Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway
From: morris@jade.jpl.nasa.gov (Mike Morris)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Telephone History: For Sale?
Message-ID: 
Date: 24 Sep 89 08:08:37 GMT
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X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 401, message 3 of 5

Kent Borg  writes:
>
>My question is where might I buy an 11-hole Stowger dial phone, or a
>Western Union clock?

Well, if you find a source of clocks, let me know...  I want one too.

As to the dial, 11-hole dials were used as late as WW2 in Colins transmitters.
I'm kinda surprised that a navy radioman hasn't popped up to say so.

As late as 1971 my local community college amateur radio station had a
surplus Navy TDH-4 transmitter made by Collins - complete with the
"Autotune" option.  The "autotune" used a 11-hole dial labeled
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0-A, and the A was used to select the modulation
mode.  For example, to set the system to 7.255 Mhz in AM, youd dial
7-2-5-5-A-3.  After about 15 seconds of
"whirrrrr-clunk-whirrrrrr-clunk-ka-chunk-ka-chunk- whirrrr-clunk",
etc. every stage would have been tuned.  Just the thing for 90-day
wonders that couldn't remember to adjust the grid circuits for a peak
and adjust the plate circuits for a dip in the current meter.  And
don't forget to switch the meters to the stage you're adjusting!  To
set it to 7.055 Mhz, using morse code you'd dial 7-0-5-5-A-1.  To lock
it in continuous transmit on 3.999 Mhz you'd dial 3-9-9-9-A-0.

The numbers were not hard to remember due to Collins adopting a
standard descriptor that was already in wide use: the FCC allocation
descriptions.

The TDH-4 was a 2-18 Mhz transmitter, another model was 15 (or so) to
30Mhz.  Autotune was available on a lot of different radios.

The FCC allocation descriptions use A for amplitude modulation and F
for frequency modulation.  A table can be found in any edition of the
Radio Amateur's Handbook, available in most libraries.

Anyway, a _LOT_ of those old monsters (The TDH-4 was 6' high, 3' deep
and almost 6' long - literally built like - and _for_ a battleship)
have been scrapped.  The dials show up every so often in surplus
stores or amateur radio swap meets.

I still want a WU clock.

Mike Morris                      UUCP: Morris@Jade.JPL.NASA.gov
                                 ICBM: 34.12 N, 118.02 W
#Include quote.cute.standard     PSTN: 818-447-7052
#Include disclaimer.standard     cat flames.all > /dev/null

[Moderator's Note: You still can't purchase either of the two I own. Did
you know with careful calibration of the pendulum set-screw, and by leveling
the clock very carefully when it is first hung, the discrepancy can be kept
to a minute per month or less, even without the clock service. Really!  PT]