Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Don H Kemp Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Panel (ugh!) Switches Message-ID: <8439@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 30 May 90 12:29:50 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 28 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 398, Message 4 of 13 From article <8250@accuvax.nwu.edu>, by john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon): > Jack Winslade writes: >> I've been fascinated with the panel switches (Ma Bell's answer to Rube >> Goldberg) ever since seeing an aging one in action back in 1971 or so. > Panel was almost universal in San Francisco and Oakland up until the > early 70's. Obviously, exchanges added in the '50s onward were > crossbar and later, ESS, but there was a substantial penetration of > these impressive machines. Having grown up in Oakland, I'll never > forget the sound of the phone. Ah yes, panel! In 1965 (or so) I worked in San Francisco's Market CO, where we had the best of all worlds. At that time there were (as I recall) two panel offices, two #1 crossbar, and one #5 crossbar. The panel offices took up more than twice the time that the three others took. I can still recall having to poke around finding a stuck rod to release it. Once in a while an entire bank would drop at once. The crash seemed to shake the entire floor. Don H Kemp B B & K Associates, Inc. Rutland, VT uunet!uvm-gen!teletech!dhk