Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: jimmy@denwa.uucp (Jim Gottlieb) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Toll Stations...One More Time! Message-ID:Date: 13 Aug 89 07:01:56 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Reply-To: Jim Gottlieb Organization: Info Connections, West Los Angeles Lines: 31 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 294, message 7 of 10 In article gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia. edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes: >And, of course, the one I've been asking about all week! >2) If they're running a cable out there to hook up a toll station, why not > just wire them right into the switch and assign them a telephone number > like any other telephone subscriber? There are others who know more about this than I (i.e. joe@mojave.cts.com), but since they have not spoken up, I'll pretend that I know what I'm talking about. Many toll station lines are in fact not a pair of wires or even a cable. They are run on what are called "open wire" lines. It is a single thick piece of wire. Ground is used as the second conductor. These wires may often serve several toll stations in the area, with different ring patterns for each station. So to start serving an area with a real switch, a real cable must often be run (if only for the few pairs necessary to set up a remote switch) a distance of 50 to 100 miles. I have a tape recording of a call made on one such phone shortly before it was replaced with automatic service. If I can find the tape, I will put it up on a number that people can call to hear how wretched these things sound(ed). -- Jim Gottlieb E-Mail: or or V-Mail: (213) 551-7702 Fax: 478-3060 The-Real-Me: 824-5454