TELEPHONE EXCHANGE.

Grey River Argus, 14 January 1927, Page 2

TELEPHONE EXCHANGE.

SWITCHBOARD SYSTEM. NEW PLANT~ARRIVING. W1 ile we all have no doubt been guilt; ot venting our v.rtah agains,*' the I lephoiie operator when we arc < kept waiting for w hat we consider to | be an undue length of lime getting a I niimbi r or failing to get it altogether, J reflect on shows that there is something j rrationa 1 in such conduct. It i’a Ira t of the impatient telephone User llii. he should think that he is the only oc(' connected lip and that the i ‘‘Hlilio Girl” is only there io attend to his '('hosts. It is also a trait of such an individual that, when there is a delay, he should think that the whole i xchang ■ is in a conspiracy against him. Il is then lie expresses himself in term.- wliich, if he were confronted by the voting lady at the other eml | of Ihe Hue in person, he would blush lo utter. It would be well if the impatient tillers on the wires couid have a s; dl answering the continuous demands lor numbers which pour into .he excha’igc during the day. The exchange system at present in operation in Greymouth is the Stromberg (.’arisen, consisting of five boards with 100 separate wires on each. Thu« 100 subscribers in all are provided for. i Th" Greymouth list contains 478 sub ' scribers, but with the party lint's which . contain as many as 10 or 12 households. there arc about 1000 telephones iu actual u-e. Each operator in Ihe exchange looks after 100 wires am! indirect ly 3‘>o. When a call is made the number of the person ringing is indicated by a shutter on the board falling. If ihe number required is on the saint' board the connection can be coi'ipicted by the answering operator, but if it is on one of the other boards, it is called out and ihe connection t ompleted by a .second attendant. Transfer is effected by means of any oT th" fifteen connections on each board. Approximately fifty per cent, of all the calls have to be treated in this manner. Sometimes in the bustle of answering the numerous other calls, tlie request is not heard by the second attendant in charge of the particular board containing such number and thus arises the unfortunate delay which so often occasions a fraying of the tamper. At night time all boards are connected up to one receiver and the one opi'rator attends to all calls. In a Idition io these five boards, there is a ■ixth for toll stations which works into tlie others by transfer. At the site i the board is a cah-ulngraph, a cioi-i: with devices for marking on a card the times of making an application to use the wire, the cowmememcnt of the conversation ami its termination. Behind the exchange stands a large structure called ihe main distributiug fr-iine. Here the cables from underground art* brought up and from them l ,, ads are taken to an array of distributing blocks. These blocks contain wires for twenty-five and correspond to the tin cable boxes which may be observed on certain poles i 1! llit' town. When a telephone is insl.’dled ill a house, a connection i.xi iiply made with the nearest cable box 'H'd a terminal not in use is linked up. i'hon at the other end the wire is connected up on the distributing bloc 1: '■ ilh the exchange. If all the twentylive wires on the block are in use, an ■idjustment Ims to be made with anither Mock belonging to the vicinity >f the new subscriber. \ In the mechanism of the distribuing frame are protection devices to orevent lightning or |>owor going hrough. These Lake the flash to earth, JU. if it sTTould be of a viohmt natma I travels along fifty vards >1 fine insulated copper wir'* wound round a core. I’he ie.it generated is sufficient to melt Ihe ml.ler round the core, thus releasing t spring taking ihe current direct to 'art h. The present switchboard system w;’ -hoi’iiy be replaced by ihe multiple vstcni which is Coming from Wellingo!>, where the automatic exchange lias installed. The new apparatus vi l He much higher and wider than Ji ■ present e and will also simplify work as the answering operator can ■oniplete any connection asked for vifhout the necessity of a second operitor’s assistanct'. Instead each board ■ontains 199 indicators and below it are 000 connection “jacks,” by means of v! ich communica l ions can be made »e ween any two subscribers. Another Hffereiice in the multiple system is ha. instead of shutters dropping a ■all is iml ica tcd by a small electric amp glowing. Alterations are at present being undo in t !n> exchange structure to ac omodate the new switchboard. Owing to the increase in population .n*l the use of th*' telephone in Greviioiifh, i; will be necessary to re-cabh he whole of the town. I’he biggest jicre.-ise is re'ported to be at the K.; on) eml of the t own.