Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1910-07-16
new TELEPHONE
EXCHANGE OUTFIT
Operators Are Not Obliged to Listen on
The Line to See If the Takers
Have Finished

n cOmpleIe new leIepuOue eAcHdHge
equipment has just been cut into service
in the Pleasantville office of the Bell
Telephone Company, of Pennsylvania.
With this improvement tie local telc-
phone facilities are now complete and
thoroughly up-to-date
The new switchboard is Of the common
battery drop signal type which conforms
IN its operating features to the best
known telephone standards With this
switchboard were installed, frames, racks
and power plant to provide energy for
its operation.
The board is of the type which makes
available for smaller telephone offices
the operating features OF the largest ana
best equipped exchange. The operation
of the shutters or drop signals, by which
connections are made and broken, makes
possible, secrecy, accuracy and despatch
i'll handling large number OF calls every
day.
The switchboard is in four sections.
The entire new equipment was made and
installed by the Western Electric Com
pany This company makes all the tele-
phones used throughout the entire "Bell'
system.
a description of the operation of the
switchboard should be OF interest to all
users of the telephone, showing the man
ner i'll which the automatic features of
the board take care Of the calls.
First the subscriber takes the receiver
from the hook and places it to his ear.
This is a manual act and is necessary III
any system. Immediately the hook auto
matically flies into a new position. This
automatically closes contacts connected
with it, which causes an electric current
to flow over the subscribers wire and
automatically operates a relay located at
the central office. The operation OF this
relay closes its contacts which automat-
cally turns the current into the num-
bered shutter, OF drop, before the eyes
of the operator.
The signal tumbles into position, and
at this time the next manual act takes
place. The operator inserts a plug in
the hole or jack, bearing the correspond
my number. This automatically con
meets her circuit with the line of the
calling subscriber. More than this, this
one manual act of the operator auto
matically connects the battery to another
relay, which automatically closes its CON
facts, which establishes other automa tic
steps, which result in disconnecting from
the subscribers line the first relay which
was actuated.
This automatically releases the arma-
ture of the relay first mentioned, and
the current is cut off from the drop sig
nal which is thus automatically restored
to its original position, All of these
things take place without any further
act on the part OF the operator or the
subscriber The operator next says
Number, please" and another manual
act follows.
The operator inserts a plug into the
line of the called for subscriber. This
automatically throws current upon Il
relay which is automatically actuated
thus setting in motion several other
automatic steps by which the operator IS
connected to the line of the subscriber
desired. Then another manual act takes
place.
The operator presses button which
connects the subscribers line to a ma
chine, which automatically rings the bell
of the called-for subscriber. The sub
scriber, in placing the telephone to his
ear automatically releases the hook
which sets in motion a number Of other
automatic steps, which result in the
disappearing OF a special signal droI
before the central Office operator, who
is thus made aware of the fact that the
subscriber has answered and that the
connection is completed.
So one might 90 on with the reverse
of this DrocpSs The Subscribers when
they have finished, hang up their rcceiv-
crs. This automatically causes two dis
connected signal shutters at the central
office to appear in front Of the operator
In consequence of this the operator is not
obliged to listen in on the line to see
whether the parties have finished. She
withdraws from the connection the two
plugs which she first inserted, release;
,, them and they are automatically restored
to their original position.