I'm compiling a photo list of Worldwide Telephone Jacks and Plugs. A go-to quick reference photo guide for telephone enthusiasts to look up the country of origin here on CRPF.
It's coming along nicely and I'd like to add your photos to the list so I need the help of CRPF members.
Could you please post in reply to this thread, photos of any original Plugs/Jacks you have saying their Make/Country of origin etc (if you know - no probs if you don't).
No need to take any new photos if the Plug/Jack is pictured with your phone. I can crop and edit.
With thanks.
-----------
Eg: French
Here is the RJ-11 modular plug Northern Telecom used on their phones here in Canada.
Notice how they branded their plug with their logo.
Cool Idea.
Here the swiss plugs.
Old plug style (Installed from ~50ies to the late 80ies), called T+T plug/connector.
Typicall residential type has 4 pins:
- a
- b
- W (external additional Ringer, optional)
- Earth (optional)
Swiss old style with 2 pins, used in hospitality environments.
Swiss old style with 6 pins, used in business environments.
Swiss new style (from the 80ies onwards, still in use) called the "Reichle" plug (because it was developped by the "Reichle & de Massari" Company.
Oficial name
Plug: T+T 87
Socket: T+T 83
(I don't know why, I always assumed the 83 is the year of introduction, but researching it now apparently not ...)
It is a 6 leads connector, The plug is the "female" and the socket the "male" connector.
The connectors are numbered
1a/1b
2a/2b
3a/3b
1a/1b would be the line, the other connectors can be used for external ringers, earth or also additonal lines.
The sockets are either single (6 leads) or double (12 leads).
The plugs and sockets can be "coded" to prevent putting plugs in the wrong sockets.
Also the sockets could be "locked", not a very useful feature because these plugs are not very loose and anyway will no just fall out...
Norway: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Telephone_plugs_Norway.jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Telephone_plugs_Norway.jpg)
3 pin for cb. 1&2 tip & ring 4 (third hole) ground or ringer in series. 6 pin plug. LB 1&2 line, 3&4 external ringer, 5&6 battery.
Today's std. : rj45 center pins = line.
Not photos but Wikipedia links.
Germany mostly used hard wired phones in private houses for a long time. Not until the late 1980ies the TAE (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAE_connector)plug (more or less a modernized/smaller version of the french plug) would appear. It is still in use today, also for DSL connections carrying VOIP alone and no more POTS.
Before, connector boxes ("Verbinderdose (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbinderdose#VDo_4)") AS4 or AS7 were used to simplify hard wiring. The actual plug was covered and sealed by the technician, it was forbidden for the end user to open the box. For PBX, 4 or 8 pole ADo (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschlussdose_(Telefon))connectors were in use. The round versions in the link ("Walzenstecker") are historic. A phone plug very similar to 1/4 inch jacks, just a tad longer, was used for military field phones.
For ISDN and (of course) ethernet connections, modular plugs (RJ...) came in use. ISDN was used a lot here for a while.
I am attaching a picture of several of the plugs I have here. Unfortunately, I do not remember the countries where most of these were used.
Larry
To keep the ball rolling on this interesting topic here are a couple of pix of a plug (4 prong) on a 1/72 Western Electric 2500.
Here is the plug for an Italian "Grillo" phone. It is the same 4 prong pattern as a WE 4 prong jack
Here is a Swedish plug from an Ericsson Ericofon.
I do have a different version of the 4 prong.
I also have a different version of the RJ11.
Finally some pics from me.
First is the german TAE plug, second is a wall socket. Notice the variations how the slots are arranged. "F"is for "fones", "N" is for "non fones" (memory hook: F=foot slot, N=navel slot)
An answering machine, a fax (both "N") and a phone could be hooked to the same line if required.
Third is a "AS4" connector opened up.
last is a french handset plug. I've seen it on several "model 1910" handsets, it might have been used on switchboards, railway phones, field phones???
Here is my stackable 4 prong plug
Here is a plug and receptacle; I think it works similarly to how an operator's cables work. I got it from a 302, if I recall correctly.
Here is a 4 prong plug made by Automatic Electric.
Quote from: FABphones on July 23, 2019, 07:43:34 AM
I'm compiling a photo list of Worldwide Telephone Jacks and Plugs. A go-to quick reference photo guide for telephone enthusiasts to look up the country of origin here on CRPF.
It's coming along nicely and I'd like to add your photos to the list so I need the help of CRPF members.
Could you please post in reply to this thread, photos of any original Plugs/Jacks you have saying their Make/Country of origin etc (if you know - no probs if you don't).
No need to take any new photos if the Plug/Jack is pictured with your phone. I can crop and edit.
With thanks.
-----------
Eg: French
I hope I may see your document soon, and I hope you may tell us about the most common pinout on those you have that info.
dsk
Similar topic with lots of pictures of plugs and jacks and info about:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20033.msg208875#msg208875
Haf
Here are the 4 prong jacks that I have
Here are the modular jacks that I have. Yes, one of them needs a cover plate and I don't have one for it.
Quote from: Haf on August 04, 2019, 04:21:27 AM
Similar topic with lots of pictures of plugs and jacks and info about:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20033.msg208875#msg208875
Haf
Very useful info and pics Haf. Thanks for adding.
And thanks all for the photos and info so far, very helpful.
Agreed. Very cool stuff here.
Here is a jack that I found. I'm not sure where it came from.
I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned the good old GPO Plug 420.
Also attached is a picture showing the standard British, and, I believe, Israeli, BT Plug 431A along with the six-contact variant, the 631A.
Here is a plug from Australia.
Larry
Here is a screen shot of something I saw on eBay:
What is this one used for?
I believe I have seen both these on intercoms, the last (not sure the number of pins) used by the Ringmaster intercom.
dsk
PS The company founded by Gustav Alfred Ring had a logo otwo rings OO and their office was a circular house :) (https://digitaltmuseum.no/021016592463/gustav-a-ring/media?slide=0)https://digitaltmuseum.no/021016592463/gustav-a-ring/media?slide=0
A couple from me:
1. Italian 3 pin from my Grillo phone. Note that the Grillo plug from Jim Settler earlier must be a USA export version. Mine is definitely correct Italian as I had to source the socket from Italy (I usually remove original plugs and convert to UK via new lead or junction box, but the Grillo has the buzzer in the plug so that wasn't an option).
2. East German 1980s
:)
I am sorry this ended up to be more complicated than I could guess.
dsk
I am liking it so far... ;)
Quote from: dsk on December 29, 2020, 08:35:32 AM
I am sorry this ended up to be more complicated than I could guess.
dsk
Don't be sorry, This thread is a good reference for anyone wanting to research these.
Indeed. A comprehensive list would be impossible to compile. Most telephone authorities used a proprietary standard, at least at some time.
russ, the 12 pin plus and socket could have been used on small multiline phones, ITT 576, AE 87A, 187A, and other phones that used a 10 conductor line cords... also could have been used on additional equipment requiring 6 pair cabling.... speaker system??
Here's a modern Austrian plug, or adapter to modular.
Quote from: countryman on December 29, 2020, 03:23:43 PM
A comprehensive list would be impossible to compile.
It looks like someone already accepted the challenge and compiled quite a few pictures:
https://phone-jack.org/ (https://phone-jack.org/)
Quote from: countryman on November 12, 2021, 01:59:45 PM
It looks like someone already accepted the challenge and compiled quite a few pictures:
https://phone-jack.org/ (https://phone-jack.org/)
Then we all go for the Afghanistan standard :-) Not esy, but yes a pretty good list, but it is difficult to see that Italian, Finish and Norwegian old plugs fits in the same jack.... maybe even more .
strange how Afghanistan appears repeatedly instead of the correct country names. I saw the correct version when I visited the site earlier but now it's messed up, no matter what browser or computer I use.
The site seems pretty old, as on a subpage the author refers to traveling with a computer modem. That would also be the only reason to gather this type of info, besides for us nerds :-)
The German standard plug (TAE) which is still in use is not mentioned, in many respects the list is far from being complete.
I just came across this old Czechoslovakian Tesla plug. It's a phone plug according to the info I got here (https://www.dampfradioforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=31957&p=286635#p286633) (with more pics)
It's quite bulky for a phone plug and follows an unusual principle. It almost looks like the grandfather of the USB B plug!