The switch was a #1 ESS. The problem actually happened three times over the ten years I was at the bank.

We never got a straight answer as to what the problem was. Sometimes it was supposed to be an upgrade to the switch that slowed processing time, sometimes it was heavy traffic, sometimes it was just.......????

Usually we got conflicting answers depending who we were talking to.

If you were picking up your DT on a single line set, by the time you got the handset to your ear you had DT. On a regular PBX you dialed 9 and there was a long pause and then you had DT. Most people would never know that there was a problem.

In our case though, the switches were "supercharged" (for the time) networking monsters and were specifically designed to report Network problems (like no or slow DT).

But it was always my experience (and I'm sure many will argue with me) that GTE, while they were somewhat lacking in the Telephone Set department, made an excellent switch and had a higher standard of switching then the Bell System - at least in NY.


As an aside - does anyone still use Analog Ground Start Circuits?
Or have they too gone the way of the dodo?

Sam

"Where are we going and why are we in this hand basket?"