The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-07-09
TELEPHONE IMPROVEMENTS
SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COM
P1NY's NEW SWITCH BO1RD.

VIII be Put in Operation Mt p. m. Sun
day--New Directory to be Used After
That Time.
The Southern New England Tele-
phone company has completed a new
switch board which will be put in oper-
alton for the first time at o'clock p.
m. next Sunday
The new apparatus has been con-
structed at cost of $4,000.
The new board Is of handsome ma
hogany and is forty-hve feet long,
which is about two times the length of
the one that will be given up.
Fifteen operators will be seated at
the new board and each will have con-
troll of eighty stations. The new ar
rangement will facilitate the telephone
communication. The change in the
boards used has necessitated renum-
bering of the stations and new d.
rectory has been issued to the sub
scribers, which will be in operation at
6 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Until then
| subscribers must use the old book, not
| forgetting to put it out of the reach
| of those who may not be aware of the
| change.
| One of the features of the new APP
| paratus is the self-restoring annuncia-
! tor drop, which does away with the
operator having to replace 1t by hand
On the new board the annunciator is
lifted up by spring and is automati-
| nn11y ralea oil ,tybar thp connection is
made.
| The board has 1,120 of these drops and
can be enlarged to $500 as the necessity
| requires.
Heretofore the local operators, the
trunk line and the long distance oper-
| Gtors have been obliged to work on the
| same board. Hereafter they will be
| separated. An independent switch
board exactly like the local except that
| it is smaller has been built also.
| On the long distance and trunk line
board there is to be a twofold increase
| of operators also. There is at present
| two long distance and two trunk line
operators. After Sunday there will be
| four of each and besides these there are
| to be two recording operators.
This Is new departure for this office.
These operators are Tor the purpose of
| facilitating the work Of the other OUT
| of-town operators. When an out-of-
| town call comes the recording operators
obtain the necessary information and
| put it into technical order so that the
| party called can be reached in the least
| possible time.
In connection with the new boards
| "a t,oc in a
tector by the use of which the opera
tors are protected from shocks which
might follow a flash of lightning or a
sneak" current. The protector con-
sists of a metal frame twelve feet long
by about six feet high. The frame is
grounded. The wires are all converted
to this frame before running to the
switch board. For each set OF wires
there is a lightning and sneak" cur
rent arrestor. The first is merely a
| carbon plate about one inch long by
| one-half inch wide held next to a bit
of mica that rests against the grounded
frame. A flash of lightning always
/ seeks a ground, therefore, will jump an
arc from the carbon to the frame with
out damaging the wires. These tips OF
| carbon are held to the frame by means
Of spring fingers, which also hold small
| coils, the cores of which have shoulder
fastened with very soft solder. If an
| abnormal current should reach the wire
| 1T will melt the solder and the spring
will force the core against the grounded
| frame, thereby cutting out the switch
board and thus prevent the operator
from receiving q shock.
The work of getting UP the board was
done under the direction of E. III. Ever
it, one of the company's expert electri-
clans.
| Some idea of the work required to sci
up the board may be obtained from the