THE NEW TELEPHONE SWITCH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2388, 7 December 1899, Page 11

THE NEW TELEPHONE SWITCH.

(Fbom-Oub Own Cobbespondent.) ■ WELLINGTON, November" 30. . Through "the courtesy of "th"c officials 06 the Post and Telegraph department I aril • able to" send., you " payticujajs. of the. newi swifcehboarb! system ' that ■ is . shortly." to be put in operation in the Dunedin and "Christy church exchanges. The^switchboard for the Christbhurch exchange will- arrive /ocr the isth Decemberby the Delphic, apd tha Dunedin one will arrive by, the Paparoa!.Both boards will be. fitted up as soon as possible after arrival. This- new switchboard, known as the "Bridging Multiples/ will be a. duplicate of that lately fitted r up and. now in operation in Auckland. . W differs from the present one as affecting tha internal working. , Instead of the attend-, ants having to call out when they are ati different and distinct' sections of the board what connection to make, each has the •whole of.the. subscribers'- wires^within easy reach, and can connect , any '.two of.theni without confusion or having to communi- • cate ,-with "another^ operator.;, olh'e- „new, fitted .up. f or ;150(X subscribers', ;hu£ itsVultimafce-'capacity --'is 4900. a >.Tha •latter -number will! hardly Jr)e . exceeded t dm> .iug "the" next' ls years," Vhich^may be "coiif.sidered; the^/p^oftaJ^l^Hfe/gf'Vany ' 'switch"^bpard,VasJ\w'ith'\in'br!fasing "rittmbers 'bf; sub- . sewbers, .development:iii;apparatu¥iand'jiew " 'methods of Working, -the' old 'has'to^grvo, placebo thfc new. The-. .board' is-msufer.'of "sections for 450 subscribers, and jfcliis is .divided into'J'subsectipns of" 250, the latter 1 -' being the number to beattended to at the busiest times, by the , operator. Each complete section has, -in "addition to the 300 • drop shutters and ' corresponding . local "jacks'" of as, many subscribers, rows of " general jacks," to one of which are, connected *"Jill subscribers' wires, and by means of ■ which the operator attending, to "a subsection can join his subscriber to anyone on the exchange. These " general jacks" are duplicated on each complete section. The operator^sits in a comfortablechair having a telephone always to her ear,- and fastened by a band to her head;leaving the hands free to manipulate the various switches and piugs by which the work is performed^ of answering the call by. voice, testing if the subscriber asked for is' already engaged, then up, re- •' storing the drops, automatically connecting ' the clearing-out shutter, and disconnecting when conversation is finished. All these operations are performed swiftly, easily, and silently, making the work much lighter than at present. The subscriber has also less to do, -having only to ring up^ to: coil . the ■ attention- of vfche> exchange, 7 and whea 1 ' finished to' ring- off. The ringing' up of the subscriber wanted is done .by. the exchange,. In fitting up the jiew board the' load on. each subsection will be equalised — that ia ' to say, as "near^ as.'^ssible,— so that the number of calls, Jon each attendant' will be about the. same. .. This" will "necessitafe Tthe altering -.of- many •subscribers' numbers, an inconvenience that may ' perhaps- : be" . Jjorno cheerfully, as it is only likely to recur once in 15 years. ' ", ' >'

The first sod of the new light railway cbri* neoting Hartington, .Derbyshire, .."and Leek, Staffordshire, was cut by the Duke of.DeVonshjro, 'the occasion being one of general rejoicing. The railway will open -up a rich agricultural and picturesque district. The Tuapeka Times understands that a raid was made by the police on a Chinese gambling den at Waipori on Sunday afternoon, and about 30 arjests, including Chinamen and Europeans, were made. The matter will bt heard of at the S.M. Court.

An exchange says that Sub-inspector Molloy (of Fiji) has left the island en route for West Australia, armed with a warrant to escort, what the Fiji Times describes as "a fugitive from justice, charged with depravity," bock to the oolony. Startling disclosures are promised when the sub-inspector and his charga return to Fiji.