atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems BSP Key Systems Service Manual question

For the different BSP revision dates, there are sometimes differences in the images, text, both, depending on the device.
Each section has its own issue#/date at the top right below the 9 digit section number. Sorting by these, you can tell which is the newest revision. Newest is /probably/ always "better", though it's hard to say.

In large BSP collections like the Volume I or Volume II BSPs, you'll often find that although the scanned document has a date like "1980", you'll find these revision dates jump all over the place, since I imagine some sections didn't need updating, so their dates remain "old". For instance in the "Volume 2" BSP I have dated 1980, although the compilation is dated 1980, the section 518-215-407 for the 550 & 551 series of KSUs is Issue 1/July 1976.

I believe the technique was the field techs would get a complete manual, then get semi-regular updates from Bell Labs for specific sections, and you'd have to keep track of the updates. That is, I *think* that's how things worked? I defer to the techs here on how BSP updates were made and handled.

As someone who generates documentation for evolving hardware myself, I totally understand the Bell System's need for version control of documentation, as sometimes errors are found, or devices are updated with new features that need to be mentioned. Their system of using 9 digit codes for each document, followed by monotonic issue numbers and dates (month/year) were really helpful in keeping organized track of things.

I suggest if you're studying a particular device, compare oldest vs. newest BSP docs for it, and carefully compare looking for relevant differences for the device you have. Often a section's revisions are listed in the first paragraphs on page #1 of that section, indicating what changed in that issue. Issue numbers and date stamps appear on the top right of the first page in each section.

I imagine Bell Labs sent out updates to the field techs whenever docs were changed. Perhaps this was on a subscription basis, so you only received docs for the hardware you needed to manage, e.g. field equipment as opposed to plant equipment? Again, I'm not sure, just guessing. So I think as a person in the field, it was your job to sort the updates into your copy of the BSP binders. I imagine it would be prudent to move older docs to an "OLD BSP" binder, so that you didn't actually throw away the old docs (in case they had relevant info/personal notes on them), but also didn't accidentally read the older docs while in the field.

Kinda curious myself about how the field techs handled BSP updates; did they come mailed to you at work, and you updated the manuals yourself, and keep them in the service trucks so they were always available in the field? Or did you order docs for particular equipment you specialized in, or maybe a bit of both?