101A/B Optional equipment

[Babybearjs]

OK, I keep seeing a reference for a 101A KTS in the 1A1 paperwork.... what was a 101A?? the only 101 I know of is the old power plants...101G...Etc. what was this part of the 1A1 system and what did it do?? does anyone know??

[poplar1]

The original 101A Key Equipments consisted of relays, mounted on 19" strips, and 101A Key units, mounted in wood or aluminum boxes. The key units allowed a single line phone (or headset) to pick up or hold up to 10 lines.  The 101-type key units were used  where one or more attendants needed to pick up more than 5 lines, since the 464 keyset had a maximum of 5 lines (or 6 without hold). 101B Key Units were flush mounted.

You could have multiple "supplementary" key units at one location in order to pick up more than 10 lines (up to 40), but needed only one "originating unit" (with hold and flash/ring keys) per station. One originating unit per system had a battery and buzzer cutoff.

http://etler.com/docs/BSP/C/C71.111_I2.pdf
http://etler.com/docs/BSP/C/C71.112_I1.pdf

The key units have two lamps (white and red) per line: a combined "line" (incoming)/"busy" (in use) lamp + a hold lamp. These key units  could be used with 1A1 Key Equipments as well, but in that case, only one lamp was used for each line, and the hold lamps were removed. Also, the line/busy lamps had to be changed to the correct type used with 1A1 Key Equipments.



http://etler.com/docs/BSP/C/C71.113_I3.pdf
http://etler.com/docs/BSP/C/C71.114_I1.pdf

[Babybearjs]

Thank you for the information. I saved the pdf files. this equipment pretty much has been recycled out of existence... I hardly see these boxes on ebay or in antique stores...   Phoneco, Inc. still has some of the wood units, but these would have to be rewired and are pretty much used for HO scale train setups, and the like... all the same, thanks for the info though! now my question is answered...

[poplar1]

Here is the link to TCI library for an article on "101-Type Key Equipments" from the May, 1937 Bell Laboratories Record:

http://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/document-repository/doc_view/11301-37aug-blr-p370-101-type-key-equipments

[Babybearjs]

thank you. 1937... wow! things sure were different back then...... post depression/pre-war... and these units were mainly found in the big cities!