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Pocket Volt/Amp Meter. Conn Telephone & Electric Co.

Started by HarrySmith, July 11, 2017, 02:14:58 PM

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HarrySmith

Saw this on eBay about to close with no bids so I bit. Very nice little pocket meter. Tested it on a 12 volt battery and it works. Still in the original leather pouch, which is in awesome condition. Engraved Connecticut on the front and marked Conn Tel & Elec. Co. Inc. Meriden Conn USA. on the face. Guessing from the 50's?

Ebay Link:http://www.ebay.com/itm/132216134538
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Alex G. Bell

Quote from: HarrySmith on July 11, 2017, 02:14:58 PM
Saw this on eBay about to close with no bids so I bit. Very nice little pocket meter. Tested it on a 12 volt battery and it works. Still in the original leather pouch, which is in awesome condition. Engraved Connecticut on the front and marked Conn Tel & Elec. Co. Inc. Meriden Conn USA. on the face. Guessing from the 50's?

Ebay Link:http://www.ebay.com/itm/132216134538
Very nice collectible item!  I think it's likely to be much earlier than the 1950s, quite possibly the 30s or 40s.  By the 50s I'd expect a Bakelite case.

HarrySmith

#2
Just found a reference to it on Google Books. The American Telephone Journal volume 17 no. dated January 2, 1909. Page #285-286.

I forgot to add they call it a Dead Beat Pocket Meter!!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Alex G. Bell

Quote from: HarrySmith on July 11, 2017, 04:33:46 PM
Just found a reference to it on Google Books. The American Telephone Journal volume 17 no. 9
dated January 2, 1909.
Doesn't surprise me.

unbeldi

I have many volumes of the telephone and electrical journals of the early 1900s.
The cited reference cannot be correct, because volume 17 of The American Telephone Journal was not published in 1909.

So, I looked in "Telephony" and found it here:
Telephony, Volume 17 (9), 265-266 (February 27, 1909) A New Pocket Meter

Dead-beat was a term of art in the electrical industry.  It meant that the needle comes to a rest for a reading without oscillations.

unbeldi

Here is a little more info on your pocket meter from

Connecticut Telephone & Electric Co.,  Catalog No. 24, Intercommunicating Telephones for Interior Use,  1915-1916

Page 35:

poplar1

"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

HarrySmith

Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Pourme

Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

HarrySmith

Quote from: unbeldi on July 12, 2017, 03:48:24 PM
Here is a little more info on your pocket meter from

Connecticut Telephone & Electric Co.,  Catalog No. 24, Intercommunicating Telephones for Interior Use,  1915-1916

Page 35:

Guess the guy who had it originally was a high roller, sprung for the extra 50 cents to get the case!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

TelePlay

Okay, anyone know or want to guess at the code words? Why the were even needed?

poplar1

Quote from: TelePlay on July 12, 2017, 06:16:09 PM
Okay, anyone know or want to guess at the code words? Why the were even needed?


If they were used the same way as in the Western Electric catalogs, then they could be short substitutes used for ordering. Telegraph messages were charged by the number of words.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

HarrySmith

Quote from: TelePlay on July 12, 2017, 06:16:09 PM
Okay, anyone know or want to guess at the code words? Why the were even needed?


I was wondering about those also?? Very strange.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

unbeldi

#13
Telegraph ordering codes are quite common still for the period.  Many of the larger manufacturers used them and included in their catalogs cross-reference tables for codes to page numbers to find an item by code word.   Not only product identification was encoded with words, but also many phrases and frequently-asked questions.

The long-distance telegraph network was much better developed, and the cost were lower than in the early telephone toll network. The first transcontinental telephone line didn't open until 1915.

Here, for example, is a page from a 1907 Kellogg catalog with telegraph instructions.