atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems Greetings and a Request for Some Info on How to Setup Small Keyset System

Yeah, the larger wires on the back of my KSU are soldered on.

Cat -

One thing once you get it all going - everyone helped me do a similar thing with MOH (although in my case it was much easier due to the model of KSU I have), and I just wanted to share this with ya in case you think you did something wrong. The volume of the MOH is no where near what you hear in todays world. Ed, Sam, Arthur and Ken confirmed this for me; back in the day MOH wasn't there to entertain you, but just to let you know you were still connected to somebody. So.... don't expect the kind of ear canal shattering volume you hear in today's world. Also, while you're waiting for the shipment to arrive, you might start to give some though as to how you're going to mount the enclosure. I'm sure it mounted on some sort of rack back in the day, but you'll probably need to make some standoffs or something for it.

Once you go to all the trouble of wire wrapping 18 x 4 leads, you'll not want to risk one or more of leads breaking due to the enclosure just 'hanging' there. The pics I posted should give ya a starting point of what you're going to need to do.

Just a thought...

- Matt

Thanks for that Matt

I still don't know where to punch the leads (as KLD mentioned) coming from the enclosure. Punch them on the 66 block? As fas as I can tell, that's the only place you can punch anything on my KSU.

I'll wire-wrap the slot pins on the enclosure, but where they go from there, I don't know.

I was wondering Matt, do you still use your KSU? is that your home telephone system?

I have no practical purpose for doing this. I just find the technology very cool

Yep, I installed the full blown system, and outside of a payphone I have installed, trimlines in the bathrooms, and a standard rotary wall phone in the kitchen, everything else is 1A2, with intercom and MOH.

Wouldn't have been able to do any of it without this board. You're in good hands here.

I don't know where you're going to punch down to either.... I'm looking forward to this discussion/walk through.

One thing ya might do, I know that all slots share mostly common leads - in other words, on the back of my KSU, almost all the pins on each slot are wired in parallel. So while you're waiting, you could study your KSU to see what pins from what slots are common, and where they end up terminating on your 66 block. There's probably also a schematic for it that someone could point you to.

To cut down on the number of leads you're going to have to punch down, you could determine what pins will be common on the back of the enclosure, tie them together, and then in those cases you'll just have one lead to run back to the KSU. In other words, I don't see any reason why you'll have to run 72 (18 x 4) leads back to the KSU be punched down.

Yes, ofcourse, that would be a waste of wire. In any event, I'll only have the isolation card (for now) on the enclosure, so in essence, I'll only have to run one slot enclosure back to the KSU.

I want to set up a speaker system as well, since I use speakerphone regularily. Intercom as well.

Any idea where I can get a good deal on a rotary wall phone? Or a touch-tone version of the same phone?

EBay has all kinds of 'em. They come up all the time. A speakerphone is a completely different matter.

I can point you to a source for them, but you are looking at some fairly serious $$$..
I'll PM ya the source. Mine is a 4A, otherwise known as a "Charlies angels) speakerphone. Which, by the way, if the best speakerphone I've ever had.... one issue is it's half duplex, but there's circuitry in it that largely makes that problem moot. Keep in mind a 1A2 speaker phone comes (a least a 4A) comes in 3 parts - the speaker, an on/off switch (which also houses the mic) and a connecting block to hook them al together. Then there is a transfomer to power it.

When I was really into it, I'd search ebay every morning for "1A2". I haven't seen much lately, but another alternative is to search "Western Electric" and look through all the pages (50+). It will take ya about an hour, but a lot of people sell 1A2 keysets not knowing what they are, and so they don't even mention 1A2 in the ad.

Prices can range very broadly, depending on the rarity, date of manufacture, and condition of the keyset, as well as color. Sometimes you can come across an entire lot of them.

I have 3 TT 1A2 keysets I'd be willing to part with, green (avacodo), beige or white, all fully functional. I have other colors (red and black), but I'm not sure I want to give them up. Red 1A2's are pretty hard to come by, and I paid quite a lot for some of them.

I'll also point you to a site where you can get new or reconditioned 1A2 keysets, but again, pretty pricey.

Standard rotary (or TT) wall phones are a dime a dozen on ebay. Just search wall phone and you're off.

Also, one reason I paid a bit more is I insist on WE keysets. The ITT ones seem flimsy to me, although they function just as well. But you could kill an elephant with one of the old WE sets.... then make a call back home on it. The ITT ones... not so much.

Hey Matt, i'lll reply in earnest when I have more time, but it's the 4A speaker system I'm looking to setup. Talk soon.

Guys, it would be best to start up another thread. This one is 157 posts deep now and has covered a lot more topics than the original matter at hand. We need to keep threads clear and concise, not bouncing all over the place. Just start another thread about 4A speakerpones when you are ready. Thanks for your cooperation.