sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems Voip

Murray, I gotta ask. How long have you had this 1A2 system? And is it a labor-of-love thing, or are you in a REAL lightning prone area, or what?
No fun-making, I'm just curious/nosy. As you can see, I live in NC, and supposedly the only state that gets more lightning strikes is Florida. I'm not all THAT impressed, I lived most of my life in MO and KS, where 'lightning is our friend', esp if you are in phone system repair to make $$$! Any how, point being, here or in FL, KS, MO, if I was gonna start a small business, I'd probably opt for 1A2. It just about takes a direct strike on the cabinet, through an open window, to do any damage to a 1A2! John C.

Hello John, Funny you should bring this up. The system was installed in about 1980 by what was known as Bell of Pennsylvania. I have had a few line cards give out but there was an ample supply of freebees. Even swapping them around a card that stopped working in one slot worked in another. I only remember replacing one bulb but there might have been twice that number. However, getting back to lightning. I was standing in the office one evening during a storm. I felt like I was in a very strange environment. I instinctively covered my eyes and shouted we are going to be hit by lightning. I heard the loudest noise of my life. The lightning took out the mouse port on a motherboard rendering it useless, blew out the Digital Cable Convertor, blew the cable tap off the pole, severed an antenna on the tower outside of the building propeling the severed element about fifty feet driving it into the ground. Oh yea, the lightning only took out the line card on the line connected to the cable box. I took a card out of my stash and was up and running. Another sytem would probably not fair so well. Also, training time on the 1A2 is rather short and everything still looks like new. Having a reclamation center up the road helped a lot. In the box speaker phones $ 20.00 etc. Answer your question? Murray

Murry,Is the reclamation center off 309 still open? I went by a couple of weeks ago and the yard looked empty. Thanks John

It is long gone John. What a loss. Murray

That center and the one before it off Rt.202 were like a Home Depo for old parts,you never knew what would be there. If you liked it, you had to purchase right then or someone else would. One time i bought 2 wood indoor phone booths in fantastic shape and sold them the next day. John

That's a riot. The guy who ran the place called me to tell me he had those booths and asked me if I wanted them because on one visit the guy that went with me expressed an interest. Boy if you knew what you were looking at what bargains. Murray