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  1. Overview

    A telephone switchboard is a device used to connect circuits of telephones to establish telephone calls between … See more

    Telephone switchboard - Wikipedia

    • The switchboard saw the peak of its use in the 20th century before wider adoption of the electromechanical automatic telephone exchange. The automatic exchange, invented by Almon Strowger in 1888, has replaced most switchboards in central telephone exchanges around the world. See more

    History

    Following the invention of the telephone in 1876, the first telephones were rented in pairs which were limited to conversation between the parties operating those two instruments. The use of a central exchange was soon f… See more

    Operation

    The switchboard is usually designed to accommodate the operator, who sits facing it. It has a high back panel, which consists of rows of female jacks, each jack designated and wired as a local extension of the switc… See more

    Further reading

    • "Telephone" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 547–557.
    • Atlanta Telephone History: Part 1 - Early Telephone Service especially the section from 1905 on.… See more

     
  1. The Rise and Fall of Telephone Operators - HISTORY

  2. How did an old telephone switchboard work? What was an

  3. The Rise and Fall of Telephone Switchboards

    Apr 1, 2024 · In 1877, about a year after the invention of the telephone, the Boston, Massachusetts-based Holmes Burglar Alarm Company installed the first telephone switchboard. With the help of an operator, the switchboard could …

  4. The Life of a Telephone Operator in 1969 (with special …

  5. Telephone exchange names - Wikipedia

  6. Switchboard operator - Wikipedia

    The switchboard operator was a person who manually connected calls by plugging and unplugging cords on the switchboard. The role of the switchboard and operator was important because they were responsible for connecting …

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  7. Telephone Switchboard Operators: Rise and Fall

  8. ELI5: How did phone operators work in the past? : r ... - Reddit

  9. A Nation United by Telephone - SPARK Museum

    In the manual switchboard era, operators physically connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. “It took a special person to navigate customers while pulling switches,” says Jon Winter, Museum co …

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    • Old School

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