TELEPHONES TO SPARE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 14 June 1939, Page 3

TELEPHONES TO SPARE

A POST OFFICE MOVE Almost a hundred thousand automatic telephones me now being used in New Zealand. Their introduction meant the replacement of thousands of the oldtype magneto instruments because it was not practicable to wait for these to wear out before providing the automatic service. This progressive policy has resulted in the Post Office having I telephones to spare, and the Departi men! has given free supplies to schools j and colleges for inter-communication purposes within these institutions. The magneto type of telephone is easily installed. Anyorle with elementary electrical knowledge sufficient to get a radio set to work is quite competent to run the two communicating wires and join up the dry battery which, like that of a torch, is a very ncccs-

isary adjunct. Quite a number of schools; have thus secured a very useful internal | telephone service at a nominal cost. i The general public is now being given ' an opportunity of getting some advan-; tage out of the surplus of magneto tele-! phones, as the Post Office is selling them j at nominal prices which it is adver-; Using. It is anticipated that farmers' will find these telephoines very useful j for communicating between the farm J outhouses and the homestead, while j business houses will see the advantage (, of cheap internal telephone systems for j linking up the factory or workshop] with the shop or office. Upkeep costs ol' this type of tele-• j phone are extremely small. The generator in the telephone, when operated by a caller, provides the current which rings a bell at the distant point, while , the small amount of electric current ! needed for speech transmission comes . from two dry cells which will last more than a year under these conditions of use.