My new buttset 2

[mikeydidit]

One of my guys found this in a ceiling of one of our old buildings. I want to say that part was initially built in the early 30's. I have no idea how old this thing is but the markings are

Bell System
made by
Western Electric

How old you guys think this is??

Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
Thomas A. Edison

For the best response to a question, read faq690-6594

 

[cvrbob]

i used one of those in the 60's & 70's for Pac Bell

 

[edfair]

AT&T guys were using ones just like it on the long lines floor in Atlanta when I was pulling cable in 1957. But that one has to be older based on the leads.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

lol - I love finding stuff in the ceiling but usually it's stuff I left there (I'm happy to get it back). It's never something THAT cool.

I bet it works as good as new - or can easily be made to...

 

[dagwoodsystems]

It looks very similar to the Western Electric pin dial 1011B set. You can buy a companion for $30 on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Western...0714617QQihZ013QQcategoryZ58339QQcmdZViewItem

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com

 

[SYQUEST]

It is a Western Electric 1011B hand test set!

Here is some information about the one pictured above from the Western Electric Card Catalogue No. 310.

AUGUST 31, 1966 NO. 1011A & B HAND SETS
Intended for installer's and repairman's use.
Each consists of a soft rubber handle containing apparatus as listed below, and a talking and monitoring switch connected so as to shunt out the capacitor when in the talking position.
Arranged to accommodate a KS-16360 snap for carrying the hand set on a lineman belt. The snap must be ordered separately.
No. 1011A: For use in manuals areas.
Contains:
F1 transmitter unit
P44E818 receiver unit
W2BT cord (connected externally)
No. 361C capacitor
Apparatus blank
No. 1011B: For use in dial areas.
Contains:
F1 transmitter unit
P44E818 receiver unit
W2BT cord (connected externally)
No. 361C capacitor
No. 103A dial
---------------------------------------------
The 103A dial was also called the "pin dial", because you could use an "orange stick" or small screw driver or similar tool to dial a number.

I believe the 1011A & B test sets were introduced in the late 1940s (unless someone has more accurate data).

There were other hand set models: 1011C thru G, but those were all equipped with a 6A dial and a 52D dial adapter to fit the rubber handle and various cord terminations.

In the early 1970s WESTERN ELECTRIC replaced all the 1011 series with the 1013A and the 1014A hand test sets.

The first Touch-Tone™ test set manufactured by Western Electric was introduced Post-Divestiture 1985. The models were 1015A & B and in addition to Touch-Tone™, could also dial pulse and had other features. Feature wise it was almost a copy of the original Harris/Dracon TS21 hand set.

A little Telephony history from the 20th century.

....JIM....

 

[dagwoodsystems]

Jim-

As always, you have an incredible wealth of information. Thank you.

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com

 

[dagwoodsystems]

Another piece of interesting history (from what I've read) is that the terms "butt-in" and "butt-out" were telco terms that made it into common English. A "butt-set" was used to butt in and out of conversations on live lines. A butt-set is also sometimes referred to as a "buttinsky".

According to James Stettler of the Bell System Memorial website (

http://www.porticus.org/bell/telephones.html),

the butt-set was named after it's inventor, Buttinsky. But I've searched the United States Patent Office to verify this and have come up empty-handed.

I have also seen it spelled as "buttinski", which gives it a Slavic or Polish twist. A search using that spelling offers results from dictionary.com ("a meddler" or "person that interferes with the the affairs of others") as well as some unverifiable tall tale about a fellow who offers bad advice when unneeded (

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Buttinski).

The British have an equivalent coloqialism for buttinski, a "nosy parker". I love that. From now on, I'm calling my buttset a nosy parker.

Tim Alberstein

http://www.dagwoodsystems.com