atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems Interesting service call today.

Received a call from a new customer who said that they have a "really old" phone system in his house (er: mansion) that needed some repairs. The guy really couldn't elaborate much on what kind of system they have, and none of the numbers he gave made any sense, so I decided to go check it out.

Here's one phone in the kitchen that was having problems:



So I opened it up and took a look inside. No lamp on line one and no transmit:



Here's one that they had as a spare in case I needed parts:



Here's a transfer key, a ringer box and the original screw-terminal block where the phone connects:



Needed to trace out the lamp leads for one of the lines:



No lamp battery for that line on any of the phones apparently. Where is the KSU for the system, sir?





After an hour or two, everything is now working. I tried to convince the customer that they need to upgrade to a new system and they said that they aren't about to part with it. The system, along with most of the phones are original from when the house was built in 1951. This one was certainly a first for me. I guess the fact that the system is 60 years old speaks volumes for the good old Western Electric quality.

Thanks for the memories. :toast:

What is it 1A Key?

Wow, a 750 crossbar PBX with 460 sets! Amazing. It is without doubt the only one left in original service. There are a few in museums, but this has to be the last one on a subscriber's premises. I wonder if AT&T is still collecting rent on it.

I'm astonished. I haven't seen a X-Bar in service - anywhere- in 25 years.

Kudos to you Ed for getting it working! :toast:


You know, if ATT is still collecting rent, then I would think that they're liable for repairs. Try to find someone in the "new ATT" who would know what to do with that. The customer might be able to get a sizable rebate.


Sam

Wow! I have never seen anything like it! I would not know where to start on that crossbar stuff!

Oh, I wouldn't even accept payment for my time. I was just so honored to be the only fool in Washington, DC who was willing to attack it. It really wasn't so bad, in fact the repairs needed were quite simple to me. What impressed me the most was the lead-sheathed house cable with perfectly-wiped splice sleeves. Man, they made it look like artwork back then. The perfectly-stenciled maple fanning strips on the blocks was an added compliment to the craftsmanship.

To hear that bad-boy fire up when a call came in was truly amazing. Even going off-hook for an internal call sounded like a mechanical symphony. The very idea that so many thousands of flat-spring relay contacts with minimal maintenance still perform perfectly is beyond comprehension to me.

I think I'm going to try to get my hands on this thing. The couple that owns the house is 93 years old, original owners, so I need to make friends with them now.

Inquiring minds have to know, what was the problem and what caused it?

I am ashamed to admit to the simplicity of the repair, Jeff. The kitchen phone's handset cord was bad. A jumper was broken for the lamp on line one. If I were to venture a guess, that jumper would have lasted another 60 years had Verizon not come in there trying to install FIOS. The customer promptly kicked them off of the premises once they broke it and they demanded that they get the system fixed.

There were a few other things, like the failure of common audible ringing. That was traced down to a pitted relay contact. Static here and there was pretty much just dirty contacts within the sets. Ironically, the phone with the most trouble was a modified 564 set that was added in 1984. I spent more time on that one than any of the others that were much older.

This service call trickled down to me through Verizon people calling all over town and through many of my former employees who are also former Bell guys, they funneled it over to me. I'm honored.

Truly amazing! I am sure you are their new hero!