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[telecom] Manual and Magneto Phone Systems [Telecom]

Regarding Lisa Hancock's inquiry about manual and magneto systems: >

> Just because a system used *MAGNETO RINGING* does NOT necessarily > mean that all phones had *LOCAL BATTERY* for *TALKING*. > > And just because a system had *COMMON BATTERY* for powering *TALKING* > does NOT necessarily mean that all phones had centralized ringing > machines! > > Power for ringing is (usually) Alternating Current; > power for the talk circuit is Direct current.

The classifications of central offices in those days were "magneto," which was understood to mean magneto signalling, local talk battery, and "common battery," which was understood to mean common talk and supervisory battery and machine ringing. This was the usual teleco usage as applied to central offices.

The central office had machine ringing whether it was magneto or common battery*.

A very significant part of common battery operation is the supevision that was inherent. Local batteries would have been incompatible with the supervisory functions. The same battery was used for both talk and supervision.

But there indeed might be some magneto lines in a common battery exchange. That was particularly true in earlier days when rural magneto lines (usually one conductor and ground) were served from a common battery office. And, yes, there might be 20 or 30 or more parties. They were in variably very noisy and also other subscribers might listen in, creating an additional source of leakage.

Customers on these lines had code ringing and magnetos to signal the operator or other subscribers on the line. These terminated on a different section of the switchboard, where either typical megneto drops signaled the operator or adapters brought in a lamp signal. Either way, while customers were supposed to "ring off," when they finished their conversation, many of them failed to do so and the operator had to challenge from time to time.

These were usually owned by the subscribers and also maintained, or not maintained, by the subscribers.

Common battery operation required pretty clean loops. Magneto lines could operator in very marginal conditions.

Very long loops could not supervise in a common battery environment, so there might be some exceptionally arranged for magneto (ringdown) signalling and which required local battery at the distabnt location.

Different, and not exacly comparable to central offices, were toll stations and private line circuits used by "right-of-way" companies, such as railroads, pipeline companies and others. In the days when Bell companies and most independents would not connect with non-telco opeerations, "right-of-way" companies were an exception and telcos would interconnect with them freely.

  • - There were reportedly some very small magneto exchanges where the operator had a magento crank she turned manually. I never was in such an office.

Wes Leatherock snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com snipped-for-privacy@aol.com

Reply to
Wes Leatherock
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That was fairly commoh in the past, perhaps nearby lines in the village would be common battery, but the rural farmers would have magneto. Pictures of small town switchboards often had a combination of drops and lamps.

Many magneto private lines were in use through the 1970s on railroads. Some telephone sets appeared relatively modern, like a 500 set except a handle where the dial should be for the magneto and a push to talk button (to preserve battery life). They used two Everready No. 6 "intermitent service" dry cells wired in series. Apparently the chemistry of such cells was such that in telephone service the cells would recover after a little use. (When I was a kid I used a No. 6 cell for experiments and they had a long life span. I wonder if they still make them.)

I believe the Bell System allowed interconnection with railroads because of the hazards and difficulties involved in maintaining lines on an active railroad right-of-way.

The Pennsylvania Railroad had a massive telephone network, including its own toll testboards. In some towns the railroad PBX was dial while the host town was still manual. In contrast, the neighboring Reading Company used magneto phones. Amtrak and Conrail replaced the networks. (In more recent years track ways were used to bury fiber).

The Bell System offered a special PBX desk console intended for dispatchers, such as in railroads and oil pipelines. The console had numerous switches, dials, and a few cords and jacks. I don't think they were so much to switch calls from point to point but rather for the dispatcher(s) to receive and make calls. If anyone can add details about these consoles, please do so.

Many switchboards had a magneto crank to be used if there was a power failure and there was no machine ringing current. It would've been quite tiring for operators to turn cranks all day long. The few cranks I've turned had resistance.

***** Moderator's Note *****

I once saw a temporary telephone office set up in the basement of a telephone CO, for use by government employees during a high-level visit to Boston. It was composed of two 555 cord boards, with magneto hand cranks on each. I asked the obvious question, and the answer was "These never break".

The operators, btw, bet us they could outcrank any _TWO_ guys in the office. It was a sucker bet, and it cost me ten bucks: after pocketing my money, they confided that they were really military men, and that cranking magnetos was part of their daily physical training. The held the crank with their fingers curled around it, as if gripping a hammer, instead of by "pinching" it the way most of us do.

It was my own fault: they had plastic belts on, and the only place you buy those is at the PX: having been in the Army, I should have known. The boards were, of course, connected to the office ringing machine, but it was clear that the operators were ready to do without at any time.

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Reply to
hancock4

My grand parents farm in Minnesota was on a magneto system, they went from that to a full digital system, the local company had to send out people to do training. Some did not want their system to change. I got the phone and have it in my collection along with a few others that i got from others in the area; back then no one thought about collecting them. I remember a barn in Wisconsin years ago that had all kinds of telephones and parts, they were selling for pennies.

I have the phone hooked to my line with a switch, some years ago when my daughter was about 18 months she came into the den and pulled the crank, I was at work and my wife said a short time later Pacific Telephone repair people showed up, they said it took out the protector in the CO and one ones on my box. I was told to remove the phone, what I did was put a switch on the magneto.

Reply to
Steven Lichter

That would be Phoneco in Janesville, WI. They are still around, though the original owner has since died. They still have all kinds of telephones and parts, but they aren't selling them for pennies any longer.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

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