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[Black Sheep]

Thanks 7LM, you've just brought back fond memories of the old fault report code, 'Bell-tinkling'. 

[Ottersnose]

Ever had to fit a Thermistor?

[Black Sheep]

Funnily enough, I haven't. The newer Sys X and Sys Y Exchanges were being installed when I was first taken on with BT. I worked as a 'Sparky' for my first few years, so when I eventually moved to the dark-side, dial-phones were a thing of the past.

[asbokid]

Funnily enough, I haven't. The newer Sys X and Sys Y Exchanges were being installed when I was first taken on with BT. I worked as a 'Sparky' for my first few years, so when I eventually moved to the dark-side, dial-phones were a thing of the past.

Did you get to attend any pow-pows at the Adelphi, Liverpool?  There were regular training seminars held at the Hotel on Sys X/Y installation for GEC/Marconi/Plessey engineers.   Legendary shindigs, so say the few who survived them!

[burakkucat]

Ever had to fit a Thermistor?

No prizes for guessing another couple of (identical) items that I have in my grotto . . . 

I held (and still hold) the opinion that a thermistor was (is) a device of "last resort". By that I mean that 200-, 300- & 700-series telephones should be wired properly when more than one device was (is) connected to the line. 

[Black Sheep]

Funnily enough, I haven't. The newer Sys X and Sys Y Exchanges were being installed when I was first taken on with BT. I worked as a 'Sparky' for my first few years, so when I eventually moved to the dark-side, dial-phones were a thing of the past.

Did you get to attend any pow-pows at the Adelphi, Liverpool?  There were regular training seminars held at the Hotel on Sys X/Y installation for GEC/Marconi/Plessey engineers.   Legendary shindigs, so say the few who survived them!

Ha ha, I can well imagine the 'wrap party' when comms engineers are involved. 

I have been to The Adelphi for a couple of 'Meet & Greets'. The main one was when Openreach was on the threshold of being fully launched. I was 'acting up' for my boss at the time and was sat amongst the upper tiers of management. The ones that kind of write their own pay-checks. I actually got to say 'Hi' to our then CEO (Steve Robertson), and felt like a teenager meeting their pop-idol for the first time !! I was by no means infatuated with the guy, he just had a presence about him if you know what I mean

Anyhows, after the presentations and lunch, it was off to Albert Docks to unveil the new Openreach van liveries and the engineering communities workwear. Our original outfits were actually purple, and we looked like a team of pimps !! It didn't last long before we reverted back to blue.

For those who aren't aware, the Sys X and Sys Y Exchanges saw the demise of Strowger, Crossbar and the two TXE types (TXE2 and TXE4). The floor space created once the old stuff was removed was immense !! That was a lot of my job at the time, de-commissioning large/medium bus-bars and other 240/415V electrical gear. I know I hark on about BT now and again, but it really was a pleasure coming to work back then !!!

[4candles]

Just chanced on this very interesting thread, and feel impelled to offer a couple of clarifications.

AC9 signalling (a.k.a. loop-disconnect dialling, a.k.a. pulse-dialling) does, indeed, still work.

AC9 was a 1VF (2280Hz) signalling system used on trunk circuits between Strowger GSCs. The filtering wasn't perfect, hence the faint 2280Hz 'beep' on called party answer - still heard in radio plays long after the system's demise.

I held (and still hold) the opinion that a thermistor was (is) a device of "last resort". By that I mean that 200-, 300- & 700-series telephones should be wired properly when more than one device was (is) connected to the line. 

Agreed absolutely! Their only legitimate use was in 'shared service' (party line - not WB900 or DACS) installations, where it was the only way to prevent bell tinkle.

I know I hark on about BT now and again, but it really was a pleasure coming to work back then !!!

Hark back all you like AFAIC, fascinating stuff. It was indeed a real pleasure back then.

[burakkucat]

Just chanced on this very interesting thread, and feel impelled to offer a couple of clarifications.

AC9 signalling (a.k.a. loop-disconnect dialling, a.k.a. pulse-dialling) does, indeed, still work.

AC9 was a 1VF (2280Hz) signalling system used on trunk circuits between Strowger GSCs. The filtering wasn't perfect, hence the faint 2280Hz 'beep' on called party answer - still heard in radio plays long after the system's demise.

Oops . . .    b*cat has, indeed, typed a nonsense. Many thanks for correcting me, 4C.

There are so many codes, acronyms and what-nots filed away in the wet-ware, that once in a while the wrong one issues forth. 

Now my current problem is that I cannot recall the correct term for loop-disconnect signalling nor am I sure if the current day dual-tone, multi-frequency signalling is MF4. 

[4candles]

There are so many codes, acronyms and what-nots filed away in the wet-ware, that once in a while the wrong one issues forth. 

Now my current problem is that I cannot recall the correct term for loop-disconnect signalling nor am I sure if the current day dual-tone, multi-frequency signalling is MF4. 

   Yes indeed - telecommunications and computing et al sometimes seem to comprise mainly acronyms and codes.

It's all a long time ago now, but I can't recall any special name or code for pulse dialling other than 'loop disconnect', abbreviated to 'LD'.

You're right about MF4, but I had to check here to be sure.   

[burakkucat]

Thank you for providing the confirmation, 4C.

The site, to which that link referred, is known to me but I had never read that particular page. It triggered memories of the concept of phone phreaking and reminded me that -- somewhere in my grotto -- I have a file with copies of a series of articles that the magazine New Scientist published on the topic, dating from the early 1970s.

[4candles]

Ah, phone phreaking - those were the days.  8)

I could relate some personal experiences on that subject, if anyone's interested; I don't think they can touch me for it now.   

[HPsauce]

I could relate some personal experiences on that subject, if anyone's interested; I don't think they can touch me for it now.   

Yes, I remember some students back in the late sixties who actually PAID for their phone calls........ 

[burakkucat]

Yes, I remember some students back in the late sixties who actually PAID for their phone calls........ 

I assume others are aware of the "back-dialling" that could be performed with the Push button A / Push button B telephone boxes?

Then there was the "exhaustive" dialling of all possible 1xx-level codes, to see what other legitimate (and some unofficial "engineering") numbers were active. I had already been told about the faults-man's ring-back (174xxxx) by a GPO Engineer in the early 1960s and had read about the subscriber's automatic line-tester (SALT, 175xxxx) in the POEEJ, so I was not surprised to discover the test/trace oscillator (176xxxx) by my early "exhaustive" dialling 1xx-level codes. I last used those test codes back in 1994 on a Strowger exchange in the London Director area.

I think it was in the 21st century when I was first told of 17070 . . . 

[Black Sheep]

Crikey ...... SALT (Subs Apparatus Line & Test), wonder if this is still active ?

The main 'phreak' of the time was 'tap dialling'. In other words, one just needed to tap the switch hooks in a consistent manner, for the required number, with a slight break between numbers.

For eg - for 999 you would quickly tap down on the switch hooks nine times, then wait approx a second and then start tapping your next number etc etc .................

There was a period (way before mobile phones), where as engineers we were all given a 'pre-dial' code that was input before the number you were actually ringing. This ensured it was a free call.

They have the same engineers numbers for mobile networks nowadays.

[HPsauce]

'pre-dial' code

I remember some of those that would even allow international calls (to countries where direct dial was possible).