Nuts & Volts Strowger Switch cover

DigitalBob

It was good to see I'm not the only that tinkers with these older switches. I only have one and it's fully functional. I believe it's a selector and I was able to dig up most of the drawings and schematics for it.

tritonium

Hi

Pictures- links?
you've got my interest- used to spend all day overhauling those in the old days in uk.

dave

erco

WOW, what a calliope, amazing that they worked so long and reliably with all those flexing wires moving about.

Must get one!

DigitalBob

This is a quick photo I haven't tinkered with it in a while. I'll dig out the data I don't remember but I think it's a western electric and 99% sure it was a selector. I have the gray metal cover too. These are quite complex machines it has many sequenced contacts. Some coils hold their magnetism after the power is gone.
I rigged it with a pulse phone off hook it jumps up several stacks and if you dial a digit it cuts over the number of places that match the digit.

erco

Nice piece. What a way to learn your ABC's!

DigitalBob

The switch has 10 vertical stacks and 10 rotational contacts. The way it works is when I'm off hook it will jump to the first stack but if I hot wire the first stack as busy it will jump to the next stack and so on. When a number is dialed it rotates to that position a 5 would be contact 5 etc.
Place the phone on hook it resets. I don't have a line finder or connector switch. You need one line finder five selector switches and one connector switch to dial a seven digit phone number. You really don't need a line finder that just connects your home phone to a central office line that isn't busy when off hook. In a demo your only using one or two phones. I haven't had time to build a dial tone, busy or ring back generator.