New-York tribune., 1922-10-16
New Dial Call
Puts Darnper on
Phone Temper
Automatic Instruments i'm
Pennsylvania Exchange
Prove Success on First
Day of Oper ratio N
Little Chance of Error
Innovation Brings the Word
"Dial' Into Use as New
Verb in English Language

Telephone subscribers served by the
machine switching apparatus in the
pennsylvania central Office have ac-
commodated themselves to the new dial
system OF calling numbers with typical
new me" York acceptance of innovations.
me apparatus was officially placed in
service by the New York Telephone
company at midnight on Saturday,
when ii. F. Thurber, president of the
company, dialed the first call
sunday saw the new system serving
a number of the larger hotels, includ-
ing the Waldorf, Pennsylvania and Nc
Aipln and the pay stations in the Penn
sylVanla Terminal, but general use of
lhe l,fO0 lines transferred to machine
switchers begins with the opening of
business to-day.
The weeks during which the company
carried on an intensive educational
campaign among the subscribers affect
ed ny the change proved well spent on
the showing of the first days expert
ence with the dial apparatus. For the
most part, the company's engineers
SAID, those who had occasion to use the
new phones showed themselves familiar
with the dial system and had no diff
1iculty in getting their numbers.
Inc use Of machine switching cen
tails is expected to bring about a
marked decrease in cases of telephone
temper" One of the most important
advantages Of the system is its exact
ness: the percentage of error is neg-
liglbie If number is correctly dialed
1T follows as a matter of course that
the proper connection will be made or
the busy signal received, if the line is
IN use. Perspiring waits in stuffy
booths, wrong numbers, crossed wires
and all the other irritants seem to
nave been relegated to New Yorl,'s
telephone past as far as the Pennsyl-
wanna exchange is concerned.
IN the new machine switching Office
in West Thirty-sixth Street the intri-
cate apparatus was going about its
business way yesterday with uncanny
precision. Over the multitude of wires
and connections which stretch in maze
on rows of steel frames slender brass
rods were selecting trunk lines and
subscribers wires in obedience to cleo
trlcal impulses impaired by the dial
ing operation.
Makes New Verb
Just why these brass rods stoned
at the number dialed and didn't move
an additional sixteenth of an inch to
some other number was unintelligible to
the Tribune reporter despite the pains
taking explanations of the oompany's
expert.
Fortunately it is not essential that
each technical detail of the delicate
apparatus be mastered in order to use
the dial phone correctly. The reporter,
invited to "dial call" realized that
new verb has been added to every
HSU cnanch fnr 1nr IL.
calf; one "dials" it. So he pro
ceeded to call the Tribune office,
Beekman 5000, first inserting his fin
ger in the dial opening above the letter
B, swinging it around to the stop mark
and permitting it to rotate back, then
E and then E again. The first three
letters of the central office name
which appear in heavy type in the tele-
phone directory must be daled in this
fashion and then the numerals.
Within second or two after the
dialing Of the numerals 0 0 0 had
been completed the buzz-buzz of the
ringing signal was heard, followed
almost Immediately by the answer of
the operator at the Tribune switch
board. The call had been completed
in few seconds.
5000 Calls in Hour
This experience will be typical of
the new service, the telephone engi-
neers say. Until all exchanges are
equipped with the machine switchers
epecially designed apparatus will be
required to transfer calls from the au-
tomato system to the switchboards
which are still operated by hand, and
vice versa.
Before making the change from local
to machine operation on Saturday
night duplicate wire connections had
be- en- made at the terminals Of the lines
to be transferred. Tiny brass wedges
had been placed in the connections ON
the automatic board and on given
signal at 11:55 these were pulled out
and electrical life passed from the old
board into the new
During the peak of the days tele-
phone business it is expected that 5000
calls will pass over the new lines In
an hour, although for the first day or
two an even greater rush Of calls is
anticipated from those who it Is ex-
pected will want to try the new system.