atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems Attn: Hobbyists

There's a WECO 230 for sale on ebay for $9.99. This is a 4 circuit 1A1 KTU.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Western-Electr...main_0?hash=item255864b771#ht_500wt_1182

If you wondered what came before 1A2 - this is it.

Sam

If you wondered what came before 1A2 - this is it.


We used to install what we called 1A Key by NE and before that there was Multi Key I think Northern Electric made that. Multi Key was sort of on its way out when I run across it.

Oh yes remember those well (takes alickn keeps on tickm"

Western Electric had 1A2 (Printed Circuits), 1A1 (Wire Spring Relay), 1A (Flat Spring Relay) and I believe the predecessor to 1A was called 50A, but it was really before my time.

I've still got a few 1A relays laying around - mostly 17B (DPDT) and 6B (Off hook, SPST). They really do last forever.

Sam

Sam,i guess the 10a1 and 10a2 designations were that used by Automatic Electric in Northlake ?

Sam, it wasn't quite as clear-cut as that, but you're close.

1A was flat spring relays, 50A was 1A equipment in a packaged unit. The units were on horizontal plates that mounted in a cabinet. They were electrically equivalent to 1A.

1A1 originally used flat-spring relays, and then evolved to wire-spring relays.

1A2 pre-packaged KSU's such as the 501 would have had a carrier for six 4" KTU's, (400-series) but also had a space below for a 207 selector and a 216 transfer unit. WE and ITT both made that version.

TJ -

Absolutely - 10A1/10A2 were the GTE nomenclature. I was in the switching side of the house of GTE so I didn't see much of the Key equipment, but it was always listed as 10A2.

Arthur -

Thanks for clarifying that. ITT also made a prepackaged KSU that consisted of a prewired 584C panel, a power supply and an Intercom - either a 207 (with or without a 216) or a 347 (DTMF). The whole thing was mounted in a 16C (?) apparatus cabinet and had everything wired to blocks on the back of the cabinet. It was called a 512KSU.

Then later they had two other "fancy" systems - the 76A system that had 12 (maybe 14) CO Lines and a Voice announced Intercom that could grow to 36 stations (maybe even 54) and the 36A system that had the same 12 or 14 CO lines (maybe expandable to 20) and a multi link Intercom that had 2 or 4 channels (not voice announced).

Both of those systems were prepackaged in the same standard 16C (?) cabinets and were 1A2 on the CO side. Neither of those systems had blocks inside the cabinet (as I recall).

Ah, the good old days.

Sam