones looked like the floor standing 501 made by WECO, ITT and S-C. On large PBX jobs we used 23" racks.

Sam

More easily accessible then I thought.

CHB-160

Key system handbook.

Google may help you.

Sam

Early 1970s GTE (Automatic Electric) KSU hardware was remarkably similar in appearance to ITT, Stromberg-Carlson and Western Electric. It was also electrically-compatible. I'd even go so far to say that the gray fiberglass covers were all made by the same subcontractor. My guess is that your KSU looks like ITT's or Western's 501.

ITT 501 KSU (Floor standing model), without cover

That's it, Ed (for the small ones).

Sam

A Google search of "AE 10A2 Systems" yielded this near the top of the list:

https://www.telephonecollectors.inf...32-ae-1970jul-cat-seck-key-systems-ocr-r

It's got pictures of the phones, KSUs and the layout.

Sam

OK for some reason it's not taking you to the final site. Go to the above website and scroll down to:

Details for AE 1970jul Cat SecK Key Systems Ocr R and the one under it "Section K large file"

Then you can view or download or whatever.

Telephone Collectors have once again come through.

Sam

A load of (3 pages) good AE info at the TCI website including docs on the 17A system (Similar to the ITT 76A).

Sam

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately the CHB-160 GTE Key System Manual links (all of them, unfortunately) just give you the index and nothing more. Searching for the sub-chapters on the other link wind up nowhere too.

If you look at the TCI website link to the 1970 AE Key System equipment and go to Page 2, mine was very similar to the 'Wall Mounted Unit' on that page, though I don't recognize the internal configuration. The dimensions given on Page 3 for it are exactly right. I probably had that AE apparatus cabinet, just configured more like my Northern Electric QUJ9A one:

https://pacwestbell.com/?page_id=99

As the dimensions are exactly the same. Covers probably *are* the same, as someone else suggested. I bought the QUJ9A thinking it was the 'right' one, but...I still think I'm after the AE 10A2 equivalent if I want to be anal enough to be *exactly* right...though they're functionally interchangeable.

Not to completely derail the thread, but what would the cabinet in this picture be?

Jeff, At first glance it looked like a 501 cabinet, but it's not. Too big, 4 screws, what looks like a wooden back.

Beats me. I'm unfamiliar with that one. Where's the picture from?

Sam

Sam must have rubbed up against some green Kryptonite this morning...his X-Ray vision is faulty.

Jeff, here are the clues:

>it is approx 24 inches wide.
>it has three, 75-pair cables coming out the top mousehole.
>each of the three cables terminates on three 66B25 blocks.
>the cross-connections on those blocks are spaced out in such a way that they conform to the 5-pair cross-connection scheme of "one pair, three pairs, one pair." (T/R in) (T/R-A1/A-LG/L) (G/CA)

My "professional prothesis" (as an old foreman used to say) is as follows:

The internal 23" rack mounting in the cabinet contains three 584C panels and probably a 19-type power unit to run them.

Sam, the picture is from a building I did some work in several years ago. I think I posted the pictures in ugly work at the time. I remember trying to open the cover to see what was inside and I got shocked...the system was still plugged in.

I agree with Arthur. The Cabinet was kind of a universal "catch-all" used by Bell Telephone in the late 60s and early 70s.

If you got shocked, then there was something SERIOUSLY wrong. That cabinet cover is fiberglass and is NOT conductive. Aside from the line voltage feeding the power supply which should have been a molded female cable assembly and the voltage adjustment taps should have had a plastic cover over them the only other voltage that could give one a little jolt would be the ring generator.

Rcaman

That setup was still in use a couple of years ago? Wow. I know some radio stations and government facilities still have 1A2 stuff because it still works and is too expensive to change out for ultra-large building setups. And basically, if it still works...why **** with it? Plus I still like the audio quality of that era gear vs. a lot of the stuff I run across now that sounds like a McDonalds drive-thru speaker.

Well, I knew it was 1A2 but the cabinet still eludes me. We used 16C cabinets, or 7-8' x 23" racks or "Tombstones". But that looks someplace in between.

Sam

I think Jeff means he was shocked that it was still working. I see plenty of old 1A2 systems long abandoned that are still powered up.

-Hal

Sam,

Remember we were discussing VCAs? That cabinet was used, almost exclusively, by Bell Telephone, here in western PA to house the VCAs. It was also the cabinet of choice for all 13 line 1A2 584C setups with 3 or more 584C panels and a power supply or two. If I were to conservatively guess, I would say there are probably several thousands of those still installed and powered up. They house everything from 1A2 systems to network cards to smart jacks. I have several in the warehouse. They make good storage cabinets.

As a side note, don't you just Love the aluminum ladder resting on the 66 blocks? I bet that has been a source of a lot of NTF calls.

Rcaman

Unknown if anything is running off of it still, I got electrically zapped when trying to open the cover so I did not go any further

LOL...I have a pair of 133 KV linemen's gloves. You wanna borrow them?

Seriously, if you got a jolt, then, no matter what is running in the cabinet, find the power cord and unplug it. Then, with power removed, open the lid and find out what is causing the problem. You may have a potential "life-safety" issue there.

Rcaman

I only did one job in this building 2-3 years ago, this was the second floor closet and I was trying to find the demarc for my customer's suite. If I ever go back there I will have to investigate further

Open it up, who knows what gems you'll find inside?

Sam

Found a guy locally through another forum who was an ex-Telco installer/ maintainer, who managed to score the exact 10A2 KSU I need and the B.C. Tel-ized GTE 10A2 manuals as well. It's like Christmas! Once we finally cross paths and I set the system up, I'll take some pics in case anyone wants to compare the WE, NE and GTE/AE versions of the same KSU down the road.

It's going to be hooked up with some GTE Type 186s like I had originally decades ago, and at least one of the Government model Northern Electric 564s as well. Bit surprised to see that NE supplied so much to Uncle for Government 1A2 systems on base. I thought they would've purchased strictly WE or GTE. A bunch of the NE 564s have been showing up brand-new-in-box lately, so some forgotten Indiana Jones-ish warehouse must've suddenly disgorged its contents in some surplus sale.

Is this gray unit a VCA?

Good Heavens. That last photo is a nightmare. There are no two items installed in the same horizontal or vertical plane. Nothing level or plumb. Things squeezed on top of each other with lots of backboard space elsewhere. What were they smoking?

Jeff -

Pulsecom made, As I Recall, Transmission equipment. All types. Could be a channel bank (you've got T-1s termed below it, so that's a distinct possibility).


And yes, Arthur - the install is horrific.

Sam

Arthur, that is a result of 35 years of incompetence and neglect.
The funny part is that on the left wall there is a whole field of blue, red, and yellow boards barely in use.
Sam, the T1s are not connected to that equipment - they are much newer. Next time I am there, I will try to see what is marked on the top of the unit, there are a couple cards in there.

PS - notice the "JEFF MOSS" marking on the orange cover, no relation to me

Looks like it was just haphazardly expanded over the years, and subsequent installers just referenced earlier pieces of equipment for alignment vs. breaking out the spirit level and making everything else look wrong

OK so I got a couple more pics of the mystery Pulsecom box: