New member from Norway - "dsk"

[dsk]

Hi
Bill Cahill PMed me and welcomed me with an invitation to tell about Norway, and my selves.
Thank you!

My name is Dag, I am born in Oslo and grown up with the reverse dial.
The telephone was not easy to get, due to lack of lines, but we had the typical 1953 Elektrisk Bureau telephone. http://k53.pbase.com/v3/81/589981/2/48210510.EB1953.jpg
The neighbours came and used our phone, when needed, and we ran and told them when people called.
When I became 7 or 8 I got a gift: 2 magnetos: http://home.broadpark.no/~ajsolli/1953sveiv.jpg and some field line. I was trapped by the interest.

A few years later, the neighbours next to us, got telephone, and the very new electronic with great sound, and transistors: http://i.pbase.com/v3/81/589981/2/48209629.EB1967.jpg
Of course the telco would not give us one, our worked satisfying.
This 1967 model became the main apparatus in use until 1982 where the press button phone came. (Norway and Denmark used same button configuration as a calculator).
A few years later the monopoly was gone, and we are back to private companies as it was in the first years of telephone history.

The telephones in Norway has traditionally been linked to American traditions, and beside the Norwegian Elektrisk Burau (almost married to LM Ericsson) the Standard Telefon og Kabelfobrikk (=S.T.C.) later ITT was the leading company here.

The analog telephone system is based on  50V loop, and 25Hz 90V ringers. The telco used to state a maximum of  2 telephones and one extra ringer. Typical ringer was 2.8 kiloohms in series of 2microfarad, but it could be as low as 1 kOhm in series with 1 microfarad.
Pulsesignalling 10 pps approx 60ms/40ms brake make ratio. Oslo has reverse dial as N.Z. the rest of Norway has ordinary dial.

The new dial plan is containing 8 digits, and you may not see witch geographical district the number is anymore, you may keep your number when you move, or change company.

For the moment I am the only Norwegian member of  C*NET  http://www.ckts.info/
an may be reach her on +47 02 216240 witch is the same number my parents had in Oslo when I grew up.

If you have questions about Norwegian P.O.T.S. I'll try to help you.

regards

dsk

[McHeath]

I'd never heard of or seen a reverse dial until the folks on this forum mentioned them.  Your experience in Norway is similar to mine in California, we used rotary phones until 84' when touch tone phones were installed right after the Bell System was broken up.  However we had no need to take calls for the neighbors, they had their own phones by the time I came along.  My folks got their first phone in 57', a black 554 WE wall phone, because dad's work required him to be available at any time for phone calls. 

It always intrigues me how similar the experiences are of people from vastly different places. 

[Dennis Markham]

Dag, thank you for your introduction and telling us a little something about your telephones and telephone experiences.  That's interesting how you would share phone service with your neighbors. 

[jsowers]

Dag, your mention of the press button phone being the same as a calculator reminds me of when I worked at an office where they just installed touch-tone phones, in 1984, replacing AE rotary keysets. One of the finance dept. bookkeepers kept getting wrong numbers. Then she figured it out. She was dialing the phone like the numbers on her calculator rather than the numbers on the phone.

If you look at a standard Adler office calculator, the 1 is at the bottom left and not the top left. Her fingers could fly when entering numbers on the calculator, but not on the phone!

[bwanna]

welcome, dag

thank you for the interesting story of Norwegian telco service. we have local number portability here in the US, also. a NPX can be ported to your cell phone. VOIP or another wire center. 

hope to see more postings from you.

donna

[Bill Cahill]

Thanks, Dag, for your very interesting information.
Back in the 30's, during the depression here, in the U S, many people couldn't afford the phone, so, others shared their phone service. Hmm. Reverse dial. I'd like to have a phone like that.......
Bill Cahill

[dsk]

Hi again, I have to correct myselves, the "tastafon" (press button telephone) came in 1980:

This telephone came in several versions. The first 2: DTMF or pulse. The pulse telephone had a plug on the PCB to change between ordinary or reverse dial.
This telephone was the last standard telephone before the monopoly was brought to an end. It was also the first with modular jacks on the line cord and handset cord.
At this time it was no standard of pin configuration, so a lot of these has been waste due to people cant get it work with a new line cable. For this telephone it was sold plastic covers (top and handset top) in several colors, so people could change on their own.

dsk