The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-11-21
TELEPHONE TALKS.
TROUBLES" GREAT AND SMALL

Telephone 'trouble' is sometimes dis.
concerting and always annoying. General
ly 1t is unavoidable, though telephone
system is no more absolutely perfect than
any other human undertaking, and faults
are bound to crop out once in while
What makes telephone "trouble' a peculiar
ly difficult thing for the company to deal
with, though, is that in very many cases
there is no way of knowing that it exists
until if is reported by the telephone user
who runs against it.
The mechanical equipment and outside
plant of the telephone system is extremely
Intricate and sensitive. The switchboard
and its accompanying apparatus in the cen
trail office contain hundreds, and, in large
exchanges, thousands of miles of wire :;
there are thousands, and. in the bigger type
of modern equipment, millions of soldered
connections: each circuit has anywhere
from ii dozen to 800 or 600 ramifcations and
some of the auxiliary mechanlsms are eX-
tremeiy delicate in adjustment. Most
troubles arise somewhere in this maze of
equpment-wh is fortunate, in one way,
because great majority of them are thus
detected and remedied not only without in
conveniencng the subscriber, but without
his even knowing that they ever occurred.
But some of them, as has been said, cannot
very well be discovered by any one but the
telephone user, since they may appear to
the operator simply as a subscribers fail
ure to answer or, if they affect the signal
ing devices, for instance, may not appear to
her at ALL
The sturdy looking pole lines and solidly
built underground system would not seem,
perhaps, to offer many chances for
trouble" AS matter of fact, though,
they necessarily have many vulnerable
points. Every time the limb of tree, or
any stray object that may have been caught
in the foliage, touches a telephone wire it
interferes with transmission; and if the in
reference is sufficient it absolutely cuts off
service for the time being. Yet with the
restrictions many towns and cities place on
trimming trees this difficulty is unavoidable.
Though cables are naturally less suscep-
tibie to interference than open wire, stIl
they cannot be absolutely protected whether
they are overhead or underground. If the
lead sheath of a cable is pierced by hole
no bigger than pin would make, and
moisture gets in, the whole bunch of wires
enclosed, which may number from dozen
to 1900, will be put out of business sooner or
later. The curiosity of squirrels and rats,
the carelessnesS of labOrers working On
other underground construction-indeed, a
score of unpreventable causes-may in
stantly ruin telephone cable containing a
large number of circuits. Besides, here
and there cables must be brought to points,
and the functions in cable boxes on pole
lines or in conduit manholes afford other
opportunities for things going wrong.
This gives an idea of a few-a very few
OF the chances for trouble IN complicated
plant of vast extent The wonder is, really,
that Interruptions are as few as they are.
With all the difficulties to be met, the tele-
phone company has so organized its work
of m aintenance and repair that the records
show that even in large telephone centers.
where the plant is most complicated, the
individual subscribers service is not in
terrupted, even momentarily, oftener than
once in four years on the average.
Whenever there is 'strouble'' of any sort
the New England company. for its own sake
as well as for the sake of its subscribers, is
anxious to get right after it. The longer
''trouble" exists, the more difficult and
expensive it is to repair and the greater the
loss of business to the company. So it is
distinct favor to the New England company
to have "trouble" reported promptly, and
any exchange may be called without charge
from any subscribers s'station" or from
any public pay station.