Posted on 05/21/2024 10:19:32 AM PDT by DallasBiff
The rotary dial phone was once the be all and end all of the telephones. Like the cellphone of today, everybody had one, and they ruled domestic communications for decades.
But that all changed in the 1980s when they were supplanted by a new upstart, push-button telephones. Their days were numbered (pun intended).
Many born after the 1990s have likely never seen one, which is a shame. But for those who do remember, join us as we take a trip back in time in remembrance of this glorious piece of telecommunications history.
(Excerpt) Read more at interestingengineering.com ...
The electromechanical steampunk complexity of the Strowger switch is such that it's hard to believe that hundreds of millions of them were made to work together in the Bell System, such a vital catalyst to the rise of American civilization throughout most of the 20th century.
Your phone — the dial phone that sat somewhere in your house, or your parent's house — connected to the phone network by a wire, was matched by a rack bay at the "Central Office" of the phone company. Each and every phone had about ten inches of 19" rack space devoted to it; the rent you paid for the phone also paid for that rack space, and the Strowger switches and other wiring that occupied it, as well as (of course) the power supply necessary to make it run when you picked up the receiver and released the switch hook, connecting the phone to the system.
There are a number of YouTube videos on this — and many related — subjects.
The hole cult of ‘phone phreaks’ fascinated me when I read about it - including the fact that it seemed especially attractive to some blind people:
https://www.eetimes.com/the-blind-hacker-who-inspired-apple/
When I was a kid “time” was automated and you dialed 555-1212.
CC
My Explorer post was sponsored by Pacific Bell.
It also had the distinction of being the first coed post in the BSA.
I learned a lot...
Her late husband had a two digit number for his office -somewhere in the low 40s to my recollection. Not many folks needed phones back in the depression.
555-1212, when preceded by an area code, the long distance directory assistance?
I’m remembering probably 65-67 or so when we spun that rotary for personal time service courtesy of the lady operators. Not too many years later Lily Tomlin developed her “operator” persona.
Strowger switch?
Huh, never heard it called that, we called it step-by-step.
Our Post installed one as part of the entire phone system for a Boy Scout camp.
When we were in junior high we discovered that you could “tap” out numbers by repeatedly hitting the hangup button. That imitated the clicking made by the dial rotating. It was a neat discovery for jr high schoolers, but could take a minute or so to “dial” someone that way. LOL
I think you could dial Operator that way, but would you tap 10 times?
My friend’s dad worked his whole life for Ma Bell. When they upgraded to microprocessors he brought back crates of aluminum memory cards and we used them for target practice.
I remember the cord going in to the closet where my sister was trying to have a private conversation with boyfriends.
Oh how many times she would charge me when I would pull the plug on that cord.... But I was faster...l
We were on a party line for awhile because my mom didn’t like the price for a private line. 😉
AND if you still have a landline and the power goes out, one of these things will still work, calling out & incoming ringer to let you know you have a call, the phone lines have electric.
We keep ours in the cupboard and plug it in when needed.
That’s cool !
I would give her (there were no male operators back then) a four-digit number, similar to my home's four-digit number.
And if you wanted to call someone long distance, the effort was similar to that experienced by Steve Allen in his "Call to Seattle".
And your wording began with a word. Pennsylvania 65000
My grandparents lived in a small east Texas town. To call some one you would dial 5 numbers. My grandfather would not spend more than 2 minutes on the phone because “central was listening”. He lived from 1903 to 1981.
Millineals can’t dial an analog phone and they usually can’t drive a stick shift either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.