gpdewitt Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 1933 conventional wood frame over slab 1 story house in Long Beach, CA. Originally had knob and tube wiring. This is at the top of one gable end. Please ignore black wires, they are CATV. I'm not sure if this is electrical or what. I found no evidence elsewhere of a lightning rod system. Because of the low slope roof, I was unable to see this area in the attic. Anyone seen one of these before, know what it's purpose is? Click to Enlarge 38.38 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Corrigan Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 It's old phone wiring. Tom Corrigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Tom is right. It is old phone wire block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allseason Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Old phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Phones had wires on them, really? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Phones had wires on them, really? I'm so old, I remember the phone we had from 1956 to the early 60's, oak box on the wall with a crank on the side. Our number was 2 digits and a letter, 70L. You would pick up the handset and turn the crank to ring an operator, then tell her the number you were calling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Our were the black bakelite without a dial. You picked up the receiver, the operator would come on and say, "Number Please?" and you'd give her the number. Ours was 393. OT - OF!!! M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Lozier Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Yep.... and party lines, certain ring for your house, ours was one long, one short... phone #: 549J late 50's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Geez...I'm among a buncha old farts. [] Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Geez...I'm among a buncha old farts. [] Marc Marc, Do you remember the first TTY relays? My uncle's was the size of a small microwave oven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Geez...I'm among a buncha old farts. [] Marc Marc, Do you remember the first TTY relays? My uncle's was the size of a small microwave oven. Small microwave? My first one was 30" x 30" and weighed abt 100lbs! $1300 I lived on Beaver Island for a long time and we had party lines until mid 90's. Never even saw a dial phone until 1960. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Corrigan Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hi Mark' As a point of information: That wire was called "bridal wire". The early version was cloth insulated and was installed on the porcelain blocks shown in the picture. It took a long time to install. One Old Fart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 We had a party line in the mid 70's. Can you imagine having so little use for a phone that you could share a line? Ah, the good old days! Edit I was so busy answering phones while trying to type this that three of you managed to post first. Kinda ironic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Geez...I'm among a buncha old farts. [] Marc Marc, Do you remember the first TTY relays? My uncle's was the size of a small microwave oven. Yes indeed. They were provided for deaf students at the college I went to when I first started in 80'. Les is right. They looked like big typewriters. Very heavy. They actually worked better and were more reliable than some of the fancy electronic TTYs that came later. 'Relay' is the name of the service by hearing folks who help the deaf complete phone calls to hearing people. 'TTY' (teletypewriter) is the name of the device. I haven't use either for many years. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erby Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 I'd bet a couple of the old farts are so old they remember using the smoke signals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Ahern Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 This olde phart can remember: one phone,no dial-on a table in the hallway between floors. Two families shared. Maybe got one call per day. No TV. One big fancy radio in the parlor per floor. Shoveling coal from the chute/bin to the massive steam boiler. I'm not sure "those were the good old days"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Hockstein Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Occasionally I find a grey Bell Telephone transformer plugged into a wall outlet. My client asks me what it is used for and I explain that they used to need an electrical connection to provide power for the light-up dials in the old phones. It makes me wonder how much electricity is wasted in our country by unused transformers that have never been disconnected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Occasionally I find a grey Bell Telephone transformer plugged into a wall. My client asks me what it is used for and I explain that they used to need an electrical connection to provide power for the light-up dials in the old phones. It makes me wonder how much electricity is wasted in our country by unused transformers that have never been disconnected? Not much. The volt-amperes are small but because a transformer with an open secondary is mostly an inductive load the wattage is likely negligible. About the only power consumed is the hysteresis losses in the magnetic core which warms the transformer slightly. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Occasionally I find a grey Bell Telephone transformer plugged into a wall. My client asks me what it is used for and I explain that they used to need an electrical connection to provide power for the light-up dials in the old phones. It makes me wonder how much electricity is wasted in our country by unused transformers that have never been disconnected? Not much. The volt-amperes are small but because a transformer with an open secondary is mostly an inductive load the wattage is likely negligible. About the only power consumed is the hysteresis losses in the magnetic core which warms the transformer slightly. Marc huh? Marc, you make me nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Les, Don't you mean that if you weren't already nuts Marc would make you nuts? [] OT - OF!!! M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 It's a small token of sweet revenge...because for the first several months as a forum member everybody else was driving ME nuts. [] They still do...a little. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 It's a small token of sweet revenge...because for the first several months as a forum member everybody else was driving ME nuts. [] They still do...a little. Marc Marc, I would normally offer up some sort of pithy comment in response to what you said, but since you NEVER seem to understand my sense of humor . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Stay the course John. Don't give up on me yet. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Stay the course John. Don't give up on me yet. Marc Okay. I promise . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.