sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems It WORKS! (My 1A2 system, that is...)

I love being able to page (with my Inter-Tel Axxess system) from the basement upstairs...my mom, not so much!

@ KLD,

Whereabouts do you live? My wife grew up in Atchison.

When I was a little kid, I really wanted to be a phone guy. By the time that I could have pursued that dream, Ma Bell had been torn apart and the 'phone man' became a rare species and disposable phones became the norm.

Joe

More Pics!

I have done a few little things to my KSU board, and here are the pics.

First, I scored a Western Electric dual beehive light with one light red and the other green. I mounted that on the board and hooked it to L1 and L2 so that it indicates when a line is being used or on hold from the KSU.



Please note, that I have also mounted but not wired the Melco unit for intercom. (I have since connected it to its' own punchdown block, but not wired it into the system. That will come at a later date.

Here is a photo of the "family room Teletype".



I know that this is nothing to do with either telephony or my KSU, but I do think that this is an interesting machine with a unique provenence. It has done duty in both a Ma Bell setting (note the little Bell insignia) and as a Western Union machine. It was fully restored by Jack K0TTY and given to me for just taking it home. He is the same person who gave my the original KSU that is mounted on the backboard. Not only did he assist me in finding a hard to obtain 28, he got me started in the cool hobby of 1A2 telephony.

Thats it for now, but stay tuned. I will be posting more updates and phone station photos. I also have a line on a Wheelock relay to control power with ring frequency. I am thinking of maybe setting it up to be able to remotely turn on and off the outdoor barn light if the dogs start going off at three in the morning.

Best,

Joe

I remember those bad boys.

We used to use the little guys - the 33s and later the 43s as an interface to the COs and larger PBXs. NEC used to call them "MMI" - Man - Machine Interface.

If you can't find the Wheelock, let me know. I think I have one somewhere in the dreaded basement....

Sam

That ones even got the tape reader and punch in it. Used to work on those, lots of little parts.

Here\'s one in action

I worked for WU for about a year, but they were downsizing all over the place in the early '70's and I could see the handwriting on the wall. Worked in the switching aisles @ 7th & Walnut in KCMO. No seniority, so I couldn't bid my way into anything safe. Found a job working on hearing aids and hearing test equipment. Eventually went to work for a Code-A-Phone dealer that branched into interconnect, and awaaay I went!

Great clip, Bill!

The NEAX 31 used a model 33 with the Paper Tape Reader as the programming interface. As I recall, the 33's PTR would load commands at 6 characters per second. But for loading commands into scratch pad memory and for big installs the commands were loaded via an EXTERNAL PTR. It would load data at a blistering 150 CPS!

Ah, the old days. We were satisfied with so little.

Sam

Very cool, and boy do I feel young!

I actually remember seeing this things in use in radio stations. They were labeled "AP", "UPI", "Local" and "Reuters".

Joe

The National Weather Service used them until they were forced to give them up.