I have 1 picture of a switchboard coming up in auction near me. I think it is a WE 555 but I am not sure. Can anyone tell me from this 1 little picture for sure?
I'm going to say a 60 station 555. Frequently they are only equipped for 30 or 40 lines. They can be as large as 120 lines in the same size cabinet by having 20 lamps/jacks rather than 10 in each strip
Terry
Thanks Terry, I thought so.
No truth to the rumor, it was once owned by Abraham Lincoln....
The earlier 550, 551 & 552 type boards had the cords and keys mounted in the desk top. These later 555, 556 & 557 boards had the cords and keys on the angle at the back of the desktop. Thus improvement in design was to give the receptionist/phone operator a working desk area to do other functions between her other duties.
So since we know it is a 555, 556 or 557 the fact that it has the little square pieces with a jack in each one across the bottom of the vertical portion (incoming trunks) combined with lamps and jacks for stations I believe makes it a 555 PBX. 556 might be the front end to a PABX (operators position of an otherwise automatic board). I'm not completely certain how to verify that it isn't a 556. 557 is typical answering service board that frequently has single cords, not pairs and all Station jacks look like the incoming trunk jacks.
That's the best I can do...others likely know more than me. I have a 555 PBX and this looks identical.
Terry
Quote from: Pourme on January 04, 2018, 02:40:20 PM
No truth to the rumor, it was once owned by Abraham Lincoln....
No but he left his hat at the auction house. I think he slept there.
Make sure you look in the rear to see if the equipment modules, wiring blocks, etc are in place. Many time people remove these items to make the switchboard lighter.
Absolutely! I already asked for a picture of the back!