gonesouth

I've got a memory test for somebody. Back in 1973 I was involved in a system installation as an NBTel customer. It was an office PBX and we converted from an old style plug and push switchboard with RCA plugs to a 'modern' system. You're going to laugh and the young guys will think I'm on crack, but you programmed the new sysytem by putting pins in holes in a circuit board. So, for example, for LD restriction there was a card with a 10 x 10 grid of holes, and if extension 23 was to LD restricted, you put a pin in the second row, third hole. The pins were like a regular strait pin for sewing, only with a round plastic head. There was a card or six for every feature. Basically, when someone dialed something the system went through all the cards, checked if any pins were there in a card which changed or restricted anything, and then placed the call.

For a place with 70 extensions, you had a box about 6ft high by 10 ft long by 3 ft wide.

Now, can anybody remember what it was called? It was a Northern Telecom unit, but I don't know what it was.

Thanks