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Telephone Era in Alberta >>
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The Network >> Switchboard
The first telephone lines connected two points, such as Major
Walker’s lumberyard and office in Calgary. To allow callers to
connect to a number of different telephones, a switchboard was
needed.
The first switchboards were small battery-powered units which
depended on an operator to link the calling party to another
customer.
The operator made the connection by placing linked ring and tip
plugs in the appropriate jacks on the switchboard. The earliest
‘drop boards’ had a small hinged plate above each jack. The plate
was released to drop down when the caller signalled. Later boards
had buzzing sounds and lamps to indicate that someone wanted to make
a call.
The operator would crank a magneto to send the ringing signal to
the telephone receiving the call. In small towns, the operator knew
everyone and callers would ask for people by name. In larger centres,
callers would ask for the number being called.
Manual switchboards were used in smaller towns such as Fort
Saskatchewan and Camrose until the 1950s.
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