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Can anyone still dial a code number to make your own phone ring ?

Started by guitar1580, January 03, 2011, 06:03:59 AM

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Dave F

Quote from: Dennis Markham on January 03, 2011, 02:31:27 PM
That's very nice Dave.  I'd like to get my hands on one of those.  Maybe one will show up on eBay some day.  I have bent a lot of small paper clips getting the finger wheels off.
Dennis,

All the installers out here used paper clips.  I guess the guy gave me his official tool because he really didn't need it.  I'm pretty lucky that he even still had it in his truck.  Boy, that WAS a long time ago!

Dave

Dennis Markham

It was nice of him to give that to you, and the one to Harry.  Wonder if he's still working? :)

Dave F

Quote from: Dennis Markham on January 03, 2011, 02:42:39 PM
It was nice of him to give that to you, and the one to Harry.  Wonder if he's still working? :)
When those green Pac Tel trucks rolled into the neighborhood, it felt like Santa Claus was making a little rest stop.  Let's see now, Santa, how about a Butt-in, a box of Station Wire, a few 42As, and a Code-A-Phone 700.  Yes, I've been very very good.....

HarrySmith

Mine was SNET, I did not have much interest in phones once I got mine back then!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Dave F

Quote from: HarrySmith on January 03, 2011, 02:59:22 PM
Mine was SNET, I did not have much interest in phones once I got mine back then!
I got hooked on phones early on.  Here, from a previous thread, are a few of my recollections of that time:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3264.msg43400#msg43400

guitar1580

Great stories folks.  So Harry, you got your own 500 installed in your bedroom, by the phone company?  That's pretty special for those days.  I had to obtain and connect my own.

For the first 10 or 12 years of my life, we had a green 554 on the wall by the kit-DR doorway.  My sister or I would lay on the floor under it when talking to our friends.  I still remember the day, around 1970 to 72, when we had the black 500 connected in my parents' bedroom, shiny new with clear fingerwheel, and hardwired into a wall box.  It was like we really moved up in the world, to be able to lay across a bed and talk in private.

I didn't get a free tool, but I paid attention, and got my eyes opened to how and where the phones were connected.  I soonafter acquired a Nov '53 black 500 from my neighbor's grandpap, who somehow had several of them in his basement, along with spool of telephone co. wire - I think he must have worked for the phone company at some point.

So, that began my phone tinkering, as my friend and I set about running the wire out my bedroom  window of the old farmhouse, into the basement, and connected to the terminal.  I was definitely one of the only kids around to have a phone in my BR ... and with all the talk of disconnecting the ringer, and "property of Bell", we practically felt like bootleggers.  We were the underground.

Before I got the 500, I used to connect a small old speaker to the terminal box, to listen in on Ma and Sis ... of course they  heard me connect up.  I'm sure it was noisy as heck.  Haha, never did hear anything good.

Also, I still have the spool of wire, and use that old 500 every day.  In a roundabout way, that phone is what got me into collecting.  I'll tell that story another time.

Josh

jsowers

My fingerwheel tool looks identical to Dave's and is a KS16750L2 and has a black cover that I don't use. I got it on eBay years ago from Kansas City, Kansas. It came with a pouch of unstamped number cards and a stamper and ink pad. I have no idea the difference between the 1 and 2 versions. It's very handy and one of my favorite tools.

BTW, the only ringback I ever had was the number we had to call my grandmother on the party line. It was 1543. We dialed it and hung up and our phone rang and then her phone rang, over and over, and when the ringing stopped, that meant the other party had answered. Even then it was an antiquated way to reach someone. Often they hung up before you realized they answered the phone. I remember seeing other telcos having a tic-tic sound that alerted then answering party that someone on their party line was calling them, but we never had anything fancy like that. The number my grandmother dialed for us was 1534. Party lines went away about 1983 in our area.

Normally, we just walked across the yard if we needed to tell each other something. :)
Jonathan

Dave F

Quote from: jsowers on January 03, 2011, 03:28:46 PM
My fingerwheel tool looks identical to Dave's and is a KS16750L2 and has a black cover that I don't use. I got it on eBay years ago from Kansas City, Kansas. It came with a pouch of unstamped number cards and a stamper and ink pad. I have no idea the difference between the 1 and 2 versions. It's very handy and one of my favorite tools. <snip>
It looks like the L2 has a longer metal tip than the L1.  I know that they all came with a black plastic cover, but I mine was missing the cover by the time I got it.

HarrySmith

Yeah, I had no choice, my Dad told me I could not tie up his phone for hours while talking to my girlfriend so I had to get one of my own. I was already working by then so I had a weekly paycheck to take care of it, just local calling, if I recall it was about $9.00 a month.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Adam

This is my finger wheel removal tool.  Got it in a lot of phone stuff from eBay last year.  Until then I had been using paper clips.  I can't tell you how much easier it is to do it the right way using the tool, you just can't get a good grip on the paper clip, even if you leave 75% of it "unbent".

My  tool came with a red "pen cap" top which isn't pictured.

While we're on the subject, does anybody have any idea what the intended function the right-angle bent part of the tool is?
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

bwanna

great stories, guys!

dave, your tool is similar to one i use at work to remove wire from a spin down block. first you would use your "un-spinner" tool, then fish the wire out with the angled end of your tool. the tool i have is black & does not have the straight piece of wire on the other end.

sorry i don't have a picture of what i am talking about. & since i can't think of the proper name of the spin down i can't find it on the internet.
donna

Adam

Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

Doug Rose

Quote from: masstel on January 03, 2011, 03:47:06 PM
This is my finger wheel removal tool.  Got it in a lot of phone stuff from eBay last year.  Until then I had been using paper clips.  I can't tell you how much easier it is to do it the right way using the tool, you just can't get a good grip on the paper clip, even if you leave 75% of it "unbent".

My  tool came with a red "pen cap" top which isn't pictured.

While we're on the subject, does anybody have any idea what the intended function the right-angle bent part of the tool is?
Dave...it sure looks like a 110 pic to me. Punching down crosswire on a 110 block, you need a pic to get out the excess insulation or copper that can be left behind. 110s weren't meant for constant punch and re-punch like a 66 block was. Pen cap has a clip to clip on to your pocket. Later ones had a rubber end on the straight side. ...Doug
Kidphone

bingster

Since the straight end is for removal of a modern fingerwheel, I wonder if the right-angle end could be for removal of the older clear fingerwheels that have the little hook release.
= DARRIN =



Dennis Markham

That would be a perfect tool for that, wouldn't it?  I can also see it being used for threading wires.  Like when I feed the four handset cord wires on a Model 500, I like to drag them inside the switch hook wires.  My big fingers have a difficult time reaching through the switch wires to pull them to the network.