My New ITT Corinthian 6 Button 1A2 Key Set

[AE_Collector]

I can't recall ever hearing of the GPO using 1A2 type phones and key equipment. Does anyone know if they did? If not, what did they use for multiline phones before the electronic key sets of the early 80's?

North America was absolutely full of AKT (automatic Key telephone) sytems in the 70's and into the 80's until businesses converted to either EKT (electronic key telephones) or PABX's. I think that "AKT" might have been an Automatic Electric term as not many know what I mean by that so everyone tends to refer to it as 1A2. Of course 1A2 doesn't acknowledge the predecesor 1A, 1A1 systems nor AE's 10A1 and 10A2, all types of equipment to work these type of phones.

GPO: You can light up as many lamps as you want but of course will need more available current from your power supply and since contacts in both the switch hook and the line keys will have the current going through them, too many lamps could damage the contacts. Normally there is only a small current going through the contacts that operates a line card in the telephone closet and that line card can operate lamps on quite a few phones that also have appearances of the same line.

Terry

[Adam]

Would all the illuminted keys work when depressed, or just one or what?

Real easy to do either.  I will work on a simple to follow diagram, coming up real soon (like tonight or tomorrow).

I like your picture with the key lit up.

Thanks!  I have a real, working 1A2 key system that I connect my key sets to.

[Adam]

North America was absolutely full of AKT (automatic Key telephone) sytems in the 70's and into the 80'. I think that "AKT" might have been an Automatic Electric term

Yes, AKT was definitely an AE term, Western Electric people would say 1A2 or just "key system".

[AE_Collector]

On a day to day basis we just called it Key Systems or AKT. Made sense that it was AKT and the "new" stuff was EKT.

In my never ending search for old equipment left in building telephone rooms, AKT equipment is the one thing that I could have stacked like cord wood in my garage right now. Anything else is very few and far between. WHY? Because much of the AKT equipment was screwed to the walls of phone rooms or riser closets and is frequently still there today and sometimes still powered up. By the time a PBX was small enough to be screwed to the wall rather than floor standing, this CPE equipment had moved onto the customers premise rather than in common phone rooms so it usually left the building when the customer did. Big Old PBX's took up too much real estate to be left behind and stay put for very long.

Terry

[gpo706]

AE:

This phone isn't indigenous to these islands!

I have no idea how it appeared on ebay UK, but I managed to buy it cheap, probably because nobody else knew what to make of it!

(and probably because its that most admired amongst phone collectors the lovely beige colour).

There is an ancient thread on here somewhere when I got it, a member was kind enough to offer to take me through a soldering iron job to get it working, which I sadly never took him up on.

Anyway the amphenol cord conversion sounds more appealing.

The model make has a notifying letter that might have meant it was for military use AFAIR, so it may have come from a US base in the UK?

Did the US military import their own phone systems here?

[AE_Collector]

This phone isn't indigenous to these islands!

How about all of the other types of 1A2 sets? IS there anything in GB with 25 or 50 pair Amphenol cords similar to WECo 564/5, AE 186 or Call Directors? There is some NECo equipment there, how about Logic 10/20 Key Sets?

Did the US military import their own phone systems here?

I would almost expect them to have used their own phone equipment overseas, especially from the time when North American phone systems became deregulated.

Terry

[Adam]

Did the US military import their own phone systems here?

Yes, I have photographic evidence that US military bases and embassies over seas had Western Electric key systems installed.

[Adam]

OK.  Here are the wiring diagrams for a key phone adapter.  I've included a simple 1 line version and a full 5 line version.  Of course, you can wire all the lamps like the 5 line version even though you only connect one phone line to the first line connection.

[gpo706]

This phone isn't indigenous to these islands!

How about all of the other types of 1A2 sets? IS there anything in GB with 25 or 50 pair Amphenol cords similar to WECo 564/5, AE 186 or Call Directors? There is some NECo equipment there, how about Logic 10/20 Key Sets?

Did the US military import their own phone systems here?

I would almost expect them to have used their own phone equipment overseas, especially from the time when North American phone systems became deregulated.

Terry

I cant really think of any Terry, the nearest I can think about is "Planset" phones or "HES" House Exchange Systems.

Very interesting that, as I suspected US installations had all US gear working through the GPO lines, though presumably with dedicated lines.

Here's an HES4 and a 710...