Category Archives: Telephone history

1924 Telephone Workers: Risking Life and Limb

1924FebBLA hundred years ago, the telephone had become an essential part of American life, and the public had come to take it for granted as part of their normal business and social lives, as well as relying upon it in emergencies.

But The Telephone Company and its workers didn’t take it for granted. Despite fire or storm or flood, the telephone operator stuck to her switchboard. And the lineman and a quarter million employees risked life, limb, and even health to make sure that messages continued to go through.

All the public had to do for all of this was to pay the moderate cost.

This ad appeared in the February 1924 issue of Boys’ Life.



1924 Phone Hands Free Device

Screenshot 2023-12-30 6.57.18 PMShown here in the January 1924 issue of Popular Mechanics is an early telephone hands-free device. The unit clamped on to the side of the telephone, with a counterweight under the base of the phone, to hold the receiver in any position. It included a clips that held the hook down or released it. It allowed both hands to be used while talking on the phone.



Catalina Island Telephone Link: 1923

1923NovPSWe previously reported the construction, in 1921, of a radiotelephone link between California and  Santa Catalina Island26 miles across the sea (40 kilometers, for those in leaky old boats).  That link was in use for only two years, as reported here in the November 1923 issue of Popular Science.

In 1923, a cable was installed for both telegraph and telephone connections, both of which were multiplexed to allow multiple conversations.  One advantage of the new system, alluded to in the original article, was that radio conversations could be listened in to.  While some scrambling was put in place, the signals were transmitted over the air.  In addition, the radio license was surrendered, and that wavelength made available for broadcasting.



I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Get Up: 1973 Antecedent

1973NovElemElecOver a decade before Mrs. Fletcher (played by actress Dorothy McHugh) famously told the world that he had fallen and can’t get up,  London engineer Douglas Wells, presumably shown in the dramatic re-enactment shown here, was at work on the problem. An elderly neighbor had tripped and fallen down the stairs of her home. She was found three days later, dead. This inspired Wells to come up with the early prototype shown here. It consisted of a mat which was placed at the bottom of the stairs. If someone fell down the stairs and landed on the mat, it would trigger an alarm bell and lighted “HELP” sign outside the house.

This would, of course, be a great benefit if someone fell on that particular stairway. But it would be of no help if some casualty afflicted the person elsewhere in the house. So the wireless device worn around the neck, hooked up to the telephone line, is probably a better solution.

For those in need of such a system, the first point of inquiry is often your local hospital, some of which provide these systems free of charge. If that’s not an option, one alternative is a medical alert service. They typically supply the equipment at no cost, but provide the service for about $20 per month. So if the person requiring assistance pushes the button, like Mrs. Fletcher, they will speak directly to an operator who will summon the required assistance. You can find a comparison of the available services at this link.

Another option is to purchase equipment similar to that shown here.
It consists of a base unit that connects to the normal landline telephone. If either of the panic buttons is pushed, it automatically dials up to three telephone numbers and plays a prerecorded message. The advantage of this type of system is that the caller ID information is displayed at the other end. So if it’s set to call 911, then the 911 dispatcher will know the location of the emergency. However, it’s probably best to program it to dial the numbers of friends or relatives who can intervene in emergencies, which may or may not warrant 911.

The third option is a system similar to the one shown here.
This small unit is actually a cellular phone. It relies upon the fact that all cellular phones in the U.S., whether or not activated, are required to be able to call 911. In this case, 911 is the only number it will call. The disadvantage is that, since it is not an activated phone, the 911 dispatcher probably won’t have access to your location. But as long as the owner is able to speak, they will be able to tell the dispatcher where they are, and what the emergency is. The phone is turned off until the button is pushed, so batteries (normal AAA batteries) will last a long time, and only need to be replaced once a year or so.

A final option for anyone potentially in need of such assistance is any cellular phone. Again, even if the phone is not activated, it can be used to call 911. One disadvantage is that it does require the user to affirmatively dial 911, which might be difficult in an emergency. Also, batteries need to be charged on a regular basis, which means it’s not something that can simply be forgotten until needed. But since most people have old cell phones lying around, it is a zero-cost option. If you’re worried about someone, simply asking them to put an old phone in their pocket gives some assurance that they can call for help, even if they can’t access their normal phone. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to keep an old phone, along with a 12 volt cord, in your car as a backup communications method in an emergency.

The picture at the top of the page of the 1973 system is from the November 1973 issue of Elementary Electronics.



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1943 Barb-Wire Telephone

1943SepRadioCraftEighty years ago this month, the September 1943 issue of Radio Craft carried this circuit, dubbed the “barb-wire telephone.” It was sent in to the magazine by one Fred H. Randolph (from another submission to the magazine, apparently of Booneville, AR), who reported using it to communicate with a friend three miles away, courtesy of an iron fence wire. The circuit is nothing more than an audio amplifier using a carbon button mike, and puts out enough power to drive a speaker at the other end of the circuit, where an identical unit is located.



1973 British Three Transistor Intercom

Screenshot 2023-05-02 12.03.22 PMFifty years ago, this British family stayed connected thanks to this three-transistor (one germanium, two silicon) intercom, from the May 1973 issue of Everyday Electronics. The set was tested with a range of fifty feet, and the author believed that it would perform well over a much longer connection. Similar commercial units were available, but the cost of materials (about three pounds) of this project was considerably lower.

The master unit used a spring-loaded push to talk switch.

Screenshot 2023-05-02 11.20.52 AM



Future of Wireless: 1947

1947MarBLSeventy-five years ago this month, the March 1947 issue of Boys’ Life offered scouts some predictions about what wireless communications might look like in the future. The words “handi-talkie” and “walkie-talkie” had entered the lexicon, thanks to military use of portable transceivers, and the magazine predicted that civilians would soon be enjoying their widespread use.

It starts by noting how a radio-equipped newspaper reporter could easily scoop the other papers, but the equipment was getting lighter, smaller, cheaper, and simpler, and the magazine predicted that use would be widespread.

The FCC had already authorized the citizens’ radio service on UHF, and the magazine noted that the FCC had allocated a full “10,000 kilocycles” of spectrum to the service.

The magazine hinted that a link to the telephone network wasn’t far off, and you would soon be able to “make, or receive, phone calls from your family car as you drive along.” You could even call another car!

The magazine did get some things right:

As the things come into common use, there will be a field day for cartoonists and gag writers. All kinds of funny new situations will arise when all of us begin to walk around, carrying on phone conversations as we go.

But, funny or not, the day is bound to come. As someone once remarked, ‘the world do move.’

And they got one more thing mostly right:

Taking one hand off the wheel might constitute a traffic hazard, so there is room for improvement in the equipment. Perhaps our engineers will soon be able to give us a radio telephone that works like a radio microphone and loud speaker. Then the motorist would be able to carry on his conversation simply by touching a button with his left foot, leaving both hands on the wheel. Automatic transmissions are foot eliminating clutches anyway, so the driver’s left foot will be free to take on a new job beside that of just dimming the lights.



TV Relay Tower, 1952

1952FebRadioElecI remember as a kid seeing a structure similar to this one. I don’t remember exactly where, but it was somewhere along the route between Minneapolis and Duluth, with one horn facing south, and the other facing north. I asked my parents what it was, and they said it was for relaying TV signals. It made perfect sense to me, since the two horns looked a lot like TV screens.

I didn’t know what was inside, but now I do. The electronics were on the top floor, the B+ power supply was on the third floor, the filament power supply was on the second floor, and a backup generator was on the ground floor.

This diagram appeared 70 years ago this month in the February 1952 issue of Radio-Electronics.  Click on the image to see the full size version.



1962 Phone Answering Machine

1962FebPSTelephone answering machines didn’t really become a thing until the 1970s, and even then, they were expensive and rare. At first, even their legality was dubious, since The Phone Company was jealous of anyone making any kind of direct electrical connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network.  I didn’t have an answering machine myself until well into the 1980s. Surprisingly, there was a time when the phone just kept ringing when nobody was home, and there was no way to leave a message. Similarly, if your phone rang, the only way to find out who was calling was to pick up the phone and talk to them.

For those who were unwilling to wait for the future, the February 1962 issue of Popular Science showed you how to put together your own answering machine. And since there was no direct connection to the phone line, you didn’t have to worry about provoking the ire of The Phone Company. When the phone rang, an inductive coil placed under the phone would sense it, and it would trigger a solenoid which would physically lift the button on the phone. It would also turn on the tape recorder, which had been left in the “play” position. The tape recorder would then play your outgoing message through the speaker, which was close to the telephone handset. At the end of the outgoing message on the tape, you had painted silver paint on the back of the tape. When this passed through an outboard sensor you had added to the recorder, it would trip a second solenoid, which would flip the switch on the tape recorder from “play” to “record”. The microphone was placed next to the receiver, and it would record for thirty seconds. At the end of this thirty-second piece of tape, there was another section of silver paint, which would reset the whole contraption for the next call.

You would need to prepare the tape in advance for as many calls as you expected to get, including multiple outgoing messages and silver paint sections.

For the outgoing message, you were instructed to tell the caller to leave their 30 second message when they heard the “click.” Presumably, the sound of the tape recorder switching over from playback to record would be sufficiently loud to serve as the cue.

To hear your messages, you would first glance at the tape to see if it had been used. If so, you would need to first remove the tape from the external switch, since running the tape through it unnecessarily would quickly remove the silver paint. You would then plug the tape recorder directly into the wall, rewind, and listen to the tape, which would include both your outgoing messages and the incoming messages.

As you can see from the schematic below, the control circuit used tubes, to switch the relays and solenoids. Since one of the relays was used to turn the tape recorder on and off, the tape recorder itself would need to be a solid state model, since there would not be time for the tubes to warm up.

After it was built, the device had to be adjusted. In particular, there was a sensitivity control for the circuit triggered by the ringer. In order to adjust it, the phone had to be ringing. And, of course, the only way to do that was to call someone else and ask them to call you.

1962FebPS2

 



Willetta Huggins, 1922

1922JanPMA hundred years ago this month, the January 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics carried the curious tale of sixteen-year-old Willetta Huggins. She had been both deaf and blind for three years, but she was able to “hear” by placing her finger on the diaphragm of a telephone receiver. “With this discovery she soon learned that she could conduct a telephone conversation almost as well as any normal child of her age.”

The magazine recounted a demonstration in which she successfully received a message by wireless telephone, witnessed by a number of dignitaries including Wisconsin Governor John J. Blaine. For whatever it was worth, the magazine noted that the message had been sent on 800 meters (375 kHz), and received with an audion detector and 50 foot antenna.

She also reportedly had the ability to discern colors by smell. In one experiment recounted by the magazine, she was able to identify the colors of six samples of yarn, simply by smell. She was also able to identify the color of the Governor’s suit by smelling it.

But this isn’t the end of the story. According to the New York Times, she was pronounced cured in 1924, and regained her vision and hearing. She ascribed her cure to her Christian Science beliefs, and attested that she had been “completely and permanently healed.” Reportedly, as of 1970, she had changed her name and was working as a Christian Science healer in a midwestern city.