strowger telephone switches

These "step by step" switches were used in many telephone exchanges around the world before the advent of digital technology.
This is just a small demonstration unit, but a typical central office would've contained several large racks filled with switches.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• strowger
• sxs
• telephone
• exchange
• phone
• analog
• analogue
• mechanical
• electromechanical

[hightechelec]

I had to fix these ancient pieces of junk as late as 1981- for DataPoint. The oldest switch I know of is (was) just off 3rd street in San Francisco- whose sole purpose was Candlestick Park. Strowgers! Argh! The smell of ozone was thick in the air!

[Jamiep84]

@hightechelec What year was the San Francisco switch from?

Just a few years ago, there were reportedly some in Havana, Cuba still in service which dated from 1912!

In the USA/Canada, I'm told the last working Strowger system was shut down in 2001, unless anyone knows different?

[chantry55]

I worked on these switches for over 30 years I did the last sxs extension in ontario (terace bay. Ioved these old central offices

[Arabhacks]

I also worked at Datapoint, infoswitch section!

And, in a lot of countries south of the border electromechanical switches are still in use.

When the earthquake hit Mexico City it took out the main XYX tandem office!

What is in there now is an ultra modern crossbar switch!

The cellular system operates totally independent of the land lines, in fact there is a surcharge to call any cellphones from the land line system and vis a vis.

99% of all payphones are now on the wireless network.

[NerdForMIT]

@hightechelec piece of junk that still works, not we have these digital switching units and they fail constantly. surely i don't like to many things mechanical but i don't expect the reliability from digital. example the POTS is still the five 9 when it's come to reliability.

[wog222]

@tanglediver I would love to see a working 10,000 line exchange in action.

[JR9979]

@matkovicha has been switched over to a DMS10 remote,  if you go to the Phonetrips website you can hear recordings of the step switch in action only months before the replacement was to take place.

[matkovicha]

@Jamiep84 I know there was one operational in Nantes Quebec in 2001, I am not sure of the status now.

[tanglediver]

I worked step switches for 2 years. I'll tell you what, after the first three days of working in a 10,000 line exchange, I woke up in the middle of the night screaming from the migrain headache caused by all the noise. However, the quickest trouble-shooting was always done by "listening to the sound of the switch". You could tell by the sound when a switch was not right. Thanks for the video. :) Gotta check those "C" wipers!! ;)

[AbuAvital]

early 1960 I visited two telephone exchanges and saw banks of these switches, it was magic to a young boy.