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I mean Dusty, Charlese and a few others around here are older then dirt. Must be Fossils

reible wrote:You would dial 0 to get the operator, a reserved number.

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Ed

jsburger wrote:

reible wrote:Not sure when that started but the letters Q and Z are not on phones. Zero of course isn't used so 9 digits and 24 letters........

Ed

Really? 1-800-xxx-xxxx. Please explain. In this case we are talking long before dial phones. I do understand a lot of the conventions before dial phones found their way into the dial phone era. Today, I have no idea what the conventions are. Probably not anything what it was like in the 50's-60's.

Ok, Q was reserved (I guess) but when you still had to dial zero in a number it was zero. As I remember I only got the operator if I dialed 0 first. After that it was part of the phone number. Please correct me if that is wrong.

I have the same phone.

I remember the local lumber,etc company's phone # was R 41. Our party line in the country was 3169. Ring was 3 longs and a short.

You are correct John, just 0/zero got you the operator, 411 was information.

You have to go back to the discussion where we were talking a digit and a letter = possible number of phone numbers. If you dial zero you got the operator so it wasn't really a viable beginning digit. The letters Q and Z are not on the phone so they don't work either thus the discussion. So out of the set of numbers it is less then it might first seem. The discussion is only valid for the set of a number and letter ie 7R works but 7Q would not etc.

{1-9}{a-p,r-y}


Ed

[/quote]

Ok, Q was reserved (I guess) but when you still had to dial zero in a number it was zero. As I remember I only got the operator if I dialed 0 first. After that it was part of the phone number. Please correct me if that is wrong.

I have the same phone.[/quote]

reible wrote:You have to go back to the discussion where we were talking a digit and a letter = possible number of phone numbers. If you dial zero you got the operator so it wasn't really a viable beginning digit. The letters Q and Z are not on the phone so they don't work either thus the discussion. So out of the set of numbers it is less then it might first seem. The discussion is only valid for the set of a number and letter ie 7R works but 7Q would not etc.

{1-9}{a-p,r-y}


Ed

Ok, Q was reserved (I guess) but when you still had to dial zero in a number it was zero. As I remember I only got the operator if I dialed 0 first. After that it was part of the phone number. Please correct me if that is wrong.

I have the same phone.[/quote][/quote]
Ed you are correct from my memory with a dial phone back then.

charlese wrote:My favorite phone was one with no dial. When we picked it up and found no one else was using the line, we got an "Operator". She always asked "Number please". We'd give her the 4 digit number we wanted to call and we were then connected.

If I had to call my dad's office that actually had an exchange, I'd say to the Operator, Haymarket 4234. When the rotary phones came along, had to dial, HAY 4234.

Remember the two handed ones?

Think 'candlestick'.

Q looks too much like O or 0.

Z looks too much like 2.

Ok that leaves 24 letters, but they are located over the 2 thru 9 holes.

You can use all those 24 characters for exchange 'names', but there are three possible letters for each hole.

Notice the exchange 'names' are no longer used? They are redundant. The limit of possible unique numbers has nothing to do with those 24 characters. Rather it has to do with those 8(+2) holes.

1 and 0 are reserved for use as the initial 'number' only. Long distance and operator.

They are used for any subsequent number.

So 6 digits gives one 1,000,000 possible numbers.(not really practicle, think 000000)

Besides I think the first three digits are still the 'exchange' id.

Include a seventh starting number(2 thru 9) and you have 8,000,000 possible numbers.

That's the math as I see it, but the switching gear is likely not capable of all those combinations especially the stepper relay variety.

I am sure Ed can point out any errors.

Electronic switching is less inhibited(about anything goes).

jsburger wrote: So Charlese here is what I don't understand (bear with me). My grandfather bought the H. F Ball planing mill somewhere around 1950. It had been there a very long time. He gave me a rosewood square in the early '50s that had owners marks on the brass and the rosewood "H. F. Ball".

After all that here is the question. The phone number on the thermometer is 4-J. I can not find any history of that type of phone number. Any ideas?

My guess is H.F. Ball had an operator with a switch board in the mill. Grandfather's extension number was 4-J. In the 50's there were rotary phones like the one pictured above. 4-J was a "fancy" way to show extension 45. Or maybe the company's switchboard only had single digits along with an alphabet.

When my wife worked as a nurse in the local hospital (late 50s) she got to releve the switchboard operator during breaks. She said it was fun!

If you are really interested in the phone number system go here and read all about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ame ... ering_Plan

Feel free to call me at 555-0190 if you have any questions.

Keep in mind that in the older days like in my home town the telephone office was in a home. A few racks of equipment and a switch board and that was it. You always had to talk to an operator. If the line was in use it wasn't uncommon for the operator to call you when the other connection was dropped to see if you still wanted to make that call. Calls in and out of town were limited to just a few lines so making a "long distance" call was not always easy.

Bad/Good news was more then likely going to be in the form of a telegram then a call. When my dad died in the Woods Veteran Hospital the telegram was in the mail box at the postoffice, in a yellowish envelope. When was the last time you got a telegram?

Our town also had a phone before electrical power and even then it was limited to certain areas. On my moms side they moved from the Chicago land area to Montana with a land grant, conditions were really bad but they stuck out the 6 years there then moved to northern WI in 1922. The farm there still did not have grid power in 1947 when my grandpa died. Cost to run the lines was too much. When my grandma moved to town a few years later it was pretty exciting to have electrical. One of my uncles held out into the early 1970 before they got grid electrical at their farm in an even more remote area.

It wasn't until 1954 or so that we got running water/indoor plumbing, we had a cistern pump at the sink but I don't think that counts as running water. Ah the advantages of being rural.

Ed