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Hi from a New Member - Cadman

Started by cadman, February 14, 2013, 09:14:51 AM

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cadman

Hi guys,

Thought I'd introduce myself, I'm Cory (aka Cadman).  Looks like I'm in similar company! I happen to be a bit of a vintage fanatic (TV's, teletypes, appliances, cars, you know how it is...)and telephones are something I've always been interested in; started collecting in grade school back in the 80's when you could still find 500 sets at garage sales. Now I have a place of my own and am setting up my lab, getting out all the old toys, working on PBX ideas, and such.

As a kid, I remember wanting a WE switchboard more than anything. The local museum had two PBX's on display, one was a 555 connected to several phones, and I'd make it a point to demonstrate it whenever I got the chance. Nowadays, if you've got the money, there's that ebay place where you'll eventually find one, but in 6th grade, there was no ebay, and my pockets certainly weren't very deep. A $5 a week allowance was just enough to buy a two-pack of slide switches or a ΒΌ" jack at the local Radio Shack. Some cheap plywood and black paint and I had a switchboard roughly the size of a 555. It was a 4 extension, 2 trunk setup at first. Signaling was done by using a second set of wires to each phone with a buzzer or old low-v xmas tree lamp. It wasn't until later on I got my hands on a magneto.

The neighborhood kids would come over and the basement was setup like a town, with each person carving out some area for a house or business. As the "town" grew, so did the switchboard. Telephone poles were built out of 2x2's and used old telegraph insulators I had gathered to string the wires along. Pretty neat. Now I've got a real 555 and hope to dig out and dust off the phones and get things connected this year.

Anyway, thanks for the temporary indulgence down memory lane. Looking forward to getting to know you all!  -Cory

dsk

Welcome Cadman.

I like your story, It reminds me of my-selves. Growing up in a little apartment, I had to figure out other ways to do it, it ran som wires outside on the wall from my window to the neighbor boys window...

Again welcome, and when you may post some photos, please do.

dsk

paul-f

Welcome to the forum, Cadman.

Your background suggests you should be planning now to attend the TCI show in Lancaster in June.  You'll meet a lot of interesting folks with similar interests, see a lot of phones plus some demos of switching gear and C*Net that will curl your toes.

http://events.telephonecollectors.info/2013/Lancaster/index.htm
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

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cadman

Looks like a great event! Would love to see real switchgear in action, too.  I'll see if I can dig up some pics. -Cory