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[4candles]

Hehe. Really interesting to see some of the real kit in use - I'm too used to seeing everything in a lab environment.

Anyone seen this site on UAX's:
http://www.uax.me.uk/
?

Yes, great site. The only working UAX13 as far as I'm aware is at the Avoncroft Museum in Worcestershire - http://www.connected-earth.com/Partnermuseums/AvoncroftMuseum/index.htm

There's also a working TXE2 mobile there.

In my relatively brief 40 years on the job there was one exchange that I converted from a manual switchboard above the Post Office to a Strowger, from a Strowger to a Crossbar and saw the Crossbar replaced by a digital concentrator!! Definitely come a long way.

I guess we must have started around the same time then. I started my apprenticeship in '65, when there were two manual exchanges in our area, and took voluntary redundancy
 in '99 just as ADSL was making an appearance.

Thanks to all for the memories - I'm feeling quite nostalgic now.

[licquorice]

I guess we must have started around the same time then. I started my apprenticeship in '65, when there were two manual exchanges in our area, and took voluntary redundancy
 in '99 just as ADSL was making an appearance.

Thanks to all for the memories - I'm feeling quite nostalgic now.

Yes, I started in '66 and stuck it out to 2007

[Black Sheep]

Wish I'd been born earlier  .......... this is not the BT I joined up with, and I'm sure Licq will have seen massive changes even up to 8yrs ago  .
Still a good company to work for, but they get sooo many things wrong on soooo many levels, with regard to their workforce. Sad really.

[4candles]

I empathise and sympathise, BS - you certainly missed the best times.

By '99, the bean counters had completely transformed the ethos of the company, and not for the better. All goodwill had gone, and I couldn't wait to get out.

Yes, the 8 Linefinders were hard wired to  8 of the 10 Group Selectors, which all remained in the speech path throughout. The other 2 Group Selectors (if fitted) were used for Incoming Junction (Trunk) ccts from the parent exchange.

And here they are - in glorious stereo - Arley UAX13, Worcestershire, on 29 April 1994, a few days before it closed.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eq872tc2knc92ds/UAX13_T002.mp3?dl=0

[Weaver]

The mechanical bits sound 'angry', moving so many steps per second - it sounds really fast. They really tried to get things going as fast as possible?

What metals did they use in the components to make them tough?

[Weaver]

One or two more questions for the BT guys, if you'd be so kind as to paint me another picture

* Where does the exchange backhaul go (physically) ?
* It's presumably a lot of fibre?
* How many fibre strands might there be?
* Does it go off in a duct?
* Following a road, or as the crow flies to some destination or other?
* Where's the next physical destination?

You've been so generous thus far. Don't wish to abuse it.

[Weaver]

I need to point out that I now have the answer.

* The d/s attenuation on ADSL2+ is 67 - 68 dB on each all the lines.

* On ADSL2 it is 65dB.

So Burakkucat's earlier guess of "65 - 68 dB" was spot on.

[Weaver]

When I said, "I have the answer", it's because now following an upgrade to ADSL2 / 21CN (discussed in another thread - http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,16436.msg306430.html#msg306430), Andrews and Arnold's clueless.aa.net.uk control panel and status server can show accurate dB figures for "loop loss", which are above 63.5 dB.

[burakkucat]

So Burakkucat's earlier guess of "65 - 68 dB" was spot on.

It was "divined" by thinking of a number and quantifying it as a result of the extent of the tingle felt in my whiskers! 

[4candles]

And here they are - in glorious stereo - Arley UAX13, Worcestershire, on 29 April 1994, a few days before it closed.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eq872tc2knc92ds/UAX13_T002.mp3?dl=0

The mechanical bits sound 'angry', moving so many steps per second - it sounds really fast. They really tried to get things going as fast as possible?

What metals did they use in the components to make them tough?

The main 'stepping' sound heard is the vertical motion of a group selector, or the vertical and horizontal motion of a final selector, in response to 'loop disconnect' pulses from a telephone dial.

Due to the constraints imposed by resistance, capacitance and inductance of a line, the nominal speed is 10 pulses per second, though in practice 7 -12 would normally work.

Without these constraints, eg a linefinder, or a group selector searching for an outlet to a final selector, the speed would be - I'm guessing - maybe 50 steps/sec or more, and a uniselector probably over 200.

As for the metals, I'd never really thought about it - some info in this PDF - www.samhallas.co.uk/repository/po_docs/ep_draft_telephones_4_3.pdf

[Weaver]

@4candles - the thought occurred to me that there would have to be some tough materials employed.

[tickmike]

I built my own exchange when I was about 10 years old out of old PO relays, uniselector and old phones that came out of a factory etc. for each room around my parents house but it was not connected to the normal PO phone system.
I have still got some of the parts I use somewhere in my junk box spares box . 

Some interesting links.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg0tlCEzJkI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcFpaI1Y_SE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNNKLuM8yY8

[WWWombat]

Thanks for those videos.

One of them had a related video, which shows the system I first started work on, one or two moons ago - though it was a Plessey iSDX at the time.

https://youtu.be/dACCSguH5lo

Our labs tended to use the larger systems at this point in the video...

https://youtu.be/dACCSguH5lo?t=1422

The only clicks and whirrs in this system was from the 5.25" floppy!

[gt94sss2]

Slightly off-topic and I'm not sure that it will directly help Weaver but I note that according to the Codelook website, Broadford is down to be enabled for FTTC/FTTP as part of BDUK.

It might be worth Weaver contacting them to see if they have any plans to cover his property as well.

[Black Sheep]

He's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to far from the Cab to gain any benefit if my memory serves, from tracing his line ??