Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-09-22
EVER LOOKING
FOR TROUBLE
MEN ALWAYS FIND
SOMETHING TO DO.
HOW TROUBLE MEN WORK
Telephone Companies Have Regularly
Organized Departments for the Pur-
pose of Discovering and Remedyina
TroubIe-How Subscribers Call Up
and Report Phones Out of Order.

Eyes, we are always looking for
trouble said local telephone man,
"and, strange as it may seem, it is
sometimes difficult to find it,"
Though it would seem like a sorry
joke to say trouble is hard to find, it
is no joke in the telephone business.
In fact SO important is the quick dis
covery and cure of trouble that the
telephone companies have regularly
departments for the purpose,
which, from the users standpoint are
probably the most important depart
ments in the business, as a telephone
in trouble is worse than none at all.
The methods used in locating and
quickly adjusting trouble in the tele-
phone system testify alike to the
splendid organization of the COM
panies and the progress Of invention
in electrical devices.
Hello, exchange, our telephone.
No. 1884, is out of order,'' is the usual
way the tip of trouble reaches central
Can you get the exchange?" is the
trouble clerks question.
1--WE can't get anything" is usually
the response, In tones expressive OF
not great satisfaction over the situa-
ton.
With this clue the trouble depart
ment' begins work. Perhaps in the
course of an hour the subscribers
bell will ring.
do you hear me now" will come
the question in gentle tones from the
exchange.
Of course you do and the girl knows
you do, but she has simply adopted
this polite way of informing you that
your telephone is ready for talking
again.
In many cases your message that
the trouble is over does not reach you
over the wire. Frequently within
half hour after the subscriber has re-
ported trouble an electrician with a
carpet bag full of tools walks into
your office and calmly begins tinker
ing" with your telephone. This means
that tests made at the central Office
show the trouble to be in the sub
scriber's instrument. In the former
case the trouble was either in the ex-
change or along outside lines.
In the larger exchanges the trouble"
men are assigned to districts, with
which they are thoroughly familiar.
When lit of trouble is reported to
the main Office it is jotted down by the
special clerk, who refers her notes to
the wire chief for a thorough investiga-
ton He, by means of voltmeter,
determines where the trouble lies and
what its nature is and reports it to the
district trouble man. The voltmeter
makes it possible under favorable con-
ditions, to determine within a few
feet just where a break, crossed wire
or grounded wire is located. 1t is this
machine which has solved the
problem of quick repair.
In modern telephone construction,
the larger part of the trunk lines run
through lead cables. In this form of
construction trouble on the outside
system is reduced to a minimum.
When trouble does develop in a cable
line, the method of discovering it is
most complex and delicate.
The lead pipe contains a consider
able number of wires, wrapped in pa
per tape and twisted into a compact
cord. Paper insulation is considered
the best for telephone wires. 1t is
necessary, however, that the cable be
kept absolutely moisture proof, a hole
even the size of a pin point seriously
interfering with it's proper working.
When trouble develops in any particu-
lar cable, it is located by opening the
cable at the various repair boxes and
testing"
In this way the section of cable in
which the trouble is located is dis
covered.
To ascertain the exact spot where
the trouble is located a very deli
cate and costly piece of apparatus is
used. This consists of a battery. gal
vanometer, resistance box and bridge.
The method consists first, in finding
a good wire through the cable, or
If the entire cable is bad, stringing an
aerial line outside the cable. One
end of the good wire is then connected
to one side of the test and the distant
end of the defective wire. The bat
terry is then connected up and cur
rent is sent through the wire, caus-
ing the galvanometer needle to fiuctu-
ate The known resistance in the re-
sistanee box is then varied until a
point is reached where the needle fails
TO treml'e. This is when the known
and unknown resistance on the oppo-
site sides of the test are equal. With
the resistance in the bad wire known,
it is merely a mathematical process
to discover how far from the testing
the trouble may be found as
resistance is readily measured and
the amount the various sizes of wire
carry is well known.
Long distance testing is done in the
same manner and the succets of the