The subscriber telephone set consists of the following parts:

1. Microphone
2. Receiver
3. Switch connections to the telephone system
4. Ringing circuitry
5. Dial network

The instrument, which contains the microphone and the receiver, is called handset. The handset is
placed on the cradle when the telephone is not in use. In this position it opens the switches and
disconnects the handset from the telephone system. An electromagnet, called the ringer is
connected to the telephone line on the exchange side, so that a ring can be received from the
exchange when it is called. The exchange determines that whether the telephone is idle or busy or
initiating a call by monitoring the dc current. A simplified circuit and Block diagram of the
telephone set is shown in the figure.

Circuit diagram of subscriber's telephone set

Telephone Set Transmitter

Microphone in telephony is regarded as transmitter.
It is a transducer, which converts sound energy into
electrical energy. There are different types of
transmitters but carbon granules transmitter is the
most widely used in the handset of the modern telephony. We will discuss the carbon granule
transmitter only. It is based on the principle that the resistance of carbon granules is inversely
proportional to pressure. The constructional details of the carbon transmitter, is illustrated in the
figure.

It is the property of carbon that its resistance varies with pressure. The carbon transmitter does
not produce any e.m.f. but only change its resistance with the changing pressure.

Carbon granules are placed between two electrodes in an insulated chamber. One electrode is
fixed to the back of the chamber while the other electrode is attached with the movable
diaphragm. The two electrodes are connected with the battery. The transmitter offers an electrical
resistance to the flow of current, which is the resistance of the carbon granules. When the
diaphragm moves inward and outward, due to sound pressure, the pressure on the carbon
granules also changes. Thus the resistance of the carbon granules also varies with the changing
pressure and hence the current flow between the two electrodes also varies. A current variation,
corresponding to the sound pressure.

Telephone Set Receiver

The sound reproducer in telephony is called
receiver. The receiver does the reverse function
of a transmitter. It is a device, which converts
electrical energy into sound energy.The
constructional details of the telephone receiver, is
shown in the figure.

It consists of a diaphragm, permanent magnet

and windings. When the incoming signal current
passes through the windings, magnetic flux is
produced. The magnetic flux follows the
magnetic path, which consists of the iron path of
the permanent magnet, the pole pieces,
diaphragm and the two air gaps between the
diaphragm and the pole pieces. Thus a varying magnetic pull is produced, which causes the
diaphragm to vibrate in accordance with the signal current received and hence produce the sound.
The permanent magnet is used to polarize the receiver. The pull on the diaphragm depends upon
the magnetic flux density in the air gaps between the diaphragm and the pole pieces. Thus
maximum change will be produced when the current changes in the coil.

Side Tone
When we speak in front of the telephone transmitter, .we hear our own voice in the receiver as a
feedback. With the help of this feedback we are able to adjust the volume of our voice according
to different situations. When the level of this feedback is high, we lower our voice and when it is
low. we speak louder This feedback voice is called side tone.
Side tone may be defined as the reproduction of sound in the receiver picked up from the
associated transmitter. Or the amount of voice power coupled from the transmitter to the receiver
of the same telephone.

Too much side tone and complete absence of it is undesirable. In the former case, the speaker will
keep his level of volume of voice very low and hence will affect the output of the transmitter. In
the latter case, the telephone will-appear dead to the subscriber and this is a very uncomfortable
feeling.

The desirable amount of side tone is that which we have in our daily free air conversation with
each other across the table.

Antiside Tone Circuit

To control the level of the side tone to the desirable amount anti-side ton induction coil
(A.S.T.I.C) is used in the subscriber's telephone set. The anti-side tone induction coil serves the
following.

1. Control the level of the side tone to the desirable amount.

2. Ensures that no dc current flows through the receiver.
3. Matching between the impedances of the transmitter and receiver with that of the line.
A simple circuit arrangement for the reduction of side tone is shown in the Figure.

The principle of the arrangement can be explained as follow.

Consider the figure (A) in this case the transmitter is transmitting.If

Zb = Zi & L1 = L2

then the transmitter current divides equally in L1and L2. The magnetic field produced by these
two windings will be equal and opposite and hence cancel each other's effect, thus no emf is
induced in L1 and the side tone is completely eliminated. Practically L1and L2 are not exactly
equal and hence some emf is induced in L1, thus the receiver receives a portion of transmitter
current. In figure (B) the receiving current passes through LI and L2. the magnetic field produced
are in the same direction and reinforced each other's effect. An emf is induced in the receiver
circuit and current flows through the receiver.

The anti side tone circuit is modified to make it more Practical and this modified circuit is shown
in the figure.
The tree windings L1, L2 and L3 are magnetically coupled. L1and L2 are not equal and hence an
emf is induced in L3 from the transmitter. The value of R, across which the receiver is connected,
is such that the voltage drop across it is equal and opposite to the emf induced in L3. This results
in a much reduced side tone in the receiver.
Magneto Bell
Bell is a means of signaling. When the calling party wants
to call the called party. He must first give him a bell to
draw his attention. For this purpose magneto bells used in
the telephone set of each subscriber. The magneto bell
works on AC supplied by the exchange. The
constructional detail of the magneto bell is shown in the
figure .It consists of a permanent magnet, two windings
on the two legs of the iron yoke and an armature with a
hammer. The static flux produced by the permanent
magnet complete their path through the two parallel
magnetic circuits. As the static field in each circuit is
equal, thus the armature remains stationary. When
alternating current flows through the windings,
electromagnets are produced. The two fields interact with each other, supporting at one side and
weakening at the other alternatively. The armature is attracted by the stronger magnetic field and
the hammer strikes the gongs alternatively, thus produce a sound.

Basics Of Communication

What is communication?

Communication is the means of transferring a message from a source to destination in it’s original form at the most economical rate.
 The
Telephone Instrument

 The Telephone is an instrument that converts sound to electrical pulses & vice versa.
 It is designed to carry voice signals from one point to another

 It has a permissible frequency range of 300 to 3400 Hertz.

The Telephone Set

Function of the

Telephone Set

o Converts sound into electric signals and vice versa

o The switch hook is a mechanism that originates and finalizes calls
 KTS, PBX, Hosted PBX,
IP Centrex, CTI, iPBX
and WPBX, 2nd Edition
Authors: Lawrence Harte, Robert Flood
Number of Pages: 86
Number of Diagrams: 42

Select a Format:

This book provides an introduction to the different types of private telephone

systems, how they operate and common call processing features they offer.
Private telephone systems are communication equipment and software that are
owned, leased or operated by the companies that use these systems.

Private telephone systems are converting from company unique (proprietary)

circuit switched systems to industry standard packet data voice (IP Telephony)
systems. You will learn the basics of IP Telephony voice over Internet protocol
(VoIP) and why it is so important to more....

Sample Diagrams
There are 42explanatory diagrams in this book

Analog and Digital Telephone Stations

This diagram shows the difference between standard analog telephone stations
and more advanced PBX stations. This diagram shows that analog telephones
receive their power directly from the telephone line and digital PBX telephones
require a control section that gets its power from the PBX system. Analog
telephones also use in-band signaling to sense commands (e.g., ring signals) and
to send commands (e.g., send dialed digits). Digital telephones use out-of-band
signaling on separate communication lines to transfer their control information
(e.g., calling number identification).
WHAT IS DTMF?

When you press a button in the telephone set keypad, a connection is made
that generates a resultant signal of two tones at the same time. These two tones
are taken from a row frequency and a column frequency. The resultant frequency
signal is called "Dual Tone Multiple Frequency". These tones are identical and
unique.

A DTMF signal is the algebraic sum of two different audio frequencies, and
can be expressed as follows:

f(t) = A0sin(2*П*fa*t) + B0sin(2*П*fb*t) + ........... ------->(1)

Where fa and fb are two different audio frequencies with A and B as their
peak amplitudes and f as the resultant DTMF signal. fa belongs to the low
frequency group and fb belongs to the high frequency group.

Each of the low and high frequency groups comprise four frequencies from
the various keys present on the telephone keypad; two different frequencies, one
from the high frequency group and another from the low frequency group are used
to produce a DTMF signal to represent the pressed key.

The amplitudes of the two sine waves should be such that

(0.7 < (A/B) < 0.9)V -------->(2)

The frequencies are chosen such that they are not the harmonics of each
other. The frequencies associated with various keys on the keypad are shown in
figure (A).

When you send these DTMF signals to the telephone exchange through
cables, the servers in the telephone exchange identifies these signals and makes
the connection to the person you are calling.

The row and column frequencies are given below:

 Fig (A)

When you press the digit 5 in the keypad it generates a resultant tone
signal which is made up of frequencies 770Hz and 1336Hz. Pressing digit 8 will
produce the tone taken from tones 852Hz and 1336Hz. In both the cases, the
column frequency 1336 Hz is the same. These signals are digital signals which are
symmetrical with the sinusoidal wave.

A Typical frequency is shown in the figure below:

Figure (B)

Along with these DTMF generator in our telephone set provides a set of
special purpose groups of tones, which is normally not used in our keypad. These
tones are identified as 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D'. These frequencies have the same column
frequency but uses row frequencies given in the table in figure (A). These tones
are used for communication signaling.

The frequency table is as follows:

 Figure (C)

Due to its accuracy and uniqueness, these DTMF signals are used in controlling
systems using telephones. By using some DTMF generating IC’s (UM91214,
UM91214, etc) we can generate DTMF tones without depending on the telephone
set.

In a Decadic Pulse Dialing, also called Loop Disconnect Dialing, a Direct-Current Pulse Train,
representing each Digit, is produced by interrupting a continous Signal according to a defined
Ratio. Figure 1 shows a Decadic Pulse Telephone.

Figure 1: Decadic Pulse Telephone

A Decadic Pulse Telephone is equipped with a Rotary Dial with a Finger Plate over it. The Rotary
Dial is designed to send Electrical Pulses. Figure 2 shows the Circuit of a Pulse Telephone. The 3
spring contacts: the Impulsing Contact (ICT), the Bypass Switch 1 (BP1) and the Bypass Switch
2 (BP2) are mounted inside the Rotary Dial.
Figure 2: The Telephone is Ready to make a Call when the Hook Switch is Closed. The Handset
is Off the Hook.

Making a Call:

When the Customer lifts the Handset (Off Hook), the Hook Switch is closed and a DC Loop
between the Telephone Exchange and the Customer is formed, Figure 1. Therefore, a Continous
Current DC flows through the Loop.

 While Dialing a Number, for example, 5, the Dial is drawn round in the Clockwise
Direction to the Finger Stop Position and released. The Finger Plate will then return to the
Rest Position under the influence of a spring. Meanwhile, the BP2 in the Rotary Dial is
closed to make a Short Circuit, thus you hear no disturbance in the Earphone during
Dialing.
 The ICT then generates the Dial Pulses by closing and opening itself to interrupt the DC
Current loop. The number of interruptions is equivalent to the Dialed Digit. This type of
Telephone generates two additional Pulses, which are eliminated by the BP1.
 Besides, there is also a mechanical device called Centrifugal Governor, mounted inside
the Rotary Dial, it helps to maintain a uniform speed of rotation.
 After finishing Dialing, the Pulses are then decoded at the Telephone Exchange that make
a connection to the Called Customer. The Voice Signals from the Customer will be
transmitted to the Earphone through an Isolating Transformer. The Earphone is connected
to the Secondary Winding of the Isolating Transformer. This protects the Earphone from
being damaged by DC Current. The Transformer also provides an Electrical Isolation
between the Telephone Exchange and the Ear. In addition, two anti-parallel Diodes
protects the Ear from too much Noise. If the Voltage in the Secondary Winding is over a
certain level, one of the Diodes starts to Conduct and makes a Short Circuit for the
Earphone.
 While talking to the Microphone, the Sound Signal is transmitted to the Called Customer
through the Telephone Exchange.

Receiving a Call:
When the Handset is on the Cradle, the Telephone is said to be "On the Hook", or ready to
receive a Call, Figure 3. The Hook Switch is opened and the path to the right part of the circuit is
disconnected.

 Whenever there is an Incoming Call, An AC Ringing Signal from the Telephone

Exchange is transmitted to the Telephone. The Ringing Signal is generally 10 mA AC
Signal, with a Frequency between 20 and 25 Hz, that activates an Electromagnet which
operates a small Hammer to strike the Bells.

Figure 3: The Telephone is Ready to receive a Call when the Hook Switch is Opened. The
Handset is On the Hook.

The DTMF Telephone, as its name implied, is based on a concept known as Dual Tone Multi-
Frequency (DTMF), Figure 1. It generates a combination of two Tones for each Dialed Digit, and
sends the Digits to the Telephone Exchange by Hearable Tones instead of Electrical Pulses as in
Decadic Pulse Telephone.

Figure 4: DTMF Telephone

The DTMF Telephone is equipped with a Pushbutton Dial, in which 10 Dialing Digits (0 through
9), the Star “ ” and the Pound “#” symbols are assigned to specific Pushbuttons. The Pushbuttons
are arranged in an two-dimensional array with four Rows and three Columns, as shown in Figure
2. Each Row and Each Columns is assigned a Tone of a specific Frequency, the Columns having
Tones of higher Frequencies and the Rows having Tones of lower Frequencies. When a Button is
pushed, a Dual-Tone Signal is generated. This Signal is a combination of Two Tones of different
Frequencies, one from the Lower Frequency Group and the other from the Upper Frequency
Group, and it is the reason for calling it “Dual Tone Multi-Frequency”. In this way, 7 (4 + 3)
Tones of different Frequencies are used to generate 12 (4 x 3) combinations. For example,
pushing the Button “5”, the Tones of 770 Hz and 1336 Hz are transmitted together to the
Telephone Exchange. This Signal is decoded by the Telephone Exchange in order to determine
which Digit was Dialed.

Figure 5: The Pushbutton Dial and its corresponding Frequencies Pairs

Making a Call:

When the Customer lifts the Handset (Off Hook), the Hook Switch is closed and a Circuit
connection between the Telephone Exchange and the Customer Telephone is formed.

Generation of Signaling Tones

 As has been said, the operation of any Pushbutton generates a Signal composed of Two
Tones, which last as long as the Button is pushed. Figure 3 shows the Circuit of a DTMF
Telephone.
 Figure 6: The Telephone is Ready to make a Call when the Hook Switch is Closed. The
Handset is Off the Hook

 There are two Oscillation Circuits for generating Tones at different Frequencies. Each
Circuit consists of a Three-winding Coil (A, A', A" and B, B', B") and a Capacitor (CA
and CB). Windings A and B have a number of Spring Contacts, divided in to Group KA
and Group KB. There are seven Cranks under the Pushbutton Dial, they are shown as the
dotted lines in Figure 3, four of them corresponds to Rows and three to Columns. The
operation of pushing a Button results in the actuation of a Horizontal Crank and a Vertical
Crank. When a Crank is actuated, it will close the corresponding Spring Contact. The
closure of one of the KA and one of the KB Contacts connects each Capacitor to one of
the taps on the associated Winding A and B. In this way, the Oscillation Circuits
corresponding to the Dialed Number are setup.
 Then, the actuation of the Horizontal Cranks will also put a Common Switch K beside the
Pushbutton Array in motion. The Common Switch K will operate a set of Contacts in
sequential order as listed in Figure 3. The order and function of each Contact is stated in
the following:
1. Attenuates the Dial Tones in the Earphone so the Customer hears the Dial Signal
at a comfortable level.
2. Powers up the Transistor.
 3. Disables the Microphone so that no other Noise is received from it to interfere the
Dial Signal.
4. Initiates the Dual-Tone Signal from the Oscillation Circuits. This Signal is
sustained by Feedback Amplification through the Transistor and the Transformer
action between the Secondary (A', B') and Tertiary Windings (A", B") of each
Coil.
 The whole Signal Generation Circuit is mounted on the back of the Pushbutton Panel,
making the Pushbutton Dial a self-contained unit that can be substituted for the Rotary
Dial in a Decadic Pulse Telephone. The other parts of a DTMF Telephone are similar to
those of a Decadic Pulse Telephone, thus the process of Making and Receiving a Call is
similar to that of a Pulse Telephone. At the Telephone Exchange, the Tones are decoded
and a Connection is made to the Called Customer.

Receiving a Call:

When the Handset is on the Cradle, the Telephone is said to be "On the Hook", or ready to
Receive a Call. That is, the Hook Switch in Figure 3 is opened and the path to the right part of the
Circuit is disconnected.

Whenever there is an Incoming Call, An AC Ringing Signal from the Telephone Exchange is
transmitted to the Telephone. The Ringing Signal is generally 10 mA AC Signal, with a
Frequency between 20 and 25 Hz, that activates a pair of Electromagnet which operates a small
Hammer to strike the Bells.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first Telephone, called the Bell Telephone, Figure 1.
Telephone comes from the Greek word “tele,” meaning “from afar”, and “phone”, meaning voice
or voiced sound.

Figure 1: Bell Telephone

The main parts of the Bell Telephone are: an Iron Diaphragm with attached Permanent Magnet
and a Coil of Copper Wires, Figure 2.

Figure 2: Cross Section of the Bell Phone

By talking to the Sender’s Telephone, the voice of the Sender makes the Diaphragm vibrating.
Since the Magnet is attached on the Diaphragm, the vibration of the Diaphragm also makes the
Magnet vibrating in the Coil and a Current is induced. This Induced Current signal is then sent to
the Receiver’s Telephone through the Copper Wires.

At the Receiver’s Telephone, the process is vice versa. The Telephone takes the Induced Current
signal and translates it back into physical vibrations of the Diaphragm. The Sound is reproduced
and can be heard.

Telephone History
Early Telephone Development
For more information on Leyden jars, including photographs and instructions on how to build
them, go this page at the Static Generator site:

http://www.alaska.net/~natnkell/leyden.htm

A static electricity web page is here: http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html

In 1729 English chemist Stephen Gray transmitted electricity over a wire. He sent charges nearly
300 feet over brass wire and moistened thread. An electrostatic generator powered his
experiments, one charge at a time. A few years later, Dutchman Pieter van Musschenbroek and
German Ewald Georg von Kleist in 1746 independently developed the Leyden jar, a sort of
battery or condenser for storing static electricity. Named for its Holland city of invention, the jar
was a glass bottle lined inside and out with tin or lead. The glass sandwiched between the metal
sheets stored electricity; a strong charge could be kept for a few days and transported. Over the
years these jars were used in countless experiments, lectures, and demonstrations.

In 1753 an anonymous writer, possibly physician Charles Morrison, suggested in The Scot's
Magazine that electricity might transmit messages. He thought up a scheme using separate wires
to represent each letter. An electrostatic generator, he posited, could electrify each line in turn,
attracting a bit of paper by static charge on the other end. By noting which paper letters were
attracted one might spell out a message. Needing wires by the dozen, signals got transmitted a
mile or two. People labored with telegraphs like this for many decades. Experiments continued
slowly until 1800. Many inventors worked alone, misunderstood earlier discoveries, or spent time
producing results already achieved. Poor equipment didn't help either.

Balky electrostatic generators produced static electricity by friction, often by spinning leather
against glass. And while static electricity could make hair stand on end or throw sparks, it
couldn't provide the energy to do truly useful things. Inventors and industry needed a reliable and
continuous current.

In 1800 Alessandro Volta produced the first battery. A major development, Volta's battery
provided sustained low powered electric current at high cost. Chemically based, as all batteries
are, the battery improved quickly and became the electrical source for further experimenting. But
while batteries got more reliable, they still couldn't produce the power needed to work machinery,
light cities, or provide heat. And although batteries would work telegraph and telephone systems,
and still do, transmitting speech required understanding two related elements, namely, electricity
and magnetism.

In 1820 Danish physicist Christian Oersted discovered electromagnetism, the critical idea needed
to develop electrical power and to communicate. In a famous experiment at his University of
Copenhagen classroom, Oersted pushed a compass under a live electric wire. This caused its
needle to turn from pointing north, as if acted on by a larger magnet. Oersted discovered that an
electric current creates a magnetic field. But could a magnetic field create electricity? If so, a new
source of power beckoned. And the principle of electromagnetism, if fully understood and
applied, promised a new era of communication

For an excellent summary of Christian Oersted's life, visit:

http://www.longman.co.uk/tt_secsci/resources/scimon/mar_01/oersted.htm

In 1821 Michael Faraday reversed Oersted's experiment and in so doing discovered induction. He
got a weak current to flow in a wire revolving around a permanent magnet. In other words, a
magnetic field caused or induced an electric current to flow in a nearby wire. In so doing,
Faraday had built the world's first electric generator. Mechanical energy could now be converted
to electrical energy. Is that clear? This is a very important point.

The simple act of moving ones' hand caused current to move. Mechanical energy into electrical
energy. Although many years away, a turbine powered dynamo would let the power of flowing
water or burning coal produce electricity. Got a river or a dam? The water spins the turbines
which turns the generators which produce electricity. The more water you have the more
generators you can add and the more electricity you can produce. Mechanical energy into
electrical energy.

(By comparison, a motor turns electrical energy into mechanical energy. Thanks to A. Almoian
for pointing out this key difference and to Neal Kling for another correction.)

Click here for a clear, large diagram on turning mechanical energy into electrical energy.
And it's a good science fair idea!

I also have a page on easy to do electrical experiments for kids

Again, good science fair ideas.
Faraday worked through different electrical problems in the next ten years, eventually publishing
his results on induction in 1831. By that year many people were producing electrical dynamos.
But electromagnetism still needed understanding. Someone had to show how to use it for
communicating.

For more information on Michael Faraday, visit the ENC at:

http://www.enc.org/features/calendar/unit/0,1819,196,00.shtm (external link)

In 1830 the great American scientist Professor Joseph Henry transmitted the first practical
electrical signal. A short time before Henry had invented the first efficient electromagnet. He also
concluded similar thoughts about induction before Faraday but he didn't publish them first.
Henry's place in electrical history however, has always been secure, in particular for showing that
electromagnetism could do more than create current or pick up heavy weights -- it could
communicate.

In a stunning demonstration in his Albany Academy classroom, Henry created the forerunner of
the telegraph. In the demonstration, Henry first built an electromagnet by winding an iron bar
with several feet of wire. A pivot mounted steel bar sat next to the magnet. A bell, in turn, stood
next to the bar. From the electromagnet Henry strung a mile of wire around the inside of the
classroom. He completed the circuit by connecting the ends of the wires at a battery. Guess what
happened? The steel bar swung toward the magnet, of course, striking the bell at the same time.
Breaking the connection released the bar and it was free to strike again. And while Henry did not
pursue electrical signaling, he did help someone who did. And that man was Samuel Finley
Breese Morse.

For more information on Joseph Henry, visit the Joseph Henry Papers Project at:
http://www.si.edu/archives/ihd/jhp/papers00.htm (external link)
From the December, 1963 American Heritage magazine, "a sketch of Henry's primitive telegraph,
a dozen years before Morse, reveals the essential components: an electromagnet activated by a
distant battery, and a pivoted iron bar that moves to ring a bell." See the two books listed to the
left for more information.

In 1837 Samuel Morse invented the first workable telegraph, applied for its patent in 1838, and
was finally granted it in 1848. Joseph Henry helped Morse build a telegraph relay or repeater that
allowed long distance operation. The telegraph later helped unite the country and eventually the
world. Not a professional inventor, Morse was nevertheless captivated by electrical experiments.
In 1832 he heard of Faraday's recently published work on inductance, and was given an
electromagnet at the same time to ponder over. An idea came to him and Morse quickly worked
out details for his telegraph.

As depicted below, his system used a key (a switch) to make or break the electrical circuit, a
battery to produce power, a single line joining one telegraph station to another and an
electromagnetic receiver or sounder that upon being turned on and off, produced a clicking noise.
He completed the package by devising the Morse code system of dots and dashes. A quick key
tap broke the circuit momentarily, transmitting a short pulse to a distant sounder, interpreted by
an operator as a dot. A more lengthy break produced a dash.

Telegraphy became big business as it replaced messengers, the Pony Express, clipper ships and
every other slow paced means of communicating. The fact that service was limited to Western
Union offices or large firms seemed hardly a problem. After all, communicating over long
distances instantly was otherwise impossible. Yet as the telegraph was perfected, man's thoughts
turned to speech over a wire.
In 1854 Charles Bourseul wrote about transmitting speech electrically in a well circulated article.
In that important paper, the Belgian-born French inventor and engineer described a flexible disk
that would make and break an electrical connection to reproduce sound. Bourseul never built an
instrument or pursued his ideas further.

For more information on Bourseul and early communications in general, vist this German site:
http://www.fht-esslingen.de/telehistory/1870-.html (external link)

I have a page on easy to do electrical experiments for kids. And adults who want to understand
the basics (internal link)

In 1861 Johann Phillip Reis completed the first non-working telephone. Tantalizingly close to
reproducing speech, Reis's instrument conveyed certain sounds, poorly, but no more than that. A
German physicist and school teacher, Reis's ingenuity was unquestioned. His transmitter and
receiver used a cork, a knitting needle, a sausage skin, and a piece of platinum to transmit bits of
music and certain other sounds. But intelligible speech could not be reproduced. The problem
was simple, minute, and at the same time monumental. His telephone relied on its transmitter's
diaphragm making and breaking contact with the electrical circuit, just as Bourseul suggested,
and just as the telegraph worked. This approach, however, was completely wrong.

Reproducing speech practically relies on the transmitter making continuous contact with the
electrical circuit. A transmitter varies the electrical current depending on how much acoustic
pressure it gets. Turning the current off and on like a telegraph cannot begin to duplicate speech
since speech, once flowing, is a fluctuating wave of continuous character; it is not a collection of
off and on again pulses. The Reis instrument, in fact, worked only when sounds were so soft that
the contact connecting the transmitter to the circuit remained unbroken. Speech may have
traveled first over a Reis telephone however, it would have done so accidentally and against
every principle he thought would make it work. And although accidental discovery is the stuff of
invention, Reis did not realize his mistake, did not understand the principle behind voice
transmission, did not develop his instrument further, nor did he ever claim to have invented the
telephone.

The definitive book in English on Reis is:

Thompson, Silvanus P. Phillip Reis: Inventor of The Telephone. E.&F.N. Spon. London. 1883

For other views and explanations of the Reis instrument, visit Adventures in Cybersound:
http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/REIS_BIO.html (external link)
In the early 1870s the world still did not have a working telephone. Inventors focused on
telegraph improvements since these had a waiting market. A good, patentable idea might make an
inventor millions. Developing a telephone, on the other hand, had no immediate market, if one at
all. Elisha Gray, Alexander Graham Bell, as well as many others, were instead trying to develop a
multiplexing telegraph, a device to send several messages over one wire at once. Such an
instrument would greatly increase traffic without the telegraph company having to build more
lines. As it turned out, for both men, the desire to invent one thing turned into a race to invent
something altogether different. And that is truly the story of invention.

Alan J. Rogers' excellent introduction to electromagnetic waves, frequencies, and radio

transmission. All applicable to telephony. Really well done. (19 pages, 164K in .pdf)

--------------------------------------------

Resources

[Britannica definition]"Telecommunications Systems: Telephone: THE TELEPHONE

INSTRUMENT" Britannica Online. "In modern electret transmitters, developed in the 1970s, the
carbon layer is replaced by a thin plastic sheet that has been given a conductive metallic coating
on one side. The plastic separates that coating from another metal electrode and maintains an
electric field between them. Vibrations caused by speech produce fluctuations in the electric field,
which in turn produce small variations in voltage. The voltages are amplified for transmission
over the telephone line."

[Accessed 11 February 1999] 9

"[Piezoelectric] crystals are used as transducers to convert mechanical or sound energy into
electrical energy in such things as microphones, phonographs, and in sound and vibration
detection systems."

"Piezoelectricity was first observed in 1880 when Pierre and Jacques Curie put a weight on a
quartz crystal and detected a proportional electric charge on its surface. A year later the converse
effect was demonstrated -- that is when a voltage is applied to a crystal, a displacement occurs
which is proportional to the voltage."
"Reversing the polarity of the voltages reverses the direction of displacement. The term
piezoelectricity is derived from the Greek word piezein meaning to press. Hence, a piezoelectric
crystal is one capable of producing electricity when subjected to pressure."

An anonymous writer in the July, 1964 Lenkurt Demodulator

Analog and digital signals compared and contrasted

Analog transmission in telephone working. At the top of the illustration we depict direct current
as a flat line. D.C. is the steady and continuous current your telephone company provides. The
middle line shows what talking looks like. As in all things analog, it looks like a wave. The third
line shows how talking varies that direct current. Your voice varies the telephone line's electrical
resistance to represent speech. Click here for another diagram that complements this illustration.

Below is a simplified view of a digital signal. Current goes on and off. No wave thing. There was
no chance the Reis telephone described above could transmit intelligible speech since it could not
reproduce an analog wave. You can't do that making and breaking a circuit. A pulse in this case is
not a wave! (internal link) It was not until the early 1960s that digital carrier techniques (internal
link) simulated an analog wave with digital pulses. Even then this simulation was only possible
by sampling the wave 8,000 times a second. (Producing CD quality sound means sampling an
analog signal 44,000 times a second.) In these days all traffic in America between telephone
switches is digital, but the majority of local loops are analog (internal link), still carrying your
voice to the central office by varying the current.

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The Inventors: Gray and Bell

Elisha Gray was a hard working professional inventor with some success to his credit. Born in
1835 in Barnesville, Ohio, Gray was well educated for his time, having worked his way through
three years at Oberlin College. His first telegraph related patent came in 1868. An expert
electrician, he co-founded Gray and Barton, makers of telegraph equipment. The Western Union
Telegraph Company, then funded by the Vanderbilts and J.P. Morgan, bought a one-third interest
in Gray and Barton in 1872. They then changed its name to the Western Electric Manufacturing
Company, with Gray remaining an important person in the company. To Gray, transmitting
speech was an interesting goal but not one of a lifetime.

Alexander Graham Bell, on the other hand, saw telephony as the driving force in his early life.
He became consumed with inventing the telephone. Born in 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland,
Graham was raised in a family involved with music and the spoken word. His mother painted and
played music. His father originated a system called visible speech that helped the deaf to speak.
His grandfather was a lecturer and speech teacher. Bell's college courses included lectures on
anatomy and physiology. His entire education and upbringing revolved around the mechanics of
speech and sound. Many years after inventing the telephone Bell remarked, "I now realize that I
should never have invented the telephone if I had been an electrician. What electrician would
have been so foolish as to try any such thing? The advantage I had was that sound had been the
study of my life -- the study of vibrations."

In 1870 Bell's father moved his family to Canada after losing two sons to tuberculosis. He hoped
the Canadian climate would be healthier. In 1873 Bell became a vocal physiology professor at
Boston College. He taught the deaf the visual speech system during the day and at night he
worked on what he called a harmonic or musical telegraph. Sending several messages at once
over a single wire would let a telegraph company increase their sending capacity without having
to install more poles and lines. An inventor who made such a device would realize a great
economy for the telegraph company and a fortune for his or her self. Familiar with acoustics, Bell
thought he could send several telegraph messages at once by varying their musical pitch. Sound
odd? I'll give you a crude example, a piano analogy, since Watson said Bell played the piano well.

Imagine playing Morse code on the piano, striking dots and dashes in middle C. Then imagine
the instrument wired to a distant piano. Striking middle C in one piano might cause middle C to
sound in the other. Now, by playing Morse code on the A or C keys at the same time you might
get the distant piano to duplicate your playing, sending two messages at once. Perhaps. Bell didn't
experiment with pianos, of course, but with differently pitched magnetic springs. And instead of
just sending two messages at once, Bell hoped to send thirty or forty. The harmonic telegraph
proved simple to think about, yet maddeningly difficult to build. He labored over this device
throughout the year and well into the spring of 1874.

Then, at a friend's suggestion, he worked that summer on a teaching aid for the deaf, a gruesome
device called the phonoautograph, made out of a dead man's ear. Speaking into the device caused
the ear's membrane to vibrate and in turn move a lever. The lever then wrote a wavelike pattern of
the speech on smoked glass. Ugh. Many say Bell was fascinated by how the tiny membrane
caused the much heavier lever to work. It might be possible, he speculated, to make a membrane
work in telephony, by using it to vary an electric current in intensity with the spoken word. Such
a current could then replicate speech with another membrane. Bell had discovered the principle of
the telephone, the theory of variable resistance, as depicted below. [Brooks] But learning to apply
that principle correctly would take him another two years.
Bell continued harmonic telegraph work through the fall of 1874. He wasn't making much
progress but his tinkering gathered attention. Gardiner Greene Hubbard, a prominent Boston
lawyer and the president of the Clarke School for The Deaf, became interested in Bell's
experiments. He and George Sanders, a prosperous Salem businessman, both sensed Bell might
make the harmonic telegraph work. They also knew Bell the man, since Bell tutored Hubbard's
daughter and he was helping Sander's deaf five year old son learn to speak.

In October, 1874, Green went to Washington D.C. to conduct a patent search. Finding no
invention similar to Bell's proposed harmonic telegraph, Hubbard and Sanders began funding
Bell. All three later signed a formal agreement in February, 1875, giving Bell financial backing in
return for equal shares from any patents Bell developed. The trio got along but they would have
their problems. Sanders would court bankruptcy by investing over $100,000 before any return
came to him. Hubbard, on the other hand, discouraged Bell's romance with his daughter until the
harmonic telegraph was invented. Bell, in turn, would risk his funding by working so hard on the
telephone and by getting engaged to Mabel without Hubbard's permission.

In the spring of 1875, Bell's experimenting picked up quickly with the help of a talented young
machinist named Thomas A. Watson. Bell feverishly pursued the harmonic telegraph his backers
wanted and the telephone which was now his real interest. Seeking advice, Bell went to
Washington D.C. On March 1, 1875, Bell met with Joseph Henry, the great scientist and inventor,
then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. It was Henry, remember, who pioneered
electromagnetism and helped Morse with the telegraph. Uninterested in Bell's telegraph work,
Henry did say Bell's ideas on transmitting speech electrically represented "the germ of a great
invention." He urged Bell to drop all other work and get on with developing the telephone. Bell
said he feared he lacked the necessary electrical knowledge, to which the old man replied, "Get
it!" [Grosvenor and Wesson] Bell quit pursuing the harmonic telegraph, at least in spirit, and
began working full time on the telephone.

After lengthy experimenting in the spring of 1875, Bell told Watson "If I can get a mechanism
which will make a current of electricity vary in its intensity as the air varies in density when a
sound is passing through it, I can telegraph any sound, even the sound of speech." [Fagen] He
communicated the same idea in a letter to Hubbard, who remained unimpressed and urged Bell to
work harder on the telegraph. But having at last articulated the principle of variable resistance,
Bell was getting much closer.
On June 2, 1875, Bell and Watson were testing the harmonic telegraph when Bell heard a sound
come through the receiver. Instead of transmitting a pulse, which it had refused to do in any case,
the telegraph passed on the sound of Watson plucking a tuned spring, one of many set at different
pitches. How could that be? Their telegraph, like all others, turned current on and off. But in this
instance, a contact screw was set too tightly, allowing current to run continuously, the essential
element needed to transmit speech. Bell realized what happened and had Watson build a
telephone the next day based on this discovery. The Gallows telephone, so called for its
distinctive frame, substituted a diaphragm for the spring. Yet it didn't work. A few odd sounds
were transmitted, yet nothing more. No speech. Disheartened, tired, and running out of funds,
Bell's experimenting slowed through the remainder of 1875.

During the winter of 1875 and 1876 Bell continued experimenting while writing a telephone
patent application. Although he hadn't developed a successful telephone, he felt he could describe
how it could be done. With his ideas and methods protected he could then focus on making it
work. Fortunately for Bell and many others, the Patent Office in 1870 dropped its requirement
that a working model accompany a patent application. On February 14, 1876, Bell's patent
application was filed by his attorney. It came only hours before Elisha Gray filed his Notice of
Invention for a telephone.

Mystery still surrounds Bell's application and what happened that day. In particular, the key point
to Bell's application, the principle of variable resistance, was scrawled in a margin, almost as an
afterthought. Some think Bell was told of Gray's Notice then allowed to change his application.
That was never proved, despite some 600 lawsuits that would eventually challenge the patent.
Finally, on March 10, 1876, one week after his patent was allowed, in Boston, Massachusetts, at
his lab at 5 Exeter Place, Bell succeeded in transmitting speech. He was not yet 30. Bell used a
liquid transmitter, something he hadn't outlined in his patent or even tried before, but something
that was described in Gray's Notice.
Bell's patent, U.S. Number 174,465, has been called the most valuable ever issued. If you have
QuickTime or another way to view .tif files you can view the document at the United States
Patent and Trademark site (external link). Search for it by the number. Each page of the six page
document is about 230K. And yes, it is very hard to follow. Patents are meant to protect ideas, not
necessarily to explain them . . .

The Watson-built telephone looked odd and acted strangely. Bellowing into the funnel caused a
small disk or diaphragm at the bottom to move. This disk was, in turn, attached to a wire floating
in an acid-filled metal cup. A wire attached to the cup in turn led to a distant receiver. As the wire
moved up and down it changed the resistance within the liquid. This now varying current was
then sent to the receiver, causing its membrane to vibrate and thereby produce sound. This
telephone wasn't quite practical; it got speech across, but badly. Bell soon improved it by using an
electromagnetic transmitter, a metal diaphragm and a permanent magnet. The telephone had been
invented. Now it was time for it to evolve.

For the definitive answer on who invented the telephone (A hint, it was Bell), and a link to Edwin
S. Grosvenor's authoritative, well researched, and clear thinking site defending Bell, click here.
(internal link)

How the first telephone worked

Simplified diagram of Bell's liquid transmitter. The diaphragm vibrated with sound waves,
causing a conducting rod to move up and down in a cup of acid water. Battery supplied power
electrified the cup of acid. As the rod rose and fell it changed the circuit's resistance. This caused
the line current to the receiver (not shown) to fluctuate, which in turn caused the membrane of the
receiver to vibrate, producing sound.

This transmitter was quickly dropped in favor of voice powered or induced models. These
transmitted speech on the weak electro-magnetic force that the transmitter and receiver's
permanent magnets produced.

It was not until 1882, with the introduction of the Blake transmitter, that Bell telephones once
again used line power. The so called local battery circuit used a battery supplied at the phone to
power the line and take speech to the local switch. Voice powered phones did not go away
completely, as some systems continued to be used for critical applications, those which may have
been threatened by spark. In 1964 NASA used a voice powered system described as follows:

"A network of 24 channels with a total of more than 450 sound powered telephones, which derive
their power solely from the human voice, provide the communications between the East Area
central blockhouse (left) and the various test stands at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight
Center here. . ." The complete article is here:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/scienceservice/007016.htm (external link)

-------------------------------------

Resources

Brooks, John. Telephone: The First Hundred Years. New York: Harper and Row, 1975: 41

Fagen, M.D., ed. A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System. Volume 1 The Early
Years, 1875 -1925. New York: Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1975, 6

Grosvenor, Edwin S. and Morgan Wesson. Alexander Graham Bell :The Life and Times of the
Man Who Invented the Telephone. New York: Abrams, 1997: 55

Rhodes, Beginning of Telephony 4-5, 13-14 Bell develops the idea for the telephone.

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The Telephone Evolves

At this point telephone history becomes fragmented and hard to follow. Four different but related
stories begin: (1) the further history of the telephone instrument and all its parts, (2) the history of
the telephone business, (3) the history of telephone related technology and (4) the history of the
telephone system. Due to limited space I can cover only some major North American events. Of
these, the two most important developments were the invention of the vacuum tube and the
transistor; today's telephone system could not have been built without them.

Progress came slowly after the original invention. Bell and Watson worked constantly on
improving the telphone's range. They made their longest call to date on October 9, 1876. It was a
distance of only two miles, but they were so overjoyed that later that night they celebrated, doing
so much began dancing that their landlady threatened to throw them out. Watson later recalled
"Bell . . . had a habit of celebrating by what he called a war dance and I had got so exposed at it
that I could do it quite as well as he could." [Watson] The rest of 1876, though, was difficult for
Bell and his backers.

Bell and Watson improved the telephone and made better models of it, but these changes weren't
enough to turn the telephone from a curiosity into a needed appliance. Promoting and developing
the telephone proved far harder than Hubbard, Sanders, or Bell expected. No switchboards
existed yet, the telephones were indeed crude and transmission quality was poor. Many
questioned why anyone needed a telephone. And despite Bell's patent, broadly covering the entire
subject of transmitting speech electrically, many companies sprang up to sell telephones and
telephone service. In addition, other people filed applications for telephones and transmitters after
Bell's patent was issued. Most claimed Bell's patent couldn't produce a working telephone or that
they had a prior claim. Litigation loomed. Fearing financial collapse, Hubbard and Sanders
offered in the fall of 1876 to sell their telephone patent rights to Western Union for $100,000.
Western Union refused.

(Special thanks to William Farkas of Ontario, Canada for his remarks and corrections)

In 1876 Ericsson begins.

Click here for a short but nice history (internal link)

On April 27, 1877 Thomas Edison filed a patent application for an improved transmitter, a device
that made the telephone practical. A major accomplishment, Edison's patent claim was declared
in interference to a Notice of Invention for a transmitter filed just two weeks before by Emile
Berliner. This conflict was not resolved until 1886 however, Edison decided to produce the
transmitter while the matter was disputed. Production began toward the end of 1877. To compete,
Bell soon incorporated in their phones an improved transmitter invented by Francis Blake.

Blake's transmitter relied on the diaphragm modifying an existing electrical current, an outside
power source. This was quite different than the original invention and its improvements. Bell's
first telephone transmitter used the human voice to generate a weak electro-magnetic field, which
then went to a distant receiver. Bell later installed larger, better magnets into his telephones but
there was a limit to what power the human voice could provide, Myer indicating about 10
microwatts.

On July 9, 1877 Sanders, Hubbard, and Bell formed the first Bell telephone company. Each
assigned their rights under four basic patents to Hubbard's trusteeship. Against tough criticism,
Hubbard decided to lease telephones and license franchises, instead of selling them. This had
enormous consequences. Instead of making money quickly, dollars would flow in over months,
years, and decades. Products were also affected, as a lease arrangement meant telephones needed
to be of rental quality, with innovations introduced only when the equipment was virtually trouble
free. It proved a wise enough decision to sustain the Bell System for over a hundred years.

In September, 1877 Western Union changed its mind about telephony. They saw it would work
and they wanted in, especially after a subsidiary of theirs, the Gold and Stock Telegraphy
Company, ripped out their telegraphs and started using Bell telephones. Rather than buying patent
rights or licenses from the Bell, Western Union decided to buy patents from others and start their
own telephone company. They were not alone. At least 1,730 telephone companies organized and
operated in the 17 years Bell was supposed to have a monopoly.

Most competitors disappeared as soon as the Bell Company filed suit against them for patent
infringement, but many remained. They either disagreed with Bell's right to the patent, ignored it
altogether, or started a phone company because Bell's people would not provide service to their
area. In any case, Western Union began entering agreements with Gray, Edison, and Amos E.
Dolbear for their telephone inventions. In December, 1877 Western Union created the American
Speaking Telephone Company. A tremendous selling point for their telephones was Edison's
improved transmitter. Bell Telephone was deeply worried since they had installed only 3,000
phones by the end of 1877. Western Union, on the other hand, had 250,000 miles of telegraph
wire strung over 100,000 miles of route. If not stopped they would have an enormous head start
on making telephone service available across the country. Undaunted by the size of Western
Union, then the world's largest telecom company, Bell's Boston lawyers sued them for patent
infringement the next year.

On January, 28 1878 , the first commercial switchboard began operating in New Haven,
Connecticut. It served 21 telephones on 8 lines consequently, many people were on a party line.
On February 17, Western Union opened the first large city exchange in San Francisco. No longer
limited to people on the same wire, folks could now talk to many others on different lines. The
public switched telephone network was born. Other innovations marked 1878.

For a detailed history of telephone exchanges, particularly dial, please see R.B. Hill's excellent
history: http://www.TelecomWriting.com/EarlyWork.html

On February 21, 1878, the world's first telephone directory came out, a single paper of only fifty
names. George Williard Coy and a group of investors in the New Haven District Telephone
Company at 219 Chapel Street produced it. It was followed quickly by the listing produced by the
oddly named Boston Telephone Despatch Company. [First directory]

In 1878 President Rutherford B. Hayes administration installed the first telephone in the White
House. [First tele] Mary Finch Hoyt reports that the first outgoing call went to Alexander Graham
Bell himself, thirteen miles distant. Hayes first words instructed Bell to speak more slowly.
[Hoyt]

In that year the Butterstamp telephone came into use. This telephone combined the receiver and
transmitter into one handheld unit. You talked into one end, turned the instrument round and
listened to the other end. People got confused with this clumsy arrangement, consequently, a
telephone with a second transmitter and receiver unit was developed in the same year. You could
use either one to talk or listen and you didn't have to turn them around. This wall set used a crank
to signal the operator.
The Butterstamp telephone.

For another great page on the earliest commercial telephones go here:

http://atcaonline.com/phone/index.html (external link)

On August 1, 1878 Thomas Watson filed for a ringer patent. Similar to Henry's classroom
doorbell, a hammer operated by an electromagnet struck two bells. Turning a crank on the calling
telephone spun a magneto, producing an alternating or ringing current. Previously, people used a
crude thumper to signal the called party, hoping someone would be around to hear it. The ringer
was an immediate success. Bell himself became more optimistic about the telephone's future,
prophetically writing in 1878 "I believe that in the future, wires will unite the head offices of the
Telephone Company in different cities, and that a man in one part of the country may
communicate by word of mouth with another in a distant place."

Subscribers, meanwhile, grew steadily but slowly. Sanders had invested $110,000 by early 1878
without any return. He located a group of New Englanders willing to invest but unwilling to do
business outside their area. Needing the funding, the Bell Telephone Company reorganized in
June, 1878, forming a new Bell Telephone Company as well as the New England Telephone
Company, a forerunner of the strong regional Bell companies to come. 10,755 Bell phones were
now in service. Reorganizing passed control to an executive committee, ending Hubbard's
stewardship but not his overall vision. For Hubbard's last act was to hire a far seeing general
manager named Theodore Vail. But the corporate shuffle wasn't over yet. In early 1879 the
company reorganized once again, under pressure from patent suits and competition from other
companies selling phones with Edison's superior transmitter. Capitalization was $850,000.
William H. Forbes was elected to head the board of directors. He soon restructured it to embrace
all Bell interests into a single company, the National Bell Company, incorporated on March 13,
1879. Growth was steady enough, however, that in late 1879 the first telephone numbers were
used.

On November 10, 1879 Bell won its patent infringement suit against Western Union in the United
States Supreme Court. In the resulting settlement, Western Union gave up its telephone patents
and the 56,000 phones it managed, in return for 20% of Bell rentals for the 17 year life of Bell's
patents. It also retained its telegraph business as before. This decision so enlarged National Bell
that a new entity with a new name, American Bell Company, was created on February 20, 1880,
capitalized with over seven million dollars. Bell now managed 133,000 telephones. As Chief
Operating Officer, Theodore Vail began creating the Bell System, composed of regional
companies offering local service, a long distance company providing toll service, and a
manufacturing arm providing equipment. For the manufacturer he turned to a previous company
rival. In 1880 Vail started buying Western Electric stock and took controlling interest on
November, 1881. The takeover was consummated on February 26, 1882, with Western Electric
giving up its remaining patent rights as well as agreeing to produce products exclusively for
American Bell. It was not until 1885 that Vail would form his long distance telephone company.
It was called AT&T.

On July 19, 1881 Bell was granted a patent for the metallic circuit, the concept of two wires
connecting each telephone. Until that time a single iron wire connected telephone subscribers,
just like a telegraph circuit. A conversation works over one wire since grounding each end
provides a complete path for an electrical circuit. But houses, factories and the telegraph system
were all grounding their electrical circuits using the same earth the telephone company employed.
A huge amount of static and noise was consequently introduced by using a grounded circuit. A
metallic circuit, on the other hand, used two wires to complete the electrical circuit, avoiding the
ground altogether and thus providing a better sounding call.

The brilliant J.J. Carty introduced two wireservice commercially in October of that year on a
circuit between Boston and Providence. It cut noise greatly over those forty five miles and
heralded the beginning of long distance service. Still, it was not until 10 years later that Bell
started converting grounded circuits to metallic ones

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Part A
Before continuing let's look at Strowger's achievement. The automatic dial system, after all,
changed telephony forever. Almon Brown Strowger (pronounced STRO-jer) was born in 1839 in
Penfield, New York, a close suburb of Rochester. Like Bell, Strowger was not a professional
inventor, but a man with a keen interest in things mechanical. Swihart says he went to an
excellent New York State university, served in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 (ending as a
lieutenant), taught school in Kansas and Ohio afterwards, and wound up first in Topeka and then
Kansas City as an undertaker in 1886. This unlikely profession of an inventor so inspired seems
odd indeed, but the stories surrounding his motivation to invent the automatic switch are odder
still.

Thanks to Joe Oster for supplying Strowger's birthplace

The many stories suggest, none of which I can confirm, that someone was stealing Almon
Strowger's business. Telephone operators, perhaps in league with his competitors, were routing
calls to other undertakers. These operators, supposedly, gave busy signals to customers calling
Strowger or even disconnected their calls. Strowger thus invented a system to replace an operator
from handling local calls. In the distillation of these many stories, Stephan Lesher relates a story
from Almon's time in Topeka:

"In his book, Good Connections, telephone historian Dave Park writes that Strowger grew darkly
suspicious when a close friend in Topeka died and the man's family delivered the body to a rival
mortician. Strowger contended that an operator at the new telephone exchange had intentionally
directed the call to a competitor -- an allegation that gave rise to tales that the operator was either
married to, or the daughter of, a competing undertaker."

Good connections : A Century of Service by the Men & Women of Southwestern Bell by David
G. Park (Long out of print, but try htttp://www,abe.com)

Whatever the circumstances, we do know that anti-Bell System sentiment ran high at this time,
that good telephone inventions commanded ready money, and that Strowger did have numerous
problems with his local telephone company. Strowger was a regular complainer and one
complaint stands out.

Swihart describes how Southwestern Bell personnel were called out to once again visit
Strowger's business, to fix a dead line. The cause turned out to be a hanging sign which flapped
in the breeze against exposed telephone contacts. This shorted the line. Once the sign was
removed the line worked again. It may be supposed that this sort of problem was beyond a
customer's ability to diagnose, that Strowger had a legitimate complaint. But on this occasion
Southwestern Bell's assistant general manager, a one Herman Ritterhoff, was along with the
repair crew. Strowger invited the man inside and showed him a model for an automatic switch.
So Strowger was working on the problem for quite some time and was no novice to telephone
theory.

Brooks says that, in fact, Strowger knew technology so well that he built his patent on Bell
system inventions. It must be pointed out, however, that every inventor draws ideas and
inspiration from previously done work. Brooks says specifically that the Connolly-McTighe
patent (Patent number 222, 458, dated December 9, 1879) helped Strowger, a failed dial
switchboard, as well as an early automatic switch developed by Erza Gilliland. But Strowger did
not build the instrument since he did not have the mechanical skills. A rather clueless jeweler was
employed instead to build the first model, and much time was wasted with this man, getting him
to follow instructions.

As with Bell, Strowger filed his patent without having perfected a working invention. Yet he
described the switch in sufficient detail and with enough novel points for it to be granted Patent
number 447,918, on March 10, 1891. And in a further parallel with Bell, Almon Strowger lost
interest in the device once he got it built. It fell upon his brother, Walter S. Strowger, to carry
development and promotion further, along with a great man, Joseph Harris, who also helped with
promotion and investment money. Without Harris, soon to be the organizer and guiding force
behind Automatic Electric, dial service may have taken decades longer for the Bell System to
recognize and develop. Competition by A.E. forced the Bell System to play switching catchup,
something they really only accomplished in the 1940s with the introduction of crossbar.

Need something technical on Strowger's work? I've put R.B. Hill's switching history article on
line here:
http://www.TelecomWriting.com/Switching/EarlyYears.html
The citation to that article is here.For more on common battery and the last manual switchboard
to be retired in America, click here

In 1897 Milo Gifford Kellogg founded the Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company near
Chicago. Kellogg was a "graduate engineer and accomplished circuit designer"[Pleasance], who
began his career in 1870 with Gray and Barton, equipment manufacturers for Western Electric.
There he developed Western Electric's best telephone switchboards: a standard model and a
multiple switchboard. Both were invented in 1879 and patented in 1881 and 1884, respectively.
He retired from Western Electric in 1885, "and began making and patenting a series of telephone
inventions of his own, which work extended over a period of 12 years and which culminated in
the issue of 125 patents to him on October 17, 1897, besides which over 25 had previously been
issued to him."[Telephony] He was also quite political, successfully winning suits against Bell
and delaying other Bell actions to his benefit. Telecom History called him "probably the man in
the American independent telephone business who first placed himself in opposition to the Bell
Company."[Telephony]

His major accomplishment was the so called divided-multiple switchboard, of which two were
built. One was sold to the Cuyahoga Telephone Company of Cleveland, Ohio and the other to the
Kinloch Telephone company of Saint Louis. The Cleveland installation boasted 9,600 lines, with
an ultimate capacity of 24,000! Such large switchboards were needed to handle increasing
demand. The Kellog boards were much larger than Bell equipment, mostly designed by Charles
Scribner. Saint Louis and Detroit independents started switching to Kellog boards, "threaten[ing]
Bell's profitable urban markets."[Grosvenor] Under such pressure and once again running out of
money, Bell regrouped.

In 1899 American Bell Telephone Company reorganized yet once again. In a major change,
American Bell Telephone Company conveyed all assets, with the exception of AT&T stock, to the
New York state charted American Telephone and Telegraph Company. It was figured that New
York had less restrictive corporate laws than Massachusetts. The American Bell Telephone
Company name passed into history.

In 1900 loading coils came into use. Patented by Physics Professor Michael I. Pupin, loading
coils helped improve long distance transmission. Spaced every three to six thousand feet, cable
circuits were extended three to four times their previous length. Essentially a small electro-
magnet, a loading coil or inductance coil strengthens the transmission line by decreasing
attenuation, the normal loss of signal strength over distance. Wired into the transmission line,
these electromagnetic loading coils keep signal strength up as easily as an electromagnet pulls a
weight off the ground. But coils must be the right size and carefully spaced to avoid distortion
and other transmission problems.

Pupin's patent is U.S. number 652,230 which you can view at the United States Patent Office:
http://www.uspto.gov (external link) His patent in 1900 caused almost as much controversy as
Bell's telephone patents. As the crucial invention for extending long distance circuits it was an
extremely valuable patent and hence contested by groups like AT&T which eventually bought the
rights. It also served as an incentive for the Bell System to found Bell Labs. As Wasserman put it,
AT&T had been "played to a virtual tie with a lone inventor working in an academic setting. . .
This point was not ignored by management."

The definitive book on loading coil history and early long distance working is Neil Wasserman's
book, From Invention to Innovation: Long Distance Telephone Transmission at The Turn of the
Century. John Hopkins/AT&T Series in Telephone History. 1985.

Details from the patent. Click to enlarge

In 1901 the Automatic Electric Company was formed from Almon Strowger's original company.
The only maker of dial telephone equipment at the time, Automatic Electric grew quickly. The
Bell System's Western Electric would not sell equipment to the independents, consequently, A.E.
and then makers like Kellog and Stromberg-Carlson found ready acceptance. Desperate to fight
off the rising independent tide, the Bell System concocted a wild and devious plan. AT&T's
president Fredrick Fish approved a secret plan to buy out the Kellog Switchboard and Supply
Company and put it under Bell control. Kellog would continue selling their major switchboards
to the independents for a year. At that time the Bell System would file a patent suit against
Kellog, which they would intentionally loose. This would force the independents to rip out their
newly installed switchboards, crushing the largest independents. The plan was discovered,
aborted, and further scandalized AT&T.[Grosvenor2]

By 1903 independent telephones numbered 2,000,000 while Bell managed 1,278,000. Bell's
reputation for high prices and poor service continued. As bankers got hold of the company, the
Bell System faltered.

In 1907 Theodore Vail returned to the AT&T as president, pressured by none other than J.P.
Morgan himself, who had gained financial control of the Bell System. A true robber baron,
Morgan thought he could turn the Bell System into America's only telephone company. To that
end he bought independents by the dozen, adding them to Bell's existing regional telephone
companies. The chart shows how AT&T management finally organized the regional holding
companies in 1911, a structure that held up over the next seventy years. But Morgan wasn't
finished yet. He also worked on buying all of Western Union, acquiring 30% of its stock in 1909,
culminating that action by installing Vail as its president. For his part, Vail thought telephone
service was a natural monopoly, much as gas or electric service. But he also knew times were
changing and that the present system couldn't continue.

In January 1913 the Justice Department informed the Bell System that the company was close to
violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Vail knew things were going badly with the government,
especially since the Interstate Commerce Commission had been looking into AT&T acquisitions
since 1910. J.P. Morgan died in March, 1913; Vail lost a good ally and the strongest Bell system
monopoly advocate. In a radical but visionary move, Vail cut his losses with a bold plan. On
December 19, 1913, AT&T agreed to rid itself of Western Union stock, buy no more independent
telephone companies without government approval and to finally connect the independents with
AT&T's long distance lines. Rather than let the government remake the Bell System, Vail did the
job himself.

Known as the Kingsbury agreement for the AT&T vice president who wrote the historic letter of
agreement to the Justice Department, Vail ended any plans for a complete telecommunications
monopoly. But with the independents paying a fee for each long distance call placed on its
network, and with the threat of governmental control eased, the Bell System grew to be a de facto
monopoly within the areas it controlled, accomplishing by craft what force could not do.
Interestingly, although the Bell System would service eighty three percent of American
telephones, it never controlled more than thirty percent of the United States geographical area. To
this day, 1,435 independent telephone companies still exist, often serving rural areas the Bell
System ignored. Vail's restructuring was so successful it lasted until modern times. In 1976, on
the hundredth anniversary of the Bell System, AT&T stood as the richest company on earth.

----------------------------------

Resources:

Grosvenor, Edwin S. and Morgan Wesson. Alexander Graham Bell: The Life and Times of the
Man Who Invented the Telephone. Harry N. Abrams, New York (1997) 167 Excellent.
Grosvenor2. ibid, 167

Brooks, John. Telephone: The First Hundred Years. Harper & Row, New York. 1975, 1976: 100

Hill, R.B. "The Early Years of the Strowger System" The Bell Laboratories Record March, 1953:
95

Swihart, Stanley. "The First Automatic Telephone Systems" Telecom History: The Journal of The
Telephone History Institute No. 2. Spring, 1995: 3

Pleasance, Charles A., "The Divided Multiple Switchboard" Telecom History: The Journal of The
Telephone History Institute 1 (1994) 102

"Well-Known Heads of Well-Known Houses", Telephony (July, 1901) As reprinted in Telecom

History: The Journal of The Telephone History Institute 1 (1994) 93

ibid 93

Added note

Q. I remember hearing once about how with point-to-point connections, required before
switchboard exchanges evolved, could "darken the skies" in urban areas -- and I remember seeing
a photo of just that -- a thicket of lines criss-crossing between offices in some downtown area. I
think it might have been the loop in Chicago. Do you have an info on this -- specifically I would
love to find that photo or a similar one.

A. They indeed could darken the skies. A welter of open wire like that was not only unsightly but
could be wrecked by a wind or ice storm. The photograph I am linking to is of New York City but
the site was common in most large cities. It's a great before and after illustration:

http://www.uh.edu/engines/nycandwires.jpg (external link)

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Part B

At this point we need to look back a few years. In 1906 Lee De Forest invented the three element
electron tube. Its properties led the way to national phone service. Long distance service was
previously limited to 1,500 miles or so. Loading coils and larger, thicker cables helped
transmission to a point but no further. There was still too much loss in a telephone line for a voice
signal to reach across the country. Transcontinental phone traffic wasn't possible, consequently,
so a national network was beyond reach. Something else was needed. In 1907 Theodore Vail
instructed AT&T's research staff to build an electronic amplifier based on their own findings and
De Forest's pioneering work. They made some progress but not as much as De Forest did on his
own.
A nice De Forest biography is at:
http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/DE_FOREST_BIO.html (external link)
The site also includes the photograph below.

The most popular book on De Forest is Empire of the Air : The Men Who Made Radio by Tom
Lewis. Try searching for it with the Powells.com search engine at the bottom of this page.

AT&T eventually bought his patent rights to use the tube in their telephone amplifier. Only after
this and a year of inspecting De Forest's equipment did the Bell Telephone Laboratory make the
triode work for telephony. Those years of research were worth it. Electron tube based amplifiers
would make possible radiotelephony, microwave transmission, radar, television, and hundreds of
other technologies. Telephone repeaters could now span the country, enabling a nationwide
telephone system, fulfilling Alexander Graham Bell's 1878 vision.

Recalling those years in an important interview with the IEEE, Lloyd Espenschied recounts "In
May [1907], several of us had gone to a lecture that Lee De Forest had given on wireless at the
Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. In this lecture, he passed around a queer little tube to all
the audience. It was the first three-element tube to be shown in public, I found out afterwards. He
passed this around and everybody looked at it and said, "So what!" Even De Forest said that he
didn't know what it was all about. He looked on it as a detector. [an early device to pick up radio
waves, ed.] Actually it was an evolution of the Fleming valve, but he would never give credit to
anyone." Later in the interview, Espenschied gives an opinion of De Forest shared by many at the
time, "No, he was no engineer. He was just a playboy all his life. He's just plain lucky that he
stumbled into the three- element device. Just plain lucky. But that was handed to him for
persevering; he kept at it, grabbing and grabbing at all the patent applications without knowing
what he was doing."

For more quotes like the above and a great oral history of early electronic and vacuum tube
experimenting:
http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/oral_histories/transcripts/espenschied11.html
(external link)

Luck or not, De Forest was first to build and then exploit the the three element tube. It later
enabled the vacuum tube repeater which ushered in telephony's electronics age.
A triode is sometimes called a thermionic valve. Thermions are electrons derived from a heated
source. A valve describes the tube's properties: current flows in one direction but not the other.
Think of a faucet, a type of control valve, letting water go in only one direction. This controlled
flow of electrons, not just electricity itself, marks the end of the electrical age and the beginning
of the electronic age.

Go here for more on de Forest and how the triode works (internal link)

For more comments, read Ray Strackbein's comments below

Armstrong later developed the regenerative circuit which fed back the input signal into the circuit
over and over again. In electronic books of the era many called him "Feedback Armstrong." His
circuit amplified the signal far more than original designs, allowing great wireless or wireline
transmission signal strength. The feedback circuit could also be overdriven, fed back so many
times that supplying a small current would develop an extremely high frequency. The circuit
would thus resonate at the frequency of a radio wave, letting the triode receive or detect signals,
not just transmit them. DeForest later claimed to have invented regeneration; this was a lie.
DeForest invented the three element tube by trial and error; he did not even understand how it
worked until five years later when Edwin Armstrong explained it.

More on this regarding radio is here (internal link)

As evidence of the triode's success, on January 25, 1915 the first transcontinental telephone line
opened between New York City and San Francisco. The previous long distance limit was New
York to Denver, and only then with some shouting. Two metallic circuits made up the line; it used
2,500 tons of hard-drawn copper wire, 130,000 poles and countless loading coils. Three vacuum
tube repeaters along the way boosted the signal. It was the world's longest telephone line. In a
grand ceremony, 68 year old Alexander Graham Bell in New York City made the ceremonial first
call to his old friend Thomas Watson in San Francisco. In an insult to Lee de Forest, the inventor
was not invited to participate. This insult was carried over to the 1915 World's Fair in San
Francisco, in which AT&T's theater exhibit heralded coast to coast telephone service without
mentioning the man who made it possible. [Morgan]

Professor Michael Noll, writing in Signals: The Science of Telecommunications, says a three
minute coast to coast call cost $22.20. That's $411.47 in 2004 dollars.

In 1919 Theodore Gary and Company bought the Automatic Electric Company. Years later, when
A.E. became AG Communication Systems, the AGCS website said "Theodore Gary aimed to
cash in on the accelerating trend of replacing manual labor with machinery, and saw great
potential in the Bell System market. Gary formed a syndicate that secured an option on the
majority of Automatic Electric Company common stock. In 1919, he exercised his option to
purchase the company."

Since Automatic Electric didn't manufacture for the Bell System the words "potential in the Bell
System market" means licensing potential. Indeed, the AGCS site goes on to say that, "By the
mid-1920s, AE was licensing about 80 percent of the automatic telephone equipment in the
world. It became the second largest telecommunications manufacturer in the United States after
Western Electric."

Finally, on November 8, 1919, in what must have been a humiliating experience for the
telecommunications giant, AT&T at last introduced large scale automatic switching equipment to
their telephone system. Using step by step equipment made, bought, and installed by Automatic
Electric. The cut over to dial in Norfolk, Virginia was a complete Bell System policy change. No
longer would they convert automatic dial systems to manual as they bought independent
telephone companies, but they would instead embrace step by step equipment and install more.

More on the many mergers of Automatic Electric is here

In 1921 the Bell System introduced the first commercial panel switch, a very odd invention.
Developed over eight years, it was AT&T's response to the automatic dialing feature offered by
step by step equipment. It offered many innovations and many problems. Although customers
could dial out themselves, the number of parts and its operating method made it noisy for callers.
Ironically, some switchmen say it was a quiet machine inside the central office, emanating "a
collection of simply delightful 'clinking,' 'whirring' and 'squeak, squeak, squeak' noises." Working
like a game of Snakes and Ladders, the switch used selectors to connect calls, these mechanical
arms moving up and down in large banks of contacts. When crossbar switching came on the
scene in 1938, panel switches were removed where possible, although some remained working
until the mid 1970s. Panel became the first defunct switch in the public switched telephone
network.

At this site were marvelous photos of the last functional panel switch:
http://xy3.com/phone/vintage/panel%201.stm (external link). If you have the time, you might try
entering the URL above into the Internet Archive Wayback Machine (external link)

For a wonderful history of early electronic pioneering, click here for a must read interview with
Ray Sears:
http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/oral_histories/transcripts/sears.html (external
link)

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Part C

In 1925 Western Electric sold its overseas manufacturing plants to a small company with a big
name and even bigger ideas: International Telephone and Telegraph. A controversial decision
within the Bell System. AT&T sold factories in 11 countries, fearing a United States anti-trust
lawsuit. Western kept a minority interest in one foreign company, Northern Electric, in Canada,
until 1963.. AT&T would not return officially to the international market until 1977. [Kimberlin]

"Western Electric never controlled Northern Electric (now Nortel) although they owned shares
always in a minority position, the most they held was 43.57% in 1929, by 1962 they held .01%
and by 1964 they were fully divested. The majority shareholder was the Bell Telephone Company
of Canada." Thanks to Ken Lyons, Curator, Telecommunications Museum Telecommunications
Museum,Maison des benevoles retraites, Nortel Retirees Club in Montreal, LaSalle, QC

ITT's owners, the curious, conspiratorial Behn brothers, Sosthenes and Hernand, bought Western
Electric International for 30 million dollars and renamed it International Standard Electric. Their
purchase, backed by J.P. Morgan's bank, included Western's large British manufacturer, renamed
Standard Telephones and Cable. The Behns agreed not to compete in America against Western
Electric, and to be the export agent for AT&T products abroad. AT&T agreed in return not to
compete internationally against the Behns. Now equipped with a large manufacturing arm, IT&T
spread across the globe, buying and influencing telephone companies (and their governments) on
nearly every continent.

In January, 1927, commercial long distance radio-telephone service was introduced between the
United States and Great Britain. AT&T and the British Postal Office got it on the air after four
years of experimenting. They expanded it later to communicate with Canada, Australia, South
Africa, Egypt and Kenya as well as ships at sea. This service had fourteen dedicated channels or
frequencies eventually assigned to it. The overseas transmitter was at Rugby, England, and the
United States transmitter was at Deal, New Jersey. (According to Bell Labs, but see Kimberlin's
notes here.)[BLR] Nearly thirty years would pass before the first telephone cable was laid under
the Atlantic, greatly expanding calling capacity. In the next year The Great Depression began,
hitting independent telephone companies hard, including the manufacturer Automatic Electric.

Click here for an excellent discussion (internal link) of British involvement with radio telephone,
by Don Kimberlin, and a photograph of the main transmitting tube at Rugby, a ten foot tall, one
ton valve.

A photograph of AT&T's overseas radio-telephone switchboard

Although telephones had been used in the White House for many years, the instrument did not
reach the president's desk until the Hoover administration at the start of the Great Depression. "In
1929, when the Executive Offices were remodeled the historic one-position switchboard which
had served for so many years was retired from service and a new two-position switchboard,
especially built to meet the President's needs, was installed. The number of stations was
materially increased in addition to many special circuits for the use of the President. It was at this
time a telephone was installed on the President's desk for the first time." [Hoover Library]

(Thanks to L. Nickel for researching this point)

The United States Congress created the Federal Communications Commission in 1934 to regulate
telephones, radio, and television. It was part of President Roosevelt's "New Deal" plan to bring
America out of the Great Depression. Not content to merely follow congressional dictates, and
unfortunately for wireless users, the agency first thought it should promote social change through
what it did. To promote the greater good with radio, the F.C.C. gave priority to emergency
services, broadcasters, government agencies, utility companies, and other groups it thought
served the most people while using the least radio spectrum. This meant few channels for radio-
telephones since a single wireless call uses the same bandwidth as an F.M. radio broadcast
station; large frequency blocks to serve just a few people.

Treating radio like a public utility, something like the railroads, it was thought a public agency
could protect the public against monopoly practices and price gouging. But like many
bureaucracies, at every opportunity the FCC tried to enlarge its role and power, eventually
aligning itself with large communications companies and then actually working against the
consumer. The worst examples were outside of telephony, helping the RCA corporation against
F.M. broadcasting, ruining Edwin Armstrong in the process, and favoring RCA over Farnsworth,
the first real developer of television, leaving him penniless as well. Along the way were
maddening delays in approving technical advances and frequency allocations, something that
continues to this day.

Late in 1934 the FCC began investigating AT&T as well as every other telephone company. The
FCC issued a 'Proposed Report' after four years, in which its commissioner excoriated AT&T for,
among other things, unjustifiable prices on basic phone service. The commissioner also urged the
government to regulate prices the Bell System paid Western Electric for equipment, indeed, even
suggesting AT&T should let other companies bid on Western Electric work. The Bell System
countered each point of the FCC's report in their 1938 Annual Report, however, it was clear the
government was now closely looking at whether the Bell System's structure was good for
America. At that time AT&T controlled 83 percent of United States telephones, 91 percent of
telephone plant and 98 percent of long distance lines. Only the outbreak of World War II, two and
a half months after the final report was issued in 1939, staved off close government scrutiny.

In 1937 Alec Reeves of Britain invented modern digital transmission when he developed Pulse
Code Modulation. I say modern because Morse code and its variants are also digital: organized
on and off pulses of electrical energy that convey information. While PCM took decades to
implement, the advent of digital working was a momentous event and deserves much
consideration. David Robertson, a biographer of Reeves, goes so far as to claim Reeves as the
father of modern telecommunications. "I think a fair argument can be sustained that the adoption
of digital is the principal motor of change in the early 21st century. For sure, there'd have been no
merger between AOL and Time Warner and other moves towards combining media with telecom
companies had it not become possible to transmit information of all sorts in the same binary way.
Whether all this is good news is, of course, another issue."

For more information on Alec Reeves click here (internal link)

For a website devoted to Reeves go here:

http://www.AlecHarleyReeves.com (external link)

In 1937 coaxial cable was installed between Toledo, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana. Long
distance lines began moving underground, a big change from overhead lines carried on poles. In
that same year the first commercial messages using carrier techniques were sent through the coax,
based on transmission techniques invented by Lloyd Espenschied and Herman A. Affel.
Multiplexing let toll circuits carry several calls over one cable simultaneously. It was so
successful that by the mid 1950s seventy nine percent of Bell's inter city trunks were multiplexed.
The technology eventually moved into the local network, improving to the point where it could
carry 13,000 channels at once.

For more information on Lloyd Espenchied's brilliant career, go here:

http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/oral_histories/transcripts/espenschied11.html

In 1938 retractile, spring, or spiral cords were introduced into the Bell System. A single cotton
bundle containing the handset's four wires were fashioned into a spiral. This reduced the twisting
and curling of conventional flat or braided cords. Spiral cords were popular immediately. AT&T's
Events in Telecommunication History [ETH] reported that introduction began in April, with
Western Electric providing 6,000 cords by November. Still, even with W.E. then producing 1,000
cords a week, the cords could not be kept in stock.

In 1938 the Bell System introduced crossbar switching to the central office, a system as excellent
as the panel switch was questionable. The first No. 1 crossbar was cut into service at the Troy
Avenue central office in Brooklyn, New York on February 13th.This culminated a trial begun in
October 1937. [ETH]A detail of a crossbar switch is shown on the right. Western Electric's
models earned a worldwide reputation for ruggedness and flexibility. AT&T improved on work
done by the brilliant Swedish engineer Gotthilf Ansgarius Betulander. They even sent a team to
Sweden to look at his crossbar switch. Installed by the hundreds in medium to large cities,
crossbar technology advanced in development and popularity until 1978, when over 28 million
Bell system lines were connected to one. That compares to panel switching lines which peaked in
1958 at 3,838,000 and step by step lines peaking in 1973 at 24,440,000.

Much telephone progress slowed as World War II began. But one major accomplishment was
directly related to it. On May 1, 1943 the longest open wire communication line in the world
began operating between Edmonton, Alberta and Fairbanks, Alaska. Built alongside the newly
constructed Alaskan Highway, the line was 1500 miles long, used 95,000 poles and featured 23
manned repeater stations. Fearing its radio and submarine cable communications to Alaska might
be intercepted by the Japanese, the United States built the line to provide a more secure
communication link from Alaska to the United States.
A little bit on radar development in World War II

Back to crossbar. Note the watch-like complexity in the diagram. Current moving through the
switch moved these electro-mechanical relays back and forth, depending on the dial pulses
received. Despite its beauty, these switches were bulky, complicated and costly. The next
invention we look at would in time sweep all manual and electro-mechanical switching away.

-------------------------------------------

Resources

[BLR] "The Opening of Transatlantic Service on Shortwaves" 6 Bell Laboratories Record 1928:
405

[Hoover Library] Personal correspondence from the Hoover Library to L. Nickel (10/19/2000)"

[ETH] Events in Telecommunication History, AT&T Archives Publication: Warren, New Jersey
(8.92-2M), p53

[Kimberlin] "While AT&T purported to stay out of international markets, they always had an
entity with several names like "Bell International" that functioned as sales offices to those who
would inquire. No special modifications done, even for AC power. You take it the way we make it
if you want it, was the slogan. To that extent, many of the overseas HF radio-telephone points we
worked from ATT's Fort Lauderdale office had Western Electric HF radios and terminals that
matched ours. There are many more stories like this . . ." Don Kimberlin (internal link to Don's
page at this site).

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Part D
On July 1, 1948 the Bell System unveiled the transistor, a joint invention of Bell Laboratories
scientists William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain. It would revolutionize every
aspect of the telephone industry and all of communications. One engineer remarked, "Asking us
to predict what transistors will do is like asking the man who first put wheels on an ox cart to
foresee the automobile, the wristwatch, or the high speed generator." Others were less restrained.

In 1954, recently retired Chief of Engineering for AT&T, Dr. Harold Osborne, predicted, "Let us
say that in the ultimate, whenever a baby is born anywhere in the world, he is given at birth a
number which will be his telephone number for life. As soon as he can talk, he is given a
watchlike device with 10 little buttons on one side and a screen on the other. Thus equipped, at
any time when he wishes to talk with anyone in the world, he will pull out the device and punch
on the keys the number of his friend. Then turning the device over, he will hear the voice of his
friend and see his face on the screen, in color and in three dimensions. If he does not see and hear
him he will know that the friend is dead." [Conly]Sheesh.

The first transistor looking as crude, perhaps, as the first telephone. The point contact transistor
pictured here is now obsolete.
Capitalizing on a flowing stream of electrons, along with the special characteristics of silicon and
germanium, the transistor was built into amplifiers and switching equipment. Hearing aids,
radios, phonographs, computers, electronic telephone switching equipment, satellites and moon
rockets would all be improved or made possible because of the transistor. Let's depart again from
the narrative to see how a transistor works.

Transistor stands for transit resistor, the temporary name, now permanent, that the inventors gave
it. These semidconductors control the electrical current flowing between two terminals by
applying voltage to a third terminal. You now have a minature switch, presenting either a freeway
to electrons or a brick wall to them, depending on whether a signal voltage exists. Bulky
mechanical relays that used to switch calls, like the crossbar shown above, could now be replaced
with transistors. There's more.

Transistors amplify when built into a proper circuit. A weak signal can be boosted tremendously.
Let's say you have ten watts flowing into one side of the transistor. Your current stops because
silicon normally isn't a good conducter. You now introduce a signal into the middle of the
transistor, say, at one watt. That changes the transistor's internal crystalline structure, causing the
silicon to go from an insulator to a conductor. It now allows the larger current to go through,
picking up your weak signal along the way, impressing it on the larger voltage. Your one watt
signal is now a ten watt signal.

Transistors use the properties of semi-conductors, seemingly innocuous materials like geranium
and now mostly silicon. Materials like silver and copper conduct electricity well. Rubber and
porcelain conduct electricity poorly. The difference between electrical conductors and insulators
is their molecular structure, the stuff that makes them up. Weight, size, or shape doesn't matter,
it's how tightly the material holds on to its electrons, preventing them from freely flowing
through its atoms.

Silicon by itself is an ordinary element, a common part of sand. If you introduce impurities like
arsenic or boron, though, you can turn it into a conductor with the right electrical charge.
Selectively placing precise impurities into a silicon chip produces an electronic circuit. It's like
making a magnetically polarized, multi-layered chemical cake. Vary the ingredients or elements
and you can make up many kinds of cakes or transistors. And each will taste or operate a little
differently.

As I've just hinted, there are many kinds of transistors, just as there are many different kinds of
tubes. It's the triode's solid state equivalent: the field effect transistor or FET. The FET we'll look
at goes by an intimidating name, MOSFET for Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect
Transistor. Whew! That's a big name but it describes what it does: a metal topped device working
by a phenomenon called a field effect.

A silicon chip makes up the FET. Three separate wires are welded into different parts. These
electrode wires conduct electricity. The source wire takes current in and the drain wire takes
current out. A third wire is wired into the top. In our example the silicon wafer is positively
charged. Further, the manufacturer makes the areas holding the source and drain negative. These
two negative areas are thus surrounded by a positive.
A much more accurate transistor explanation here

Now we introduce our weak signal current, say a telephone call that needs amplifying. The circuit
is so arranged that its current is positive. It goes into the gate where it pushes against the positive
charge of the silicon chip. That's like two positive magnets pushing against each other. If you've
ever tried to hold two like magnets together you know it's hard to do -- there's always a space
between them. Similarly, a signal voltage pushing against the chip's positive charge gives space
to let the current go from the source to the drain. It picks up the signal along the way. Check out
this diagram, modified only slightly from Lucent's excellent site:

http://www.lucent.com/minds/transistor/tech.html

As Louis Bloomfield of Virginia puts it:"The MOSFET goes from being an insulating device
when there is no charge on the gate to a conductor when there is charge on the gate! This property
allows MOSFETs to amplify signals and control the movements of electric charge, which is why
MOSFETs are so useful in electronic devices such as stereos, televisions, and computers."

I know that this is a simple explanation to a forbiddingly difficult topic, but I think it's enough for
a history article. Thanks to Australia's John Wong for help with his section. If you'd like to read
further, check out Lucent's transistor page by searching their site: http://www.lucent.com
(external link)
If you have a better explanation or something to add, please contact me And now back to the
narrative.

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Part E

We come to the 1950s. Dial tone was not widespread until the end of the decade in North
America, not until direct dialing and automatic switching became common. Dial tone was first
introduced into the public switched telephone network in a German city by the Siemens company
in 1908, but it took decades before being accepted, with the Bell System taking the lead. AT&T
used it not only to indicate that a line was free, but also to make the dialing procedure between
their automatic and manual exchanges more familiar to their customers. Manual exchange
subscribers placed calls first through an operator, who listened to the number the caller wanted
and then connected the parties together. The Bell System thought dial tone a good substitute for
an operator's "Number please" and required this service in all of their automatic exchanges.
Before the 1950s most of the independent telephone companies, but not all, also provided dial
tone. And, of course, dial tone was not possible on phones such as crank models, in which you
signaled an operator who then later connected your call. [Swihart]

I mentioned direct number dialing, where callers made their own long distance calls, This was
first introduced into the Bell System in a trial in Englewood, New Jersey in 1951. Ten years
passed before it became universal.

On August, 17, 1951 the first transcontinental microwave system began operating. [Bell
Laboratories Record] One hundred and seven relay stations spaced about 30 miles apart formed a
link from New York to San Francisco. It cost the Bell System $40,000,000; a milestone in their
development of radio relay begun in 1947 between New York and Boston. In 1954 over 400
microwave stations were scattered across the country. A Bell System "Cornucopia" tower is
shown at left. By 1958 microwave carrier made up 13,000,000 miles of telephone circuits or one
quarter of the nations long distance lines. 600 conversations or two television programs could be
sent at once over these radio routes.
But what about crossing the seas? Microwave wasn't possible over the ocean and radiotelephony
was limited. Years of development lead up to 1956 when the first transatlantic telephone cable
system started carrying calls. It cost 42 million dollars. Two coaxial cables about 20 miles apart
carried 36 two way circuits. Nearly fifty sophisticated repeaters were spaced from ten to forty
miles along the way. Each vacuum tube repeater contained 5,000 parts and cost almost $100,000.
The first day this system took 588 calls, 75% more than the previous ten days average with
AT&T's transatlantic radio-telephone service.

In the early 1950s The Bell System developed an improved neoprene jacketed telephone cord and
shortly after that a PVC or plastic cord. [BLR.] These replaced the cotton covered cords used
since telephony began. The wires inside laid parallel to each other instead of being twisted
around. That reduced diameter and made them more flexible. Both, though, were flat and non-
retractable, only being made into spring cords later. In the authoritative Dates in American
Telephone Technology, C.D. Hanscom, then historian for Bell Laboratories, stated that the Bell
System made the neoprene version available in 1954 and the plastic model available in 1956.
These were, the book dryly indicated, the most significant developments in cord technology since
1926, when solderless cord tips came into use.

On June 7, 1951, AT&T and International Telephone and Telegraph signed a cross-licensing
patent agreement. [Myer] This marks what Myer says "led to complete standardization in the
American telephone industry." Perhaps. I do know that ITT's K-500 phones are completely
interchangeable with W.E. Model 500s, so much so that parts can be freely mixed and matched
with each other. But whether Automatic Electric and other manufacturers produced interoperable
equipment is something I am still researching. [William Myre discussion on interchangeable
parts]

It is significant, though, that after seventy-five years of competition the Bell System decided to
let other companies use its patents. Myer suggests a 1949 anti-trust suit against WECO and
AT&T was responsible for their new attitude. On August 9, 1951 ITT began buying Kellogg
stock, eventually acquiring the company. In 1952 the Kellogg Switchboard and Supply company
passed into history, merging with ITT.

Roger Conklin relates, "In just a few years after the buyout, ITT changed the name from Kellogg
Switchboard & Supply Company to ITT Kellogg. Then, after merging Federal Telephone and
Radio Corporation, its separate telephone manufacturing company in Clifton, NJ. into ITT
Kellogg and combining manufacturing operations into its Cicero Ave. facility in Chicago, the
name was changed again to ITT Telecommunications. . . . The last change to ITT
Telecommunications [took] place [in]1963."

"In 1989, ITT sold its entire worldwide telecommunications products business to Alcatel and
withdrew totally from this business. In 1992 Alcatel sold what had formerly been ITT's customer
premises equipment (CPE) business in the US, including its factory in Corinth, MS. to a group of
private investors headed by David Lee. Initially after purchasing this business from Alcatel, this
new company was known as Cortelco Kellogg. It continues to manufacture and market what had
formerly been ITT's U.S.-made telephones and related products. The name 'Kellogg' has since
been dropped from its name and the company is now known as Cortelco. For a short while
Cortelco continued to use the ITT name and trademark on its products under a license from ITT,
but this also has been discontinued."
The ITT information above came from the excellent history site http://www.sigtel.com/ (external
link, now dead), produced by the U.K.'s Andrew Emmerson, a first rank telephone historian.

In 1952 the Bell System began increasing payphone charges from a nickel to a dime. [Fagen] It
wasn't an immediate change since both the payphone and the central office switching equipment
that serviced it had to be modified. By the late 1950s many areas around the country were still
charging a nickel. Most likely AT&T started converting payphones in New York City first.

In the mid-50s Bell Labs launched the Essex research project. It concentrated on developing
computer controlled switching, based upon using the transistor. It bore first fruit in November,
1963 with the 101 ESS, a PBX or office telephone switch that was partly digital. Despite their
computer expertise, AT&T agreed in 1956 under government pressure not to expand their
business beyond telephones and transmitting information. Bell Laboratories and Western Electric
would not enter such fields as computers and business machines. In return, the Bell System was
left intact with a reprieve from anti-monopoly scrutiny for a few years. It is interesting to
speculate whether IBM would have dominated computing in the 1960s if AT&T had competed in
that market.

In 1955 Theodore Gary and Company merged into General Telephone, forming the largest
independent telephone company in the United States. The combined company served "582,000
domestic telephones through 25 operating companies in 17 states. It also had interests in foreign
telcos controlling 426,000 telephones." Automatic Electric, Gary's most well known company,
retained its name but fell under an even larger corporate umbrella. AGCS goes on to say,

The Gary merger package included Automatic Electric Co. (AE), which now had subsidiaries in
Canada, Belgium and Italy. GTE had purchased its first telephone-manufacturing subsidiary five
years earlier in 1950 - Leich Electric. But the addition of AE's engineering and manufacturing
capacity assured GTE of equipment for their rapidly growing telephone operations.

An excellent timeline on Automatic Electric history is at the AGCS site. The "A" in the name
stands for AT&T, the "G" for "GTE". Divisions from both companies combined in 1989 to form
AGCS:
http://www.agcs.com/ (external link)

General was founded in 1926 as Associated Telephone Utilities by Sigurd Odegard. The company
went bankrupt during the Great Depression and in 1934 reorganized itself as General Telephone.
General had its own manufacturing company, Leich Electric, which began in 1907. Growth was
unspectacular until Donald C. Power became president in 1950. He soon bought other companies,
building General Telephone into a large telecommunications company.

After the merger of Automatic Electric, General acquired answering machine producer Electric
Secretary Industries in 1957, carrier equipment maker Lenkurt Electric in 1959, and Sylvania
Electronics in that same year. In 1959 the newly renamed General Telephone and Electronics
provided everything the independent telephone companies might want. Although they were not
the exclusive manufacturer for the independents, Automatic Electric was certainly the largest.
And where GTE aggressively went after military contracts, the Bell System did not. In the late
1950s, for example, Lenkurt Electric produced most of the armed forces' carrier equipment. GTE
lasted until 1982.

In January, 1958, Wichita Falls, Texas was the first American city in the Bell System to institute
true number calling, that is, seven numerical digits without letters or names. Although it took
more than fifteen years to implement throughout the Bell System, ANC, or all number calling,
would finally replace the system of letters and numbers begun forty years before at the advent of
automatic dialing. Telephone numbers like BUtterfield8, ELliot 1-1017 or ELmwood 1-1017. For
a history of exchange names, please click here to read my article on them. Keep in mind, too, that
many independent telephone companies did not use letters and numbers,

For a history of country codes, all number dialing that let people call overseas on their own, click
here: http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/country.codes/ (external link)

For a look at the overwhelming subject of American area codes, go here:

http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/areacodes/ (external link)

The 1960s began a dizzying age of projects, improvements and introductions. In 1961 the Bell
System started work on a classic cold war project, finally completed in 1965. It was the first coast
to coast atomic bomb blast resistant cable. Intended to survive where the national microwave
system might fail, the project buried 2500 reels of coaxial cable in a 4,000 mile long trench. 9300
circuits were helped along by 950 buried concrete repeater stations. Stretched along the 19 state
route were 11 manned test centers, buried 50 feet below ground, complete with air filtration,
living quarters and food and water.
In 1963 the first modern touch-tone phone was introduced, the Western Electric 1500. It had only
ten buttons. Limited service tests had started in 1959.

Also in 1963 digital carrier techniques were introduced. Previous multiplexing schemes used
analog transmission, carrying different channels separated by frequency, much like those used by
cable television. T1 or Transmission One, by comparison, reduced analog voice traffic to a series
of electrical plots, binary coordinates to represent sound. T1 quickly became the backbone of
long distance toll service and then the primary handler of local transmission between central
offices. The T1 system handles calls throughout the telephone system to this day.

In 1964 the Bell System put its star crossed videotelephone into limited commercial service
between New York, Washington and Chicago. Despite decades of dreaming, development and
desire by Bell scientists, technicians and marketing wonks, the videotelephone never found a
market.

1968. Even the astute Japanese fell victim to developing picturephones as this unflattering
photograph shows, this model was probably developed by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph

In 1965 the first commercial communications satellite was launched, providing 240 two way
telephone circuits. Also in 1965 the 1A1 payphone was introduced by Bell Labs and Western
Electric after seven years of development. Replacing the standard three slot payphone design, the
1A1 single slot model was the first major change in coin phones since the 1920s.

1965 also marked the debut of the No. 1ESS, the Bell Systems first central office computerized
switch. The product of at least 10 years of planning, 4,000 man years of research and
development, as well as $500 million dollars in costs, the first Electronic Switching System was
installed in Succasunna, N.J. Built by Western Electric the 1ESS used 160,000 diodes, 55,000
transistors and 226,000 resistors. These and other components were mounted on thousands of
circuit boards. Not a true digital switch, the 1ESS did feature Stored Program Control, a fancy
Bell System name for memory, enabling all sorts of new features like speed dialing and call
forwarding. Without memory a switch could not perform these functions; previous switches such
as crossbar and step by step worked in real time, with each step executed as it happened. The
switch proved a success but there were some problems for Bell Labs engineers, particularly when
a No.1ESS became overloaded. In those circumstances it tended to fail all at once, rather than
breaking down bit by bit.

-----------------------------------

Resources

[Myers] Myer, Ralph O, 1995, Old Time Telephones!: Technology, Restoration and Repair, Tab
Books, New York. 123 Excellent.

[Swihart, Stanley] Telecom History: The Journal of the Telephone History Institute, Issue 2,
Spring 1995

[ETH] Events in Telecommunication History, 1992 ,AT&T Archives Publication (8.92-2M), p53

[Bell Laboratories Record] "Coast to Coast Radio Relay System Opens." Bell Laboratories
Record, May, 1951. 427

[Bell Laboratories Record] Weber, C.A., Jacketed Cords for Telephones, Bell Laboratories
Record, May, 1959 187

[Fagen] Fagen, M.D., ed. A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System: Volume 1
The Early Years, 1875 -1925. New York: Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1975, 357 Briefly
mentions coin services.

[William Myre discussion on interchangeable parts]

As a teenager in the 60's, I did a detailed examination of both our Western Electric keyed
telephones (installed in 1960) and a couple of Automatic Electric phones (on of which was
keyed). All the phones were dial telephones. At the time I was attempting to understand the
wiring and reverse engineer the circuitry.

It is my opinion that the parts were not designed to be mechanically interchangeable. The inside
of the phones were laid out differently. The dial on a WE seemed to be different from a AE
mechanically.

The electrical "guts" of both the WE and AE phones was a metal box with a plastic top on which
screw terminals were located. The layout of these terminals and the box size was not the same.

The handset had dimensional differences as well, although the AE and WE mic and speaker
might fit interchangeably.

Electrically speaking, of course, all phones had pretty much the same circuits and components, so
it would probably be possible to wire a AE circuit box into a WE phone, and it likely work.
The electrical differences, if they exist, would have to be in the microphone, speaker, or capacitor
used in series with the ringer coil (and the coil impedance).

I don't remember if the same color coding was used on the internal wiring, but I can certainly say
that having a WE phone to examine did not help me re-wire the inside of an AE phone that had
been unwired.

I still have a keyed AE phone in my garage. I also somewhere probably still have the technical
bulletin AE sent me to rewire the AE phone.

William Myre

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Part F

In June 1968 the FCC allowed non Bell equipment to be legally attached to Bell System lines.
Despite restrictions the Bell System would impose on such equipment, many companies started
producing products to compete with Western Electric. In 1969 Microwave Communications
International began transmitting business calls over their own private network between Saint
Louis and Chicago. Bypassing Bell System lines, MCI offered cheaper prices. AT&T bitterly
opposed this specialized common carrier service, protesting that Bell System's long distance rates
were higher since they subsidized local phone service around the country. Still, MCI was a minor
threat, economically. The real problem started a few years later when MCI tried to connect to the
Bell System network.

At the end of the 1960s AT&T began experiencing severe customer service problems, especially
in New York City. The reasons were many but most had to do with unforeseen demand, coupled
with reduced maintenance. The Bell System fixed the problems but not without an attitude that
embittered people by the millions. In Boettinger's pro-Bell System history, he recounts the
troubles this way: "In 1969, unprecedented jumps in usage and demand caused service
deterioration in several large cities. Huge and rapid injections of equipment and personnel trained
in accelerated programs were required before quality levels were restored. The experience
showed how vital telephones had become to modern life (when even persons on welfare were felt
to need a phone) and how frustrations with breakdown led to aggressive behavior." That the Bell
System didn't understand how vital telephones were to modern life is beyond understanding; that
welfare recipients weren't thought to deserve a phone is beyond acceptance, however, Ma Bell
was not alone in dealing with dissatisfied customers. GTE also had problems.

GTE and Automatic Electric went through tremendous growth in the 1960s, with A.E. expanding
to four different facilities. In 1969 their California facility in San Carlos made transmission
equipment. Switchgear and related equipment came from Northlake and Genoa, Illinois, and
telephones and other customer apparatus came from Huntsville, Alabama. Automatic Electric
Limited in Canada also produced equipment. A.E.'s research in the 1960s resulted in their first
computerized switch being cut into service into Saint Petersburg, Florida in September 1972. It
was called the No. 1 EAX (Electronic Automatic Exchange). Growth wasn't handled well,
though, by their parent company, General Telephone and Electronics.

GTE was then a poorly managed conglomerate of 23 regional phone companies and a maker of,
among other things, televisions and light bulbs. They had their successes and failures. One
notable achievement is below.

"Introducing a crimestopper so advanced Dick Tracy doesn't have it yet."

In1971 General Telephone and Electronics (GTE Sylvania) introduced a data system called
Digicom. It let dispatchers identifying patrol car locations on a screen, and allowed officers to run
license plate checks. When a patrolman touched a spot on the digicom screen it lit up the same
spot on the dispatcher's map. Produced by their Sociosystems Products Organization, I do not
know how many units were actually installed by GTE, but it certainly foreshadowed later
developments. Today many police departments use cellular digital packet data (CDPD) to run
plates and communicate in text with their dispatchers. CDPD runs on existing cellular networks,
with data rates no more that 9.6 or 19.2 Kbs, adequate for most purposes but slow when you
consider that in the year 2000, 29 years after this system was introduced, we are still laboring
with creeping data rates. Click on the image above or here to get the full picture and story. (It's a
huge graphic file so be careful: 364K)

GTE had their problems as well, especially with customer service, getting worse and worse
through the late sixties, with the company admitting their problems by conducting a highly
unusual national magazine ad campaign in November, 1971. The ad in the National Geographic
read:

"A lot of people have been shooting at the telephone companies these days. And, in truth, we've
had our hands full keeping up with the zooming demand for increased phone service. But General
Telephone and, in all fairness, the other phone companies haven't been sitting around counting
dimes. For some time now, we've been paying a healthy 'phone bill' ourselves trying to make our
service do everything you expect of it . . . During the next five years we'll be spending over $6
billion upgrading and expanding every phase of our phone operation . . . Ladies and gentlemen,
we're working as fast as brains, manpower and money can combine to make our service as
efficient as possible."

And although GTE might not have "sat around counting dimes," GTE's poor service record
continued, a reputation that haunts it to this day. Rightly or wrongly, the phone companies,
particularly those in the Bell System, watched agog as customer relations got worse. Hacking and
toll fraud increased dramatically, as the phone company became fair game, a soulless and
uncaring monster to war against. Attacking Ma Bell became common and almost fashionable.

1972 Mad Magazine cartoon. The caption reads: "Stockholders Grow FAT As Telephone Users
Go Mad As Rates Rise And Service Flops."

In 1974 the Justice Department began investigating AT&T again for violating antitrust laws. They
recommended Western Electric and Long Lines be divested from AT&T. Many people in Justice
as well as throughout the country were concerned with the size of AT&T and their monopoly
status. Although everyone knew the Bell System provided the best telephone service in the world,
it had done so with little or no competition. AT&T's assets stood at 75 billion dollars. Big was not
good in the early 1970s, with anti-establishment (particularly the military industrial
establishment) feeling running high during the Vietnam and Watergate era. Contributing to the
Bell System's woes, in July, 1977 the FCC instituted a certification program, whereby any
telephone equipment meeting standards could be connected to Bell System's lines. Dozens and
then hundreds of manufacturers started competing with Western Electric, making everything from
answering machines, modems, fax machines, speakerphones, to differently styled telephones.

During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Stromberg-Carlson of Rochester, New York and then Lake
Mary, Florida, produced a marvelously simple switch known as the X-Y. While an independent
phone maker at the turn of the century, Stromberg-Carlson had by the early 70s been acquired by
General Dyanmics. They were later bought by Rolm and then by Siemens of Germany, who still
owns it today. It's new name is Siemens-Stromberg. But back to their switch.
Little known outside the industry, the Stromberg-Carlson X-Y step by step switch solidly
competed for business against Strowger technology (manufactured by Automatic Electric and
others) in thousands of installations throughout rural America. Some may remain in Mexico and
South America. Although the Bell System and many independents preferred the Strowger design
for small communities, many telephone companies did not. Strowger equipment often worked
reliably for decades but it was more complicated than X-Ys and it required a great deal of
preventative maintenance performed by skilled craft workers. Ray Strackbein, who used to work
for Stromberg-Carlson, says that X-Ys, by comparison, needed few repairs and fixes were simple.
He writes, "I once met a husband-and-wife team that traveled throughout the Great Plains in their
Winnebago motor home on a yearly cycle and routined hundreds of X-Y offices each year. They
would work Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the winter, and Montana, Wyoming, and North
Dakota in the summer. Even a Switchman who could not figure out how to wire a doorbell for a
central office could maintain a C.O. full of X-Y switches."

Ray then goes on to describe the Stromberg-Carlson X-Y step by step switch, which could be
configured or enlarged in blocks of 100 lines:

"Describing it is rough, but it was a modular switch that was horizontally slid into a vertical bay
of shelves. An array of 400 (10X10X4) bare copper wires ran vertically behind the switch for the
whole length of the bay. Four circuits were needed to make a connection: Tip, Ring, Sleeve, and
Helper Sleeve.

Each switch sat on shelf about 12"X9"X2" (2" high). When someone dialed a number, the
retracted switch moved horizontally -- the X direction -- (left-to-right as you faced it from the
front), one step for each dial-pulse. Then when the dialed digit stopped pulsing, the switch
rapidly extended horizontally away from you as you faced it, with four contacts, one for each
circuit -- T, R, S, and HS -- sampling the 10 possible phone trunks for an idle trunk to the next
selector.

The design of the X-Y switch was brilliant. Unlike the Strowger that lifted the armature for each
dial pulse then rotating through a half-circle to find an idle line, the X-Y switch lifted no weight.
The moving switch rested on the plate and moved only horizontally. This made for a switch of a
much more simple design than the Strowger." [Strackbein]
Please visit Ray Strackbien's site (external link)

Stromberg-Carlson introduced their first digital switch around 1978, the Stromberg Carlson
System Century digital switch.

As switches were going digital, so, too, were nearly all electronics in the telecommunication
field. Still, a few technological holdouts remained, as the Bell System replaced their last local
cord switchboard in 1978, on Santa Catalina Island near the coast of Los Angeles, California.
That's right, operators still placing calls by hand in the Age of Disco. "[T]he smallest version of
Western's 160 toll switchboard" was replaced by a 3ESS, the first Bell switch, incidentally, to be
shipped by barge. The city served would have been Avalon. This according according to the June,
1978 Bell Laboratories Record and personal correspondence with P. Egly of Santa Rosa,
California.

Egly relates the following about Avalon:

"Tom, Avalon had its own inward operator and I even remember the route, 213 + 012 +... Calls
off the island were handled by the same operator using She surely dialed all calls in the same way
that any of the operators in the LA toll centers did. I am not sure if the trunks to the mainland
were by microwave or by cable. "

"[Since this was a manual exchange] There were no dial phones on Avalon, all were manual
magneto service with even the payphones having cranks. Most of the private subscribers had 300
or 500 type sets with dial blanks connected to magneto boxes. The operator rang the subscriber
from her board using her ring key to supply ringing current from a standard WECO ring
generator."

He goes on to say that the Bell System had a like system in Nevada:

"There was a similar situation in Virginia City, Nevada with the subscribers having the old walnut
and oak magneto phones with local battery. In this case, most subscribers resisted the cutover to
dial service, since the magneto phones were quite elegant. . . all polished wood and gleaming
brass bells. They were part of the period atmosphere of the town."

This simple switching technology came within six years of outliving the most advanced
telephone company on earth. But one manual local toll board remained in the public switched
telephone network even longer.

J.R. Snyder Jr. reminds us that toll boards, manual long distance switches (internal link to article),
were still working in the Bell System after the last local plug board was removed.

------------------------------

Resources

[Strackbein] Personal correspondence with Tom Farley, July 16, 2000. Another comment from
Ray: "I didn't know that Strowger was from Penfield. That may partially explain why Stromberg-
Carlson located in Rochester. As an aside, there is a building in Rochester called "Carlson Park"
(as in industrial park). The parking lot looks just like it did in the mid '70's when I last saw it (I
was teaching a class for Xerox in Webster last year and mentioned that I used to work for
Stromberg and someone in the class said that the old plant was still there -- which it is -- so I
drove over for a peek. The only difference is that they have sub-divided the administrative offices
into private office suites and businesses.) Except for the new business signs, everything looks
exactly as I remember it from 25 years ago."

[ETH] Events in Telecommunication History, 1992 ,AT&T Archives Publication (8.92-2M), p53

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Part G
Michael Hathaway reports that "[My] parents owned the Bryant Pond Telephone Company in
Bryant Pond, Maine, the last hand-crank magneto company to go dial. It was in our living room
and the last call was made October 11, 1983." Hand crank magneto switchboards evolved around
the turn of the century. Their arrangement was not common battery, where the exchange or
central office powers their equipment and supplies electricity to customer's phones. Rather, as we
saw earlier in this series, a crank at the switchboard operators position was turned to signal a
customer. Turn the crank and you caused a dial at a customer's telephone to ring, a magneto in the
crank generating the ringing current. To place a call a customer signaled the operator with a
similiar crank on their telephone. A big battery in the base of the customer's telephone supplied
the talking power when a call got connected. This system is called local battery, where the
customer's phone supplies the power. Here's an example of a magneto switchboard below, a 1914
Western Electric Type 1200, known as a "Bull's Eye." This board is at the Roseville Telephone
Company Museum and it still works for demonstrations. Click here or on the image below to see
the large version.

So, you had many people on non-dial, candlestick or box telephones, as nearly a hundred years
before. My father, incidentally, worked a magneto powered switchboard in his youth, near
Davidson, Michigan. Mike goes on to say that,

"My father and mother Elden & Barbara Hathaway sold the Bryant Pond Telephone Company in
1981 but it took two years to convert. They did have about 400 customers ( probably 200 lines -
two switchboards full). When they bought the company there were only 100 customers. The
Oxford County Telephone Company, which bought it, retained ownership of the last operating
switchboards, and they are currently deciding what they would like to do with them. The options
include giving them to the town of Bryant Pond, and I have heard there is interest from the
Smithsonian. My mother, who is 83, thinks that's quite exciting.

A lot of the family memorabilia has been donated to the Fryeburg Fair (Maine) Farm Museum,
which although is only open during the 8 day fair, is visited by many thousands each year. It is
hoped to have within a year or so a working magneto switchboard there where someone can call
from an old pay phone to anywhere. My mother has a lot of telephone parts left over which we
are slowly marketing for her as memorabilia from the last old hand-crank magneto company. I've
actually written a book about the Bryant Pond Telephone Company called 'Everything Happened
Around The Switchboard.' It's (obviously) a story of family life around the switchboard and is
light reading with hopefully humor and nostalgia. I have lots of copies left and sell it directly. The
address is Mike Hathaway, PO Box 705, Conway, NH 03818. But it is also available from
Phonecoinc.com, and several bookstores."

This site has a great list of ending dates in telephonic history:

http://www.sigtel.com/tel_hist_lasts.html

To sum up, although some manual switchboards may have remained in the PSTN, those being
small office switches, or PBXs, the Bryant Pond board was the last central office manual
exchange in America. On this happy and nostalgic note of technology passing away, so at the
same time was the world's greatest telephone company coming to an end.

Although they had pioneered much of telecom, many people though the information age was
growing faster than the Bell System could keep up. Many thought AT&T now stood in the way of
development,

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Epilogue I: the death of Western Electric

"On January 1, 1984, the Western Electric Company, then older than the telephone itself, ceased
to exist (Hochheiser 1991, 143). On that day of court ordered divestiture, the Bell System was
broken into seven regional operating companies (the Baby Bells) and a more compact AT&T.
AT&T retained the long-distance part of the business, its venerable research organization (Bell
Laboratories), and its manufacturing operations (which could no longer have exclusive supply
arrangements with the operating companies). A newly created AT&T Technologies, Inc. assumed
the corporate charter of Western Electric and continued making 500-type,2500-type, and Trimline
telephones under the AT&T Technologies label for several years at plants in Indianapois and
Shreveport. However, to become competitive in the market, AT&T shifted residential telephone
manufacturing to the Far East, beginning in Hong Kong in late 1985, Singapore the following
year, and later in Bangkok and elsewhere. Thus ended U.S. production of rugged
electromechanical telephones, and though phones similar to the 500-type, the 2500-type, the
Princess, and the Trimline are still made to-day, they are products of the modern electronics age,
rather than a bygone culture."

From: Old Time Telephones:Technology, Restoration and Repair by Ralph O Myer, Published by
TAB Books, a division of McGraw Hill, Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294 1 -800-822-8158
(717)-794-2191 (717)-794-2103 FAX ISBN No. 0-07-041817-9 (Paperback)
1995

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Epilogue II: A personal note on W.E.C.O.

Yesterday I brought home a battered and rotten wooden crate I found outside a second hand store.
I say outside because it was in such bad shape that not even the thrift store thought it saleable,
they discarded it instead. Hardly fit as even a garden planter, I brought this oily and broken box
home because of two words stenciled in three inch letters on the lengthwise sides: Western
Electric. Gone are the rope handles and original hinges, and although the clasp appears genuine,
it has been torn off once or twice and mounted in a new location each time. The stylized Bell
System logo accompanies the lettering. There is an address on it. In handwriting that could only
be penned by someone now in their 70s, the labeling reads, WECO, 1610 N. Broadway, Stockton,
California. B/C 45738. I'm not sure if I will restore the box, put plants in it, or put the boards with
the wording into a frame. It seems so sad and I keep thinking of the Ralph Myers' quote I used
above. . .

I recommend Myers book to anyone who repairs or wants to understand old telephones.

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Epilogue III: Graham versus Gray

I haven't given my opinion directly as to who was first at the patent office, Gray or Bell. I'm not
sure I can do it now, at least, not without being long winded. But let me try, in long sentences.

Detractors claim that the 600 court cases which followed the most valuable patent ever issued
settled nothing. They say there was never any evidence that Bell did not cheat Gray. They try to
prove a negative. They can't find any evidence that he cheated but they find nothing that
absolutely clears Bell. He must have cheated.

But in his entire life of being a man and a humanist, for all his later works of invention, and
contributions to charity, the founding of the National Geographic Society, his continued work
with the deaf, in his voluminous note taking of all things scientific, in all of this, in this incredible
record, there is absolutely nothing in Bell's character that suggests he was a cheat. Nothing.
Nothing!

It is tough in this age of cynicism to admit that both Bell and Watson were truly great, gentle,
brilliant men. Who deserved every bit of fame and accolade that came to them. Bell surrounded
himself with sharp Boston lawyers to protect himself. But the animosity people had against his
legal staff should in no way detract against Bell himself. Bell was an honest, courageous soul
who long suffered being called a cheat. It was completely undeserved.

What about 1984 to the present? Read an excellent summary of technology development since
the mid-1980s by Terry Edwards. It is a free .pdf file from his book Gigahertz and Terahertz
Technologies for Broadband Communications (28 pages, 360K in .pdf)

Ordering information for this title (external link to Amazon)

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Miscellaneous History

Why is there no "Q" or "Z" on many telephones?

This fascinating story came from http://www.LearningKingdom.com, now out of business.

Some voice mail systems don't take into account that not every phone has a Q or Z . . .

The telephone's pad of twelve buttons reflects its history. There are three letters on most buttons,
except for zero, one, octothorp (#) and the star symbol (*), which have no letters. "Q" and "Z" are
usually missing from the list. Why?

Instead of twelve buttons, telephones used to have circular plates with ten holes numbered from
zero to nine. To make phone numbers easier to remember, the phone companies assigned letters
to the numbers, so people could remember mnemonics like "Charleston" for C-H instead of the
first two digits of a number. Of the ten digits, zero was already used to dial the operator and one
was used for internal phone company signals. That left eight numbers to which letters could be
assigned. Three letters per number took care of 24 of the alphabet's 26 letters, and the least
common letters "Q" and "Z" were left out, but not forever. Many telephones now show "Q" on
the seven button, and "Z" on the nine button.

Wither the busy signal?

A comment from a reader: "The busy signal is going away . . ."

True; with voice mail and answering machines you don't get one. In 1995 The New Brunswick
Telephone Company announced they would do away with busy signals for calls made within
their territory. Instead of a busy signal callers got a recording which asked them to make one of
three choices: send a message, for a price, hang up, or be notified when the line was available.
Again, for a price. I wonder if anyone in that province misses the busy signal.

SBC/Pacific Bell offered this service in my area earlier this year, people hated it, I think because
it was so aggressively pitched. Instead of getting a busy signal, a frustrating experience by itself,
people got a come on, a promotion to buy something. If the Canadian telco didn't sell it too hard
then perhaps people accepted it.

Since we haven't always had them so I shan't miss them when they go. They were an interlude
only, although a longish one, good I should think for another decade or two. When calls were
manually switched there was no need for a busy signal. An operator knew if a line was busy by
looking at a lamp or a marker, what was called a drop, on a manual switch board. The operator
then told the caller the line was busy.

When dialing became automatic network progress tones such as dial tone and busy signals were
needed to tell the subscriber the status of a call. There is another busy signal, of course, that one
being a "fast busy" signal, going at twice the rate of the normal tone. It indicates that telephone
company circuits are too busy to handle a call. Not often heard on landline phones but quite
common on cellular telephone networks.

Voice mail and answering machines and call waiting are, I suppose, just automatic operators, a
step up above the obnoxious busy signal and of course quite a few steps below that of a real
person to take a message. Although their people don't switch calls, perhaps answering services for
doctors and lawyers are the last remnant of the always present, human attended exchange.

Did Alexander Graham Bell help dispel the ether theory?

Did Alexander Graham Bell help dispel the ether theory? And how much did it cost him? The
answers are yes, and 200 bucks. The fascinating reading below is from Science in American
Society: A Social History by George H. Daniels, 1971, Borzoi Books, Alfred Knoph:

"In 1881, a young American physicist then studying in Germany received a grant of $200 from
Alexander Graham Bell to conduct an experiment on one of the most fascinating questions of
nineteenth-century physics: the reality of the ether. The ether was a mysterious, jellylike,
invisible entity which was thought to fill all of space; it was even present in solid matter. The
vibrations set up in this ether made it possible to explain how the wavelike radiations of light
could be carried through millions of miles without weakening or diluting their initial energy.
Although the behavior of light seemed to demand some such medium, Albert A. Michelson
doubted its existence, and he designed a relatively simple experiment which he thought might
resolve the question unconditionally."

"With his $200 provided by Bell, Michelson had a machine of his own design, called the
interferometer, constructed by a Berlin manufacturer, and he took it to the observatory at Potsdam
for the crucial experiment. His conclusion, published in the August I88I issue of the American
Journal of Science, was that 'the hypothesis of a stationary ether is erroneous.' Although
Michelson later repeated the experiment, with more sophisticated apparatus, in collaboration with
Edward Williams Morley it was the first experiment which, as Albert Einstein remarked, 'showed
that a profound change of the basic concepts of physics was inevitable' and led eventually to
Michelson's becoming the first American recipient of a Nobel prize."

Prerequisites
Requirements

There are no specific requirements for this document.

Components Used

This document is not restricted to specific software and hardware versions.

Conventions

Refer to Cisco Technical Tips Conventions for more information on document conventions.
Basic Call Progress
The progress of a telephone call with loop-start signaling in place can be divided into five phases;
on-hook, off-hook, dialing, switching, ringing, and talking. Figure 1 shows the on-hook phase.

Figure 1

When the handset rests on the cradle, the circuit is on-hook. In other words, before a phone call is
initiated, the telephone set is in a ready condition waiting for a caller to pick up its handset. This
state is called on-hook. In this state, the 48-VDC circuit from the telephone set to the CO switch
is open. The CO switch contains the power supply for this DC circuit. The power supply located
at the CO switch prevents a loss of telephone service when the power goes out at the location of
the telephone set. Only the ringer is active when the telephone is in this position. Figure 2 shows
the off-hook phase.

Figure 2
The off-hook phase occurs when the telephone customer decides to make a phone call and lifts
the handset from the telephone cradle. The switch hook closes the loop between the CO switch
and the telephone set and allows current to flow. The CO switch detects this current flow and
transmits a dial tone (350- and 440-hertz [Hz] tones played continuously) to the telephone set.
This dial tone signals the customer can begin to dial. There is no guarantee that the customer
hears a dial tone right away. If all the circuits are used, the customer could have to wait for a dial
tone. The access capacity of the CO switch used determines how soon a dial tone is sent to the
caller phone. The CO switch generates a dial tone only after the switch has reserved registers to
store the incoming address. Therefore, the customer cannot dial until a dial tone is received. If
there is no dial tone, then the registers are not available. Figure 3 shows the dialing phase.

Figure 3

The dialing phase allows the customer to enter a phone number (address) of a telephone at
another location. The customer enters this number with either a rotary phone that generates pulses
or a touch-tone (push-button) phone that generates tones. These telephones use two different
types of address signaling in order to notify the telephone company where a subscriber calls:
Dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) dialing and Pulse dialing.

These pulses or tones are transmitted to the CO switch across a two-wire twisted-pair cable (tip
and ring lines). Figure 4 shows the switching phase.

Figure 4

In the switching phase, the CO switch translates the pulses or tones into a port address that
connects to the telephone set of the called party. This connection could go directly to the
requested telephone set (for local calls) or go through another switch or several switches (for
long-distance calls) before it reaches its final destination. Figure 5 shows the ringing phase.

Figure 5
Once the CO switch connects to the called line, the swtich sends a 20-Hz 90V signal to this line.
This signal rings the phone of the called party. While ringing the phone of the called party, the
CO switch sends an audible ring-back tone to the caller. This ring-back lets the caller know that
ringing occurs at the called party. The CO switch transmits 440 and 480 tones to the caller phone
in order to generate a ring-back. These tones are played for a specific on time and off time. If the
called party phone is busy, the CO switch sends a busy signal to the caller. This busy signal
consists of 480- and 620-Hz tones. Figure 6 shows the talking phase.

Figure 6

In the talking phase, the called party hears the phone ringing and decides to answer. As soon as
the called party lifts the handset, an off-hook phase starts again, this time on the opposite end of
the network. The local loop is closed on the called party side, so current starts to flow to the CO
switch. This switch detects current flow and completes the voice connection back to the calling
party phone. Now, voice communication can start between both ends of this connection.

Table 1 shows a summary of alerting tones that could be generated by the CO switch during a
phone call.

Table 1

The progress tones in Table 1 are for North American phone systems. International phone
systems can have a totally different set of progress tones. Everyone must be familiar with most of
these call progress tones.

A Dial tone indicates that the telephone company is ready to receive digits from the user
telephone.

A Busy tone indicates that a call cannot be completed because the telephone at the remote end is
already in use.

A Ring-Back (normal or PBX) tone indicates that the telephone company is attempting to
complete a call on behalf of a subscriber.

A Congestion progress tone is used between switches to indicate that congestion in the long
distance telephone network currently prevents a telephone call from being progressed.

A Reorder tone indicates that all the local telephone circuits are busy, and thus prevents a
telephone call from being processed.
A Receiver off-hook tone is the loud ringing that indicates the receiver of a phone is left off-
hook for an extended period of time.

A No such number tone indicates that the number dialed cannot be found in the routing table of
a switch.

Address Signaling and Tip and Ring

Address Signaling

North American Numbering Plan

The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) uses ten digits to represent a telephone number.
These ten digits are divided into three parts: the area code, office code, and station code.

In the original NANP, the area code consisted of the first three digits of the telephone number and
represented a region in North America (including Canada). The first digit was any number from 2
to 9, the second digit was 1 or 0, and the third digit was any number from 0 to 9. The office code
consisted of the second three digits of the telephone number and uniquely identified a switch in
the telephone network. The first digit was any number from 2 to 9, the second digit was any
number from 2 to 9, and the third digit was any number from 0 to 9. The area code and office
code could never be the same because the second digit of each code was always different. With
this numbering system, the switch was able to determine whether this was a local call or long-
distance call with the second digit of the area code. The station code consisted of the last four
digits in the telephone number. This number uniquely identified a port within the switch that was
connected to the telephone being called. Based on this ten-digit numbering system, an office code
could have up to 10,000 different station codes. In order for a switch to have more than 10,000
connections, it has to have more office codes assigned to it.

An increase in the number of phone lines installed in homes, Internet access, and fax machine
usage dramatically reduced the number of phone numbers available. This scenario prompted a
change in the NANP. The present plan is basically the same as the old plan except for the area
code and office code sections of the telephone number. The three digits for the area code and
office code are now selected in the same fashion. The first digit can be any number from 2 to 9,
and the second and third digits can be any number from 0 to 9. This scenario dramatically
increases the number of area codes available, it in turn increases the number of station codes that
can be assigned. If the call is a long-distance number, a one must be dialed before the 10-digit
number.

International Numbering Plan

The International Numbering Plan is based on ITU-T specification E.164, an international

standard that all countries must follow. This plan states that the telephone number in every
country cannot be greater than 15 digits. The first three digits represent the country code, but
each can choose whether to use all three digits. The remaining 12 digits represent the national
specific number. For example, the country code for North America is 1. Therefore, when calling
North America from another country, 1 must be dialed first in order to access the NANP. Then the
ten digits required by the NANP are dialed. The 12 digits of the national specific number can be
organized in any manner deemed appropriate by the specific country. Also, some countries can
use a set of digits to indicate an outgoing international call. For example, 011 is used from within
the United States to place an outgoing international call. Figure 7 illustrates network addressing
in North America.

Figure 7

In this figure, the caller generates a call from within a customer premise that uses a PBX to
access the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). To get past the PBX, the caller must dial
9 first (this is how most PBXs are set up). Then, the caller must dial 1 for long distance and the
ten-digit number of the telephone the caller wants to reach. The area code takes the caller through
two switches, first a local switch and then an inter-exchange carrier (IXC) switch, which takes the
call long distance. The office code (second three digits) takes the caller through a local switch
again, and then to another PBX. Finally, the station code (last four digits) takes the caller to the
telephone called.

Pulse Dialing

Pulse Dialing is an in-band signaling technique. It is used in analog telephones that have a rotary
dialing switch. The large numeric dial-wheel on a rotary-dial telephone spins to send digits to
place a call. These digits must be produced at a specific rate and within a certain level of
tolerance. Each pulse consists of a "break" and a "make", which are achieved when the local loop
circuit is opened and closed. The break segment is the time during which the circuit is open. The
make segment is the time time during which the circuit is closed. Each time the dial is turned, the
bottom of the dial closes and opens the circuit leading to the CO switch or PBX switch.
A "governor" inside the dial controls the rate at which the digits are pulsed; for example, when a
subscriber dials a digit on the rotary dial to call someone, a spring winds. When the dial is
released, the spring rotates the dial back to its original position, and a cam-driven switch opens
and closes the connection to the telephone company. The number of consecutive opens and
closes--or breaks and makes-- represents the dialed digits Therefore, if the digit 3 is dialed, the
switch is closed and opened three times. Figure 8 represents the sequence of pulses that occur
when a digit 3 is dialed with pulse dialing.

Figure 8

This illustration displays the two terms, make and break. When the telephone is off-hook, a make
occurs and the caller receives a dial tone from the CO switch. Then the caller dials digits, which
generate sequences of makes and breaks that occur every 100 milliseconds (ms). The break and
make cycle must correspond to a ratio of 60 percent break to 40 percent make. Then the phone
stays in a make state until another digit is dialed or the phone is put back to an on-hook
(equivalent to a break) state. Dial pulse addressing is a very slow process because the number of
pulses generated equates to the digit dialed. So, when a digit 9 is dialed, it generates nine make
and break pulses. A digit 0 generates ten make and break pulses. In order to increase the speed of
dialing, a new dialing technique (DTMF) was developed. Figure 9 shows the frequency tones
generated by DTMF dialing (also called touch-tone dialing).

DTMF Dialing

Figure 9
DTMF dialing is an in-band signaling technique just like pulse dialing. This technique is used in
analog telephone sets that have a touch-tone pad. This dialing technique uses only two frequency
tones per digit, as shown in Figure 9. Each button on the keypad of a touch-tone pad or a push-
button telephone is associated with a set of high and low frequencies. On the keypad, each row of
the key is identified by a low-frequency tone, and each column is associated with a high-
frequency tone. The combination of both tones notify the telephone company of the number
called, hence the term dual tone multifrequency. Therefore, when digit 0 is dialed, only frequency
tones 941 and 1336 are generated instead of the ten make and break pulses generated by pulse
dialing. The timing is still a 60-ms break and 40-ms make for each frequency generated. These
frequencies were selected for DTMF dialing based on their insusceptibility to normal background
noise.

Single-Frequency and Multifrequency Signaling

R1 and R2 signaling standards are used to transmit supervisory and address signaling information
between voice network switches. They both use single-frequency signaling for transmission of
supervisory information and multifrequency signaling for addressing information.

R2 Signaling

R2 signaling specifications are contained in ITU-T Recommendations Q.400 through Q.490. The
physical connection layer for R2 is usually an E1 (2.048 megabits per second [Mbps]) interface
that conforms to ITU-T standard G.704. The E1 digital facilities carrier runs at 2.048 Mbps and
has 32 time-slots. E1 time-slots are numbered TS0 to TS31, where TS1 through TS15 and TS17
through TS31 are used to carry voice, which is encoded with pulse code modulation (PCM), or to
carry 64 kbps data. This interface uses time slot 0 for synchronization and framing (same as for
Primary Rate Interface [PRI]) and uses time slot 16 for ABCD signaling. There is a 16-frame
multiframe structure that allows a single 8-bit time slot to handle the line signaling for all 30 data
channels.
R2 Call Control and Signaling

Two types of signaling are involved: line signaling (supervisory signals) and inter-register
signaling (call setup control signals). Line signaling involves supervisory information (on-hook
and off-hook) and inter-register signaling deals with addressing. These are described in more
detail in this document.

R2 Line Signaling

R2 uses channel-associated signaling (CAS). This means that, in the case of E1, one of the time
slots (channels) is dedicated to signaling as opposed to the signaling used for T1. The latter uses
the top bit of every time slot in every sixth frame.

This signaling is out-of-band signaling and uses ABCD bits in a similar manner to T1 robbed-bit
signaling to indicate on-hook or off-hook status. These ABCD bits appear in time slot 16 in each
of the 16 frames that make up a multiframe. Of these four bits, sometimes known as signaling
channels, only two (A and B) are actually used in R2 signaling; the other two are spare.

In contrast to robbed-bit signaling types such as wink start, these two bits have different
meanings in the forward and backward directions. However, there are no variants on the basic
signaling protocol.

Line signaling is defined with these types:

R2-Digital—R2 line signaling type ITU-U Q.421, typically used for PCM systems (where A and
B bits are used).

R2-Analog—R2 line signaling type ITU-U Q.411, typically used for carrier systems (where a
Tone/A bit is used).

R2-Pulse—R2 line signaling type ITU-U Supplement 7, typically used for systems that employ
satellite links (where a Tone/A bit is pulsed).

R2 Interregister Signaling

The transfer of call information (called and calling numbers, and so on) is performed with tones
in the time slot used for the call (called in-band signaling).

R2 uses six signaling frequencies in the forward direction (from the initiator of the call) and a
different six frequencies in the backward direction (from the party who answers the call). These
inter-register signals are of the multifrequency type with a two-out-of-six in-band code.
Variations on R2 signaling that use only five of the six frequencies are known as decadic CAS
systems.
Inter-register signaling is generally performed end-to-end by a compelled procedure. This means
that tones in one direction are acknowledged by a tone in the other direction. This type of
signaling is known as multifrequency compelled (MFC) signaling.

There are three types of inter-register signaling:

R2-Compelled—When a tone-pair is sent from the switch (forward signal), the tones stay on
until the remote end responds (sends an ACK) with a pair of tones that signals the switch to turn
off the tones. The tones are compelled to stay on until turned off.

R2-Non-Compelled—The tone-pairs are sent (forward signal) as pulses, so they stay on for a
short duration. Responses (backward signals) to the switch (Group B) are sent as pulses. There
are no Group A signals in non-compelled inter-register signaling.

Note: Most installations use non-compelled inter-register signaling.

R2-Semi-Compelled—Forward tone-pairs are sent as compelled. Responses (backward signals)

to the switch are sent as pulses. This scenario is the same as compelled, except that the backward
signals are pulsed instead of continuous.

Features that can be signaled include:

 Called or calling party number

 Call type (transit, maintenance, and so on)

 Echo-suppressor signals

 Calling party category

 Status

R1 Signaling

R1 signaling specifications are contained in ITU-T Recommendations Q.310 through Q.331. This
document contains a summary of the main points . The physical connection layer for R1 is
usually a T1 (1.544-Mbps) interface that conforms to ITU-T standard G.704. This standard uses
the 193rd bit of the frame for synchronization and framing (same as T1).

R1 Call Control and Signaling

Again two types of signaling are involved: line signaling and register signaling. Line signaling
involves supervisory information (on-hook and off-hook) and register signaling deals with
addressing. Both are discussed in more detail:

R1 Line Signaling
R1 uses in-slot CAS by bit robbing the eighth bit of each channel every sixth frame. This type of
signaling uses ABCD bits in an identical manner to T1 robbed-bit signaling to indicate on-hook
or off-hook status.

R1 Register Signaling

The transfer of call information (called and calling numbers, and so on) is performed with tones
in the time slot used for the call. This type of signaling is also called in-band signaling.

R1 uses six signaling frequencies that are 700 to 1700 Hz in 200-Hz steps. These inter-register
signals are of the multifrequency type and use a two-out-of-six in-band code. The address
information contained in the register signaling is preceded by a KP tone (start-of-pulsing signal)
and terminated by a ST tone (end-of-pulsing signal).

Features that can be signaled include:

 Called-party number
 Call status

Tip and Ring Lines

Figure 10 illustrates tip and ring lines in a plain old telephone service (POTS) network.

Figure 10

The standard way to transport voice between two telephone sets is to use tip and ring lines. Tip
and ring lines are the twisted pair of wires that connect to your phone by way of an RJ-11
connector. The sleeve is the ground lead for this RJ-11 connector.
Loop-Start Signaling
Loop-start signaling is a supervisory signaling technique that provides a way to indicate on-hook
and off-hook conditions in a voice network. Loop-start signaling is used primarily when the
telephone set is connected to a switch. This signaling technique can be used in any of these
connections:

 Telephone set to CO switch

 Telephone set to PBX switch

 Telephone set to foreign exchange station (FXS) module (interface)

 PBX switch to CO switch

 PBX switch to FXS module (interface)

 PBX switch to foreign exchange office (FXO) module (interface)

 FXS module to FXO module

Analog Loop-Start Signaling

Figures 11 through 13 illustrate loop-start signaling from a telephone set, PBX switch, or FXO
module to a CO switch or FXS module. Figure 11 shows the idle state for loop-start signaling.

Figure 11

In this idle state, the telephone, PBX, or FXO module has an open two-wire loop (tip and ring
lines open). It could be a telephone set with the handset on-hook, or a PBX or FXO module that
generates an open between the tip and ring lines. The CO or FXS waits for a closed loop that
generates a current flow. The CO or FXS have a ring generator connected to the tip line and –
48VDC on the ring line. Figure 12 shows an off-hook state for a telephone set or a line seizure
for a PBX or FXO module.

Figure 12

In this illustration, a telephone set, PBX, or FXO module closes the loop between the tip and ring
lines. The telephone takes its handset off-hook or the PBX or FXO module closes a circuit
connection. The CO or FXS module detects current flow and then generates a dial tone, which is
sent to the telephone set, PBX, or FXO module. This indicates that the customer can start to dial.
What happens when there is an incoming call from the CO switch or FXS module? Figure 13
shows this situation.

Figure 13
In the illustration, the CO or FXS module seizes the ring line of the telephone, PBX, or FXO
module called by superimposing a 20-Hz, 90-VAC signal over the –48VDC ring line. This
procedure rings the called party telephone set or signals the PBX or FXS module that there is an
incoming call. The CO or FXS module removes this ring once the telephone set, PBX, or FXO
module closes the circuit between the tip and ring lines. The telephone set closes the circuit when
the called party picks up the handset. The PBX or FXS module closes the circuit when it has an
available resource to connect to the called party. The 20-Hz ringing signal generated by the CO
switch is independent of the user lines and is the only way to let a user know that there is an
incoming call. The user lines do not have a dedicated ring generator. Therefore, the CO switch
must cycle through all the lines it must ring. This cycle takes about four seconds. This delay in
ringing a phone causes a problem, known as glare, when the CO switch and the telephone set
PBX, or FXO module seize a line simultaneously. When this happens, the person who initiates
the call is connected to the called party almost instantaneously, with no ring-back tone. Glare is
not a major problem from the telephone set to the CO switch because an occasional glare
situation can be tolerated by the user. Glare becomes a major problem, when a loop-start is used
from the PBX or FXO module to the CO switch or FXS module because more call traffic is
involved. Therefore, the chance of glare increases. This scenario explains why loop-start
signaling is used primarily when a connection is made from the telephone set to a switch. The
best way to prevent glare is to use ground-start signaling, which is covered in a later section.

Digital Loop-Start Signaling for 26/36/37xx platforms

These diagrams show the bit status for ABCD bits for FXS/FXO loop-start signaling as it applies
to 26/36/37xx platforms:
Digital Loop-Start Signaling for AS5xxx

These diagrams show the bit status of AB bits for FXS/FXO loop-start signaling as it applies to
only AS5xxx platforms. This is not applicable to 26/36/37xx platforms. This mode of operation is
most commonly used in off-premise extension (OPX) applications. This is a two-state signaling
scheme, using the "B bit" for signaling.

Idle Condition:

To FXS: A bit = 0, B bit = 1

From FXS: A bit = 0, B bit = 1

FXS Originates:

Step 1: FXS changes A bit to 1, signaling the FXO to close the loop.

To FXS: A bit = 0, B bit = 1

From FXS: A bit = 1, B bit = 1

FXO Originates

Step 1: FXO sets the B bit to 0. The B bit toggles with the ring generation:

To FXS: A bit = 0, B bit = 1

From FXS: A bit = 1, B bit = 1

Loop-Start Testing

How to test the signaling states of a loop-start trunk is discussed with reference to two
viewpoints: from the demarc looking toward the CO and from the demarc looking toward the
PBX.

Idle Condition (on-hook, initial state)

The idle condition is represented in Figure 14. The bridging clips are removed to isolate the CO
from the PBX.

Looking toward the PBX, an open condition is observed between the T-R leads at the demarc.

Looking toward the CO from the demarc, ground is observed on the T lead and –48V is observed
on the R lead. A voltmeter connected between T and R on the CO side of the demarc ideally reads
close to –48V.

Figure 14
Outgoing (off-hook)

In order to test the operation toward the CO, remove the bridging clips and attach a test telephone
set across the T-R leads toward the CO. The test set provides loop closure. The CO detects the
loop closure, attaches a digit receiver to the circuit, establishes an audio path, and transmits dial
tone toward the PBX. (See Figure 15.)

Figure 15

Once a dial tone is received by the test telephone, you can proceed to dial with either DTMF or
dial-pulse signaling as allowed by the CO. Some COs are equipped to receive only dial-pulse
addressing. Those equipped to receive DTMF can also receive dial pulse. When the first dialed
digit is received, the CO removes dial tone.

After all digits have been dialed, the digit receiver is removed at the CO, and the call is routed to
the distant station or switch. The audio path is extended over the outgoing facility, and audible
call-progress tones are returned to the test telephone. Once the call is answered, voice signals can
be heard over the audio path.

Incoming (ringing at destination)

A test telephone at the demarc can also be used to test loop-start trunks for incoming call
operation. The test setup is the same as for outgoing calls. Typically the PBX technician calls a
CO technician on another line and asks the CO technician to call the PBX on the trunk under test.
The CO applies ringing voltage to the trunk. Ideally, the test phone at the demarc rings. The PBX
technician answers the call on the test phone. If the technicians can talk to each other over the
trunk under test, the trunk functions normally.

Tests between the PBX and the demarc with bridging clips removed are difficult. The loop-start
interface circuits in most PBXs require battery voltage from the CO for their operation. If the
voltage is not present, the trunk cannot be selected for outgoing calls. The usual procedure is to
test the trunk from the demarc to the CO, first with the bridging clips removed as described, and
then after installing the bridging clips. If the trunk fails to function properly when connected to
the PBX, the problem is probably in the PBX or in the wiring between the PBX and the demarc.
How Telephones Work
Click here to print this article.

Although most of us take it completely for granted, the telephone you have in your house is one
of the most amazing devices ever created. If you want to talk to someone, all you have to do is
pick up the phone and dial a few digits. You are instantly connected to that person, and you can
have a two-way conversation. The telephone network extends worldwide, so you can reach nearly
anyone on the planet. When you compare that to the state of the world just 100 years ago, when it
might have taken several weeks to get a one-way written message to someone, you realize just
how amazing the telephone is!

This illustration shows the entire telephone network, including a home

connection, cell phone towers, long distance exchanges and
transcontinental connections.

Now, we will look at the telephone device that you have in your house as well as the telephone
network it connects to so you can make and receive calls.

The TelephoneSurprisingly, a telephone is one of the simplest devices you have in your house.
It is so simple because the telephone connection to your house has not changed in nearly a
century. If you have an antique phone from the 1920s, you could connect it to the wall jack in
your house and it would work fine!

The very simplest working telephone would look like this inside:
As you can see, it only contains three parts and they are all simple:

 A switch to connect and disconnect the phone from the network - This switch is generally
called the hook switch. It connects when you lift the handset.
 A speaker - This is generally a little 50-cent, 8-ohm speaker of some sort.

 A microphone - In the past, telephone microphones have been as simple as carbon

granules compressed between two thin metal plates. Sound waves from your voice
compress and decompress the granules, changing the resistance of the granules and
modulating the current flowing through the microphone.

That's it! You can dial this simple phone by rapidly tapping the hook switch -- all telephone
switches still recognize "pulse dialing." If you pick the phone up and rapidly tap the switch hook
four times, the phone company's switch will understand that you have dialed a "4."

The only problem with the phone shown above is that when you talk, you will hear your voice
through the speaker. Most people find that annoying, so any "real" phone contains a device called
a duplex coil or something functionally equivalent to block the sound of your own voice from
reaching your ear. A modern telephone also includes a bell so it can ring and a touch-tone
keypad and frequency generator. A "real" phone looks like this:
Still, it's pretty simple. In a modern phone there is an electronic microphone, amplifier and circuit
to replace the carbon granules and loading coil. The mechanical bell is often replaced by a
speaker and a circuit to generate a pleasant ringing tone. But a regular $6.95 telephone remains
one of the simplest devices ever.

The Telephone NetworkThe telephone network starts in your house. A pair of copper wires
runs from a box at the road to a box (often called an entrance bridge) at your house. From there,
the pair of wires is connected to each phone jack in your house (usually using red and green
wires). If your house has two phone lines, then two separate pairs of copper wires run from the
road to your house. The second pair is usually colored yellow and black inside your house. (See
this Question of the Day for a description of the telephone boxes and wires that you see by the
road.)
 A typical phone company box that you see by the side
of the road. Click here to learn more.

Along the road runs a thick cable packed with 100 or more copper pairs. Depending on where
you are located, this thick cable will run directly to the phone company's switch in your area or it
will run to a box about the size of a refrigerator that acts as a digital concentrator.

This illustration shows the entire telephone network, including a home

connection, cell phone towers, long distance exchanges and
transcontinental connections. Click here to see the animated version!

The concentrator digitizes your voice at a sample rate of 8,000 samples per second and 8-bit
resolution (see How Analog and Digital Recording Works for information on digitizing sounds).
It then combines your voice with dozens of others and sends them all down a single wire (usually
a coax cable or a fiber-optic cable) to the phone company office. Either way, your line connects
into a line card at the switch so you can hear the dial tone when you pick up your phone.

If you are calling someone connected to the same office, then the switch simply creates a loop
between your phone and the phone of the person you called. If it's a long-distance call, then your
voice is digitized and combined with millions of other voices on the long-distance network. Your
voice normally travels over a fiber-optic line to the office of the receiving party, but it may also
be transmitted by satellite or by microwave towers. (See this Question of the Day for a more
detailed description of long-distance calling.)

Creating Your Own Telephone NetworkNot only is a telephone a simple device, but the
connection between you and the phone company is even simpler. In fact, you can easily create
your own intercom system using two telephones, a 9-volt battery (or some other simple power
supply) and a 300-ohm resistor that you can get for a dollar at Radio Shack. You can wire it up
like this:
Your connection to the phone company consists of two copper wires. Usually they are red and
green. The green wire is common, and the red wire supplies your phone with 6 to 12 volts DC at
about 30 milliamps. If you think about a simple carbon granule microphone, all it is doing is
modulating that current (letting more or less current through depending on how the sound waves
compress and relax the granules), and the speaker at the other end "plays" that modulated signal.
That's all there is to it!

The easiest way to wire up a private intercom like this is to go to a hardware or discount store and
buy a 100-foot phone cord. Cut it, strip the wires and hook in the battery and resistor as shown.
(Most cheap phone cords contain only two wires, but if the one you buy happens to have four,
then use the center two.) When two people pick up the phones together, they can talk to each
other just fine. This sort of arrangement will work at distances of up to several miles apart.

The only thing your little intercom cannot do is ring the phone to tell the person at the other end
to pick up. The "ring" signal is a 90-volt AC wave at 20 hertz (Hz).

Hand Generated!
You know the hand crank on those old-
fashioned telephones? It was used to
generate the ring-signal AC wave and
sound the bell at the other end!

Calling SomeoneIf you go back to the days of the manual switchboard, it is easy to understand
how the larger phone system works. In the days of the manual switchboard, there was a pair of
copper wires running from every house to a central office in the middle of town. The switchboard
operator sat in front of a board with one jack for every pair of wires entering the office.

Above each jack was a small light. A large battery supplied current through a resistor to each wire
pair (in the same way you saw in the previous section). When someone picked up the handset on
his or her telephone, the hook switch would complete the circuit and let current flow through
wires between the house and the office. This would light the light bulb above that person's jack
on the switchboard. The operator would connect his/her headset into that jack and ask who the
person would like to talk to. The operator would then send a ring signal to the receiving party and
wait for the party to pick up the phone. Once the receiving party picked up, the operator would
connect the two people together in exactly the same way the simple intercom on the previous
page was connected! It is that simple!
In a modern phone system, the operator has been replaced by an electronic switch. When you
pick up the phone, the switch senses the completion of your loop and it plays a dial tone sound
so you know that the switch and your phone are working. The dial tone sound is simply a
combination of 350-hertz tone and a 440-hertz tone, and it sounds like this:

 Click here to hear a dial tone.

(For more information on tones, see How Guitars Work.)

You then dial the number using a touch-tone keypad. The different dialing sounds are made of
pairs of tones, as shown here:

1,209 1,336 1,477

Hz Hz Hz
697
1 2 3
Hz
770
4 5 6
Hz
852
7 8 9
Hz
941
* 0 #
Hz

A typical number that you dial sounds like this:

 Click here to hear a touch-tone number.

If the number is busy, you hear a busy signal that is made up of a 480-hertz and a 620-hertz tone,
with a cycle of one-half second on and one-half second off, like this:

 Click here to hear a busy signal.

Telephone BandwidthIn order to allow more long-distance calls to be transmitted, the

frequencies transmitted are limited to a bandwidth of about 3,000 hertz. All of the frequencies in
your voice below 400 hertz and above 3,400 hertz are eliminated. That's why someone's voice on
a phone has a distinctive sound. Compare these two voices:

 Click here to hear a normal voice.

 Click here to hear the same voice on the telephone.

You can prove that this sort of filtering actually happens by using the following sound files:

 1,000-hertz tone
  2,000-hertz tone

 3,000-hertz tone

 4,000-hertz tone

 5,000-hertz tone

 6,000-hertz tone

Call up someone you know and play the 1,000-hertz sound file on your computer. The person
will be able to hear the tone clearly. The person will also be able to hear the 2,000- and 3,000-
hertz tones. However, the person will have trouble hearing the 4,000-hertz tone, and will not hear
the 5,000- or 6,000-hertz tones at all! That's because the phone company clips them off
completely.

For lots more information on telephones, telephone networks and related technologies, check out
the links on the next page.
How Speakers Work
Click here to print this article.

In any sound system, ultimate quality depends on the speakers. The best recording,
encoded on the most advanced storage device and played by a top-of-the-line deck
and amplifier, will sound awful if the system is hooked up to poor speakers. A
system's speaker is the component that takes the electronic signal stored on things
like CDs, tapes and DVDs and turns it back into actual sound that we can hear.

A small speaker set for computer use

Now, we'll find out exactly how speakers do this. We'll also look at how speaker
designs differ, and see how these differences affect sound quality. Speakers are
amazing pieces of technology that have had a profound impact on our culture. But
at their heart, they are remarkably simple devices.

Sound BasicsTo understand how speakers work, you first need to understand
how sound works.

Inside your ear is a very thin piece of skin called the eardrum. When your
eardrum vibrates, your brain interprets the vibrations as sound -- that's how you
hear. Rapid changes in air pressure are the most common thing to vibrate your
eardrum.

An object produces sound when it vibrates in air (sound can also travel through
liquids and solids, but air is the transmission medium when we listen to speakers).
When something vibrates, it moves the air particles around it. Those air particles in
turn move the air particles around them, carrying the pulse of the vibration through
the air as a traveling disturbance.

To see how this works, let's look at a simple vibrating object -- a bell. When you
ring a bell, the metal vibrates -- flexes in and out -- rapidly. When it flexes out on
one side, it pushes out on the surrounding air particles on that side. These air
particles then collide with the particles in front of them, which collide with the
particles in front of them and so on. When the bell flexes away, it pulls in on these
surrounding air particles, creating a drop in pressure that pulls in on more
surrounding air particles, which creates another drop in pressure that pulls in
particles that are even farther out and so on. This decreasing of pressure is called
rarefaction.

In this way, a vibrating object sends a wave of pressure fluctuation through the
atmosphere. When the fluctuation wave reaches your ear, it vibrates the eardrum
back and forth. Our brain interprets this motion as sound. We hear different sounds
from different vibrating objects because of variations in:

 Sound-wave frequency - A higher wave frequency simply means that the

air pressure fluctuates faster. We hear this as a higher pitch. When there are
fewer fluctuations in a period of time, the pitch is lower.
 Air-pressure level - This is the wave's amplitude, which determines how
loud the sound is. Sound waves with greater amplitudes move our ear
drums more, and we register this sensation as a higher volume.

A microphone works something like our ears. It has a diaphragm that is vibrated
by sound waves in an area. The signal from a microphone gets encoded on a tape
or CD as an electrical signal. When you play this signal back on your stereo, the
amplifier sends it to the speaker, which re-interprets it into physical vibrations.
Good speakers are optimized to produce extremely accurate fluctuations in air
pressure, just like the ones originally picked up by the microphone. In the next
section, we'll see how the speaker accomplishes this.

Making SoundIn the last section, we saw that sound travels in waves of air
pressure fluctuation, and that we hear sounds differently depending on the
frequency and amplitude of these waves. We also learned that microphones
translate sound waves into electrical signals, which can be encoded onto CDs,
tapes, LPs, etc. Players convert this stored information back into an electric current
for use in the stereo system.

A speaker is essentially the final translation machine -- the reverse of the

microphone. It takes the electrical signal and translates it back into physical
vibrations to create sound waves. When everything is working as it should, the
speaker produces nearly the same vibrations that the microphone originally
recorded and encoded on a tape, CD, LP, etc.
Traditional speakers do this with one or more drivers. A driver produces sound
waves by rapidly vibrating a flexible cone, or diaphragm.

 The cone, usually made of paper, plastic or metal, is attached on the wide
end to the suspension.
 The suspension, or surround, is a rim of flexible material that allows the
cone to move, and is attached to the driver's metal frame, called the basket.
 The narrow end of the cone is connected to the voice coil.

 The coil is attached to the basket by the spider, a ring of flexible material.
The spider holds the coil in position, but allows it to move freely back and
forth.

Some drivers have a dome instead of a cone. A dome is just a diaphragm that
extends out instead of tapering in.
 A typical speaker driver, with a metal basket, heavy
permanent magnet and paper diaphragm

The voice coil is a basic electromagnet. If you've read How Electromagnets Work,
then you know that an electromagnet is a coil of wire, usually wrapped around a
piece of magnetic metal, such as iron. Running electrical current through the wire
creates a magnetic field around the coil, magnetizing the metal it is wrapped
around. The field acts just like the magnetic field around a permanent magnet: It
has a polar orientation -- a "north" end and and a "south" end -- and it is attracted
to iron objects. But unlike a permanent magnet, in an electromagnet you can alter
the orientation of the poles. If you reverse the flow of the current, the north and
south ends of the electromagnet switch.

This is exactly what a stereo signal does -- it constantly reverses the flow of
electricity. If you've ever hooked up a stereo system, then you know that there are
two output wires for each speaker -- typically a black one and a red one.

The wire that runs through the speaker system

connects to two hook-up jacks on the driver.

Essentially, the amplifier is constantly switching the electrical signal, fluctuating

between a positive charge and a negative charge on the red wire. Since electrons
always flow in the same direction between positively charged particles and
negatively charged particles, the current going through the speaker moves one way
and then reverses and flows the other way. This alternating current causes the
polar orientation of the electromagnet to reverse itself many times a second.

So how does this fluctuation make the speaker coil move back and forth? The
electromagnet is positioned in a constant magnetic field created by a permanent
magnet. These two magnets -- the electromagnet and the permanent magnet --
interact with each other as any two magnets do. The positive end of the
electromagnet is attracted to the negative pole of the permanent magnetic field,
and the negative pole of the electromagnet is repelled by the permanent magnet's
negative pole. When the electromagnet's polar orientation switches, so does the
direction of repulsion and attraction. In this way, the alternating current constantly
reverses the magnetic forces between the voice coil and the permanent magnet.
This pushes the coil back and forth rapidly, like a piston.

When the electrical current flowing through the voice coil changes direction, the
coil's polar orientation reverses. This changes the magnetic forces between the
voice coil and the permanent magnet, moving the coil and attached diaphragm back
and forth.

When the coil moves, it pushes and pulls on the speaker cone. This vibrates the air
in front of the speaker, creating sound waves. The electrical audio signal can also
be interpreted as a wave. The frequency and amplitude of this wave, which
represents the original sound wave, dictates the rate and distance that the voice coil
moves. This, in turn, determines the frequency and amplitude of the sound waves
produced by the diaphragm.

Different driver sizes are better suited for certain frequency ranges. For this reason,
loudspeaker units typically divide a wide frequency range among multiple
drivers. In the next section, we'll find out how speakers divide up the frequency
range, and we'll look at the main driver types used in loudspeakers.

Chunks of the Frequency RangeIn the last section, we saw that traditional
speakers produce sound by pushing and pulling an electromagnet attached to a
flexible cone. Although drivers are all based on the same concept, there is a wide
range in driver size and power. The basic driver types are:

 Woofers
 Tweeters

 Midrange

Woofer

Tweeter

Midrange

Woofers are the biggest drivers, and are designed to produce low frequency
sounds. Tweeters are much smaller units, designed to produce the highest
frequencies. Midrange speakers produce a range of frequencies in the middle of
the sound spectrum.

And if you think about it, this makes perfect sense. To create higher frequency
waves -- waves in which the points of high pressure and low pressure are closer
together -- the driver diaphragm must vibrate more quickly. This is harder to do
with a large cone because of the mass of the cone. Conversely, it's harder to get a
small driver to vibrate slowly enough to produce very low frequency sounds. It's
more suited to rapid movement.

To produce quality sound over a wide frequency range more effectively, you can
break the entire range into smaller chunks that are handled by specialized drivers.
Quality loudspeakers will typically have a woofer, a tweeter and sometimes a
midrange driver, all included in one enclosure.

Of course, to dedicate each driver to a particular frequency range, the speaker

system first needs to break the audio signal into different pieces -- low frequency,
high frequency and sometimes mid-range frequencies. This is the job of the
speaker crossover.

The most common type of crossover is passive, meaning it doesn't need an

external power source because it is activated by the audio signal passing through
it. This sort of crossover uses inductors, capacitors and sometimes other circuitry
components. Capacitors and inductors only become good conductors under certain
conditions. A crossover capacitor will conduct the current very well when the
frequency exceeds a certain level, but will conduct poorly when the frequency is
below that level. A crossover inductor acts in the reverse manner -- it is only a
good conductor when the frequency is below a certain level.
 The typical crossover unit from a loudspeaker: The
frequency is divided up by inductors and capacitors
and then sent on to the woofer, tweeter and mid-range
driver.

When the electrical audio signal travels through the speaker wire to the speaker, it
passes through the crossover units for each driver. To flow to the tweeter, the
current will have to pass through a capacitor. So for the most part, the high
frequency part of the signal will flow on to the tweeter voice coil. To flow to the
woofer, the current passes through an inductor, so the driver will mainly respond to
low frequencies. A crossover for the mid-range driver will conduct the current
through a capacitor and an inductor, to set an upper and lower cutoff point.

There are also active crossovers. Active crossovers are electronic devices that pick
out the different frequency ranges in an audio signal before it goes on to the
amplifier (you use an amplifier circuit for each driver). They have several
advantages over passive crossovers, the main one being that you can easily adjust
the frequency ranges. Passive crossover ranges are determined by the individual
circuitry components -- to change them, you need to install new capacitors and
inductors. Active crossovers aren't as widely used as passive crossovers, however,
because the equipment is much more expensive and you need multiple amplifier
outputs for your speakers.

Crossovers and drivers can be installed as separate components in a sound system,

but most people end up buying speaker units that house the crossover and multiple
drivers in one box. In the next section, we'll find out what these speaker
enclosures do and how they affect the speaker's sound quality.

Boxes of SoundIn most loudspeaker systems, the drivers and the crossover are
housed in some sort of speaker enclosure. These enclosures serve a number of
functions. On their most basic level, they make it much easier to set up the
speakers. Everything's in one unit and the drivers are kept in the right position, so
they work together to produce the best sound. Enclosures are usually built with
heavy wood or another solid material that will effectively absorb the driver's
vibration. If you simply placed a driver on a table, the table would vibrate so much
it would drown out a lot of the speaker's sound.
Additionally, the speaker enclosure affects how sound is produced. When we
looked at speaker drivers, we focused on how the vibrating diaphragm emitted
sound waves in front of the cone. But, since the diaphragm is moving back and
forth, it's actually producing sound waves behind the cone as well. Different
enclosure types have different ways of handling these "backward" waves.

A typical sealed speaker enclosure that holds a tweeter,

a woofer and a midrange driver.

The most common type of enclosure is the sealed enclosure, also called acoustic
suspension enclosure. These enclosures are completely sealed, so no air can
escape. This means the forward wave travels outward into the room, while the
backward wave travels only into the box. Of course, since no air can escape, the
internal air pressure is constantly changing -- when the driver moves in, the
pressure is increased and when the driver moves out, it is decreased. Both
movements create pressure differences between the air inside the box and the air
outside the box. The air will always move to equalize pressure levels, so the driver
is constantly being pushed toward its "resting" state -- the position at which
internal and external air pressure are the same.
 In a sealed speaker setup, the driver diaphragm compresses air in the
enclosure when it moves in and rarefies air when it moves out.

These enclosures are less efficient than other designs because the amplifier has to
boost the electrical signal to overcome the force of air pressure. The force serves a
valuable function, however -- it acts like a spring to keep the driver in the right
position. This makes for tighter, more precise sound production.

Other enclosure designs redirect the inward pressure outward, using it to

supplement the forward sound wave. The most common way to do this is to build a
small port into the speaker. In these bass reflex speakers, the backward motion of
the diaphragm pushes sound waves out of the port, boosting the overall sound
level. The main advantage of bass reflex enclosures is efficiency. The power
moving the driver is used to emit two sound waves rather than one. The
disadvantage is that there is no air pressure difference to spring the driver back into
place, so the sound production is not as precise.
 A bass reflex speaker produces two sound waves by moving one
driver. When the driver compresses air forward, it rarefies it
backward, and vice versa. The second sound wave is emitted from a
port at the base of the speaker enclosure.

Passive radiator enclosures are very similar to bass reflex units, but in passive
radiator enclosures, the backward wave moves an additional, passive driver,
instead of escaping out of the port. The passive driver is just like the main, active
drivers except it doesn't have an electromagnet voice coil, and it isn't connected to
the amplifier. It is moved only by the sound waves coming from the active drivers.
This type of enclosure is more efficient than sealed designs and more precise than
bass reflex models.

Some enclosure designs have an active driver facing one way and a passive driver
facing the other way. This dipole design diffuses the sound in all directions,
making it a good choice for the rear channels in a home theater system.
 The backward air compression and rarefaction caused by the active
driver push and pull on the passive driver. A speaker with a dipole
design emits sound waves in both directions.

These are just a few of the many enclosure types available. There are a huge range
of speaker units on the market, with a variety of unique structures and driver
arrangements. Check out this page to learn about some of these designs.

Alternative Speaker DesignsMost loudspeakers produce sound with traditional

drivers. But there are a few other technologies on the market. These designs have
some advantages over traditional dynamic speakers, but they fall short in other
areas. For this reason, they are often used in conjunction with driver units.

The most popular alternative is the electrostatic speaker. These speakers vibrate
air with a large, thin, conductive diaphragm panel. This diaphragm panel is
suspended between two stationary conductive panels that are charged with
electrical current from a wall outlet. These panels create an electrical field with a
positive end and a negative end. The audio signal runs a current through the
suspended panel, rapidly switching between a positive charge and a negative
charge. When the charge is positive, the panel is drawn toward the negative end of
the field, and when the charge is negative, it moves toward the positive end in the
field.

The diaphragm is alternately charged with a positive

current and a negative current, based on the varying
electrical audio signal. When the diaphragm is
positively charged, it fluctuates toward the front plate,
and when it is negatively charged it fluctuates toward
the rear plate. In this way, it precisely reproduces the
recorded pattern of air fluctuations.

In this way, the diaphragm rapidly vibrates the air in front of it. Because the panel
has such a low mass, it responds very quickly and precisely to changes in the audio
signal. This makes for clear, extremely accurate sound reproduction. The panel
doesn't move a great distance, however, so it is not very effective at producing
lower frequency sounds. For this reason, electrostatic speakers are often paired
with a woofer that boosts the low frequency range. The other problem with
electrostatic speakers is that they must be plugged into the wall and so are more
difficult to place in a room.

Another alternative is the planar magnetic speaker. These units use a long, metal
ribbon suspended between two magnetic panels. They basically work the same
way as electrostatic speakers, except that the alternating positive and negative
current moves the diaphragm in a magnetic field rather than an electric field. Like
electrostatic speakers, they produce high-frequency sound with extraordinary
precision, but low frequency sounds are less defined. For this reason, the planar
magnetic speaker is usually used only as a tweeter.
Both of these designs are becoming more popular with audio enthusiasts, but
traditional dynamic drivers are still the most prevalent technology, far and away.
You'll find them everywhere you go -- not only in stereo setups, but in alarm
clocks, public address systems, televisions, computers, headphones and tons of
other devices. It's amazing how such a simple concept has revolutionized the
modern world!
The telephone handset is defined1 as a "combination of a telephone transmitter and a telephone
receiver mounted on a handle." The transmitter electrodes and the carbon-granule cup must be
constructed so that the granules cannot fall away from the electrodes and open the circuit for any
position in which the handset is held; that is, the transmitter must be non-positional.

Figure 2. Construction of typical telephone handset transmitters, (a. Courtesy Western Electric
Co.; b. courtesy Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Co.)

Typical methods of construction are shown in Fig. 2. In each of these the diaphragm is formed
and placed so that it acts as the front electrode. The other electrode is at the back of the carbon-
granule cup or container. The cups are not filled entirely with granules because space must be left
for expansion of the granules when the temperature rises. The diaphragm of Fig. 2(a) is cone
shaped and ribbed so that it will be stiff and will move in and out somewhat like a piston. The
diaphragm of Fig. 2(b) is damped acoustically so that it does not vibrate excessively at certain
resonant frequencies.
A second type of handset transmitter is shown in Fig. 3(a). The diaphragm consists of two thin
aluminum-alloy cones. The two electrodes are separated by paper bellows. The frequency-
response curve is shown in Fig. 3(b).

Figure 3. Construction (a) and frequency response (b) of a typical telephone handset
transmitter. For the meaning of the word bar, see Fig. 9. (Courtesy Automatic Electric Co.)
The telephone transmitters of Figs. 2 and 3 are known as "capsule types" because they are made
as a unit and cannot be adjusted in the field. The characteristics of the handset telephone
transmitters are superior to those of the transmitter of Fig. 1.