Wooden Telegraph Loop Switchboard (patch panel)

[tekuhn]

Has anyone seen one of these before? I cannot find any brand identification. The label says it's for telegraph, but I see no reason it couldn't have been used for 2-wire telephone circuits also. The red jumpers appear to be standard 1/4" TR plugs. Any collector value?

[Jim Stettler]

I have one. Mine has a clear finish and is marked as a telegraph switchboard. (It is currently stored). I keep mine with my telegraph stuff.

Jim S.

[paul-f]

From the construction and markings, it's made by Western Electric.

An internet search shows a similar device in the Seattle Museum of Communications collection.
  http://spmh.us/i:257

[tekuhn]

Very cool - thank you!

[Victor Laszlo]

Definitely Western. It uses the same cabinetry as the early 100-series key equipment keys.  There is an SD and a J number; both are Western nomenclature. On long distance telegraph circuits, a positive battery was applied at one end of the single wire, and a negative battery was applied to the other end. The system used a ground return. The batteries might be as strong as 200 volts or more, to compensate for the resistances involved over many miles of wire.

All the sounders were kept in the series circuit, and only when an operator along the line (usually along a railroad ROW) wanted to transmit, would he electrically insert his key.  Then all the other operators would get the same message. In the event that the line opened, the operators would notice that their sounders had gone dead, and then they would use a switchboard such as yours to break the line into a "west" and an "east" section, to try to help the repairman determine where the break was.  The switchboard would allow the operator to send in one direction using a local ground, and eventually the repairman would figure out whose key was still working and whose was not.

The switchboard that you have might have been used this way, or it might have been used in some other application. By analyzing the circuit label, you can probably figure out what the exact application was.

[tekuhn]

There is a circuit number at the top labeled "CKT - FD18636 New York". The SET jacks are labeled Dataset 1 XMIT and REC and Dataset 2 XMIT and REC. The MISC jacks are labeled Line 1 XMIT and REC and Line 2 XMIT and REC. At the bottom it says CORDS MUST BE  PLUGGED IN XMIT and also In Case Of Trouble Call 585-6063. All internal wiring is cloth insulation, but the external wires that are cut off are newer plastic with standard color schemes. Perhaps used for something other than telegraph in it's final application. Tried to add pictures but it says they fail security check....

[TelePlay]

Tried to add pictures but it says they fail security check....

You are loading 4,000 by 3,000 pixel images. Try reducing them in size to 2,000 by 1,500, save them with a different file name and try to upload the reduced size images.

The other possible issue is that you are taking these images with an Apple iPhone 6s. Apple puts a lot of meta data in each image and sometimes that code caused the forum software to raise the security flag and deny uploading.

All of this is discussed in length in many topics posted on this board:

How To Post Photos on CRPF


This topic from this reply forward deals with the security check issue.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=8990.msg115883#msg115883

[tekuhn]

Thanks for the information.