Telecom Antiques: Name That Crimp

Next door neighbours get shockingly poor BB performance. BT Wholesale
rates the line at 0.256Mbps, whereas we are rated at 3.0Mbps as are the
next people down. There are only 3 houses in our "street", served from
the same pole at the back of the houses.

BT says there's "nothing" to be done.

Steered neighbour into going for free second line, replacing the current
ancient socket and jumble of splitters / extensions etc.

We've already had the chat about shorter, better quality connections and
simplifying the mess, and I understand BT can elect to reassess the line
quality for 10 days or so at the exchange, but these are individual
battles not worth having when she's happy to have a new line and shift
the lot (including AOL BB) to BT.

Abandoning principles for practicality, but ho-hum.


Anyway, wandered out to have a look where the line enters the house, to
find this:


http://tinypic.com/r/29xwupg/6


What could possibly be wrong with that?

On 21/01/2010 14:12, R. Mark Clayton wrote:
> "seani"<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Next door neighbours get shockingly poor BB performance. BT Wholesale
>> rates the line at 0.256Mbps, whereas we are rated at 3.0Mbps as are the
>> next people down. There are only 3 houses in our "street", served from
>> the same pole at the back of the houses.
> SNIP
>>
>> http://tinypic.com/r/29xwupg/6
>>
>>
>> What could possibly be wrong with that?
>
> Scotchblock connector I think...
>

That's nothing. I've got 13Mbps running through this relic. I think they
are surge arrestors? (Overhead line)

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/IMG_2832.jpg

--
Adrian C

On Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:23:47 +0000, Adrian C wrote:

> On 21/01/2010 14:12, R. Mark Clayton wrote:
>> "seani"<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> Next door neighbours get shockingly poor BB performance. BT Wholesale
>>> rates the line at 0.256Mbps, whereas we are rated at 3.0Mbps as are
>>> the next people down. There are only 3 houses in our "street", served
>>> from the same pole at the back of the houses.
>> SNIP
>>>
>>> http://tinypic.com/r/29xwupg/6
>>>
>>>
>>> What could possibly be wrong with that?
>>
>> Scotchblock connector I think...
>>
>>
> That's nothing. I've got 13Mbps running through this relic. I think they
> are surge arrestors? (Overhead line)
>
> http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/IMG_2832.jpg

Ye Gods. But if it ain't broke...

Adrian C wrote:

>
> That's nothing. I've got 13Mbps running through this relic. I think they
> are surge arrestors? (Overhead line)
>
> http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/IMG_2832.jpg
>

Nope. They're fuses. I can't remember the rating.
The box also has mountings for "Carbons" (protective spark gaps) at the
left hand end, but they aren't fitted. This stuff dates from the days of
multi-span open wire distribution. The fuses and carbons saved many
phones from incineration in lightning storms.

On 21/01/2010 18:14, Peter Andrews wrote:
> "Gaius"<bin@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
> news:4b587c99$0$2487$(E-Mail Removed)...

>>> http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/IMG_2832.jpg
>>>
>>
>> Nope. They're fuses. I can't remember the rating.
>> The box also has mountings for "Carbons" (protective spark gaps) at the
>> left hand end, but they aren't fitted. This stuff dates from the days of
>> multi-span open wire distribution. The fuses and carbons saved many phones
>> from incineration in lightning storms.
>>
>
> My copy of Telephony Vol 1* (Atkinson) describes it on page 285 (Fig 416) as
> 'New Type of Subscribers Protector' fitted with a pair of 2.5A fuses.
>
> Peter
>
> *how sad is it that 45 years later I've still got a copy on my bookshelf!
>

Cripes, that thing is older than me.

--
Adrian C

Len Hickman wrote:

>>
> But do you still remember that tingling sensation between the ears as
> you climb up through 6 8way arms of open wire in the rain when someone
> is ringing a line on the route?
>
> 75v ac is not nice in the wet!
>
> Len

And do you remember the same on a METAL pole - 75V gives a mighty belt !
(There were a few tubular steel poles around at one time).

Peter Andrews wrote:
> "Gaius" <bin@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
> news:4b587c99$0$2487$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Adrian C wrote:
>>
>>> That's nothing. I've got 13Mbps running through this relic. I think they
>>> are surge arrestors? (Overhead line)
>>>
>>> http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/IMG_2832.jpg
>>>
>> Nope. They're fuses. I can't remember the rating.
>> The box also has mountings for "Carbons" (protective spark gaps) at the
>> left hand end, but they aren't fitted. This stuff dates from the days of
>> multi-span open wire distribution. The fuses and carbons saved many phones
>> from incineration in lightning storms.
>>
>
> My copy of Telephony Vol 1* (Atkinson) describes it on page 285 (Fig 416) as
> 'New Type of Subscribers Protector' fitted with a pair of 2.5A fuses.
>
> Peter
>
> *how sad is it that 45 years later I've still got a copy on my bookshelf!

A mere child. Page 927 of my copy of "Telegraphy" by T.E. Herbert (1930)
shows its predecessor ("Combined protector heat coil, and fuse fitting
for two lines")

That's 80 years......

"Wibble" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "seani" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Next door neighbours get shockingly poor BB performance. BT Wholesale
>> rates the line at 0.256Mbps, whereas we are rated at 3.0Mbps as are the
>> next people down. There are only 3 houses in our "street", served from
>> the same pole at the back of the houses.
>>
>> BT says there's "nothing" to be done.
>>
>> Steered neighbour into going for free second line, replacing the current
>> ancient socket and jumble of splitters / extensions etc.
>>
>> We've already had the chat about shorter, better quality connections and
>> simplifying the mess, and I understand BT can elect to reassess the line
>> quality for 10 days or so at the exchange, but these are individual
>> battles not worth having when she's happy to have a new line and shift
>> the lot (including AOL BB) to BT.
>>
>> Abandoning principles for practicality, but ho-hum.
>>
>>
>> Anyway, wandered out to have a look where the line enters the house, to
>> find this:
>>
>>
>> http://tinypic.com/r/29xwupg/6
>>
> Connector Dropwire 2A
>
>

and they do not contain a fuse:

http://telecomsupplyline.ltd.uk/catalogue/overh.htm

Paul

"Gaius" <bin@127.0.0.1> wrote in message news:4b58dacf$0$2521$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Len Hickman wrote:
>
>>>
>> But do you still remember that tingling sensation between the ears as you climb up through 6 8way arms of open wire in the rain
>> when someone is ringing a line on the route?
>>
>> 75v ac is not nice in the wet!
>>
>> Len
>
> And do you remember the same on a METAL pole - 75V gives a mighty belt !
> (There were a few tubular steel poles around at one time).

I saw an Openreach engineer round here working with the latest high-tech kit
(at least I hadn't seen one before)

A 20 foot telescopic tapered pole for untangling aerial dropwires from trees.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

Jim wrote:

> I have a similar box on my line, but with a double-pole knife-switch in
> place of the fuses - hence the terminals shown in the picture. Would
> your Atkinson have a description of that? I couldn't find one when I
> searched before on the BT/GPO archive sites. The boxes have what looks
> like a test jack at the line end - just visible in the photo - so it's
> really a predecessor of a NTE5! I wonder why the GPO went later to a
> Junction Box with no test access.
>
> It's internal to the building (terminates drop-wire), and quite solidly
> constructed. Doesn't seem to have any effect on my broadband!

The knife switch is probably just blank fuses (strips of metal). What
look like test access jacks are the mountings for the "Carbons"
(protective spark gaps). Carbons were often removed in later times, as
the spark gap could go low insulation and cause more faults than the
lightning it was supposed to guard against. There was no need for test
jacks as such - the means of testing the line or subs. cabling was to
pull the fuses (or blanks) and test from there.

It may be that you have an earlier variety, which is even larger.
Introduced about 1930, I believe.

Just as well to leave it in place - modern lines don't have any
equivalent. The NTE5 provides some of the function, but not all.