What happened to all the Switchboard operators? - Telephone Tuesdays -

[@curtishoffmann6956]

Not sure the wasp nest was factory standard, and am convinced that adding that mod voided your service warranty.

[@loopinnerthe]

Mitch... that was so fun and informative. You can always identify a former telephone exchange building because they always have really high ceilings..... that allowed the wasps to fly around more easily.

[@hackmodular]

Glad u enjoyed it 👍

[@alankingvideo]

I used to work for Post Office Telecomunications and in one of the hospitals there was a blind operator using a dolls eye switchboard, about 20 years after they had all been removed from everywhere else and automated. However they waited for her to retire before they upgraded to a modern PABX.

[@hackmodular]

Good to hear she kept her job!

[@fatmark1971]

Really enjoying the new segments Sam, Mitch and everyone involved. Thanks a million for the info and all the equipment. The older stuff is the best ( me included !! )

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

for the telephone tuesdays you can thank mitch and johnny! its their minds behind this segment!

[@hackmodular]

Cheers Mark!

[@seamusellis1450]

Dover was late to the Automatic era...Mum would have made the call to tell my Gran I'd arrived in the world through the Manual exchange on February 10th 1973. The Automatic TXK1 Crossbar exchange came into service just over 6 weeks later on 28th of March. Folkestone on the other hand was the total opposite...it had Strowger from 1937, STD in 1961 and one of the first TXE4s in 1976.

[@kurtklingklang5918]

In the 1970’s I was ships company on HMS Hermes. There was a manual exchange on board that was manned by the Comms Dept in foreign ports. You’d be amazed by some of the offers we received from the women that rang the ship!

[@jonathanpalmer5505]

Lovin' telephone Tuesday

[@Dr.Phunkenstein]

This is maybe my favorite segment on the channel right now. Something about the medium format, somewhere between a short and a full video, feels refreshing. Thanks!

[@davidyates748]

I used to work for GEC Plessey telecommunications in Liverpool, which was previously known as the Automatic Telephone Equipment company, or ATE, known locally as "The Automatic", a major employer in the area.

[@StormadoMan]

The character in the sound of calls across that old equipment eclipses any of the sterile modern digital systems hands down.

[@sparkyprojects]

My first job was installing an exchange that replaced the last manual exchange in the country, Abingdon Oxfordshire A friend of mine played tricks on telephone operators, he would get behind the operator consoles and hold onto the wires going down to the counterweights that returned the pluds back to tgheir places, meaning that the operators couldn't plug them in

[@TheDavidPoole]

Great stories, guys. This sort of thing keeps the memories alive. My mother-in-law was an exchange operator (in Grays) after she left the Navy. She once connected a call for Roger Moore and he did the whole "don't you know who I am" thing. She gave him short shrift. Cheers ✌️

[@TheDavidPoole]

Hey Mitch, when I was a kid, my dad was in the building industry and I remember him running a job in Erith in Kent. It was to be a Telephone Exchange, and literally just before the building was handed over to the GPO, it became obsolete and was superceded by a little green metal box by the side of the road. It was a huge building, and i remember going in to work with him in the middle of the night to test the sound properties of the place. One room\space had to be tested for sound proofing, and other areas were anechoic.these were really weird and I have never been in any place as dead sounding as this since. The soundproofed room was where the switching machines would go I guess. It was a big area, a bit like a small warehouse on the 2nd floor. The testing was done with things that looked like small jet engines (I think they were heaters of some kind) which were very loud, and measurements taken outside. The anechoic areas were really odd and seemed misshapen in order, I suppose, to help increase diffusion. These were measured inside. I think it was done by some reverse convolution method. My dad took me into work with him on weekends usually Saturday mornings. I was really lucky to get to see all this stuff before the HSE came along and spoiled the fun for everyone. Cheers ✌️

[@hackmodular]

Very interesting, wasn’t aware of soundproofing like that. Thanks for sharing!

[@TheDavidPoole]

@@hackmodular Hi Hack. Sorry, i didn't explain very well. The things that looked like jet engines were there to make noise so the guys outside could test how much got out. I'll reword it so it makes more sense. Thanks for pointing that out! Cheers ✌️

[@mickcoleman5396]

Loving Telephone Tuesdays, I worked on Strowger in the City of London, moved to System X (that's is now also becoming obsolete). Still in the business, Cant be may Strowger trained left in BT

[@hackmodular]

Awesome, yes probably not many!

[@timsgaf]

who remembers captain crunch, w Art Bell. many thanks opperator

[@Ranger_Kevin]

Love this series!

[@duon44]

it keeps amazing me that you used to be physically connected by wire to eachother when calling

[@francisjurksaitis]

YEAH TELEPHONE TUESDAY!!

[@marvinmatter1501]

Mitch is a delight 😌

[@althejazzman]

It's great to see This Museum expanding beyond Sam's ideas

[@janfriberg]

And there where the semi automatic

[@hillblocksview]

I like that song Telephone Exchange by that classic 70s rock band ANGEL 😇

[@atalhlla]

I’m not sure I’d like a wasp app on my phone… perhaps it can drive off spam callers, though?

[@awatt]

C U Next Tuesday also

[@wickedcurve1975]

Mitch is the ONE❤

[@Desertwalker45]

Good stuff

[@V96GLF]

The tones at 1:10 came from the rear speakers in my living room. Made me jump! Assumedly accidentally recorded out-of-phase.

[@VeraTR909]

Haha, loved the 'moneyshot' ;p

[@ingusmant]

They got fired

[@jason3898]

3rd times a charm :)

[@Avtovaz21057]

like these little ones, cant wait to Cee yoU Next Tuesday.

[@padders1068]

🙂🙂🙂😎😎😎🤓🤓🤓

[@francisjurksaitis]

YEAH TELEPHONE TUESDAY!!