Thread: Any Idea?

Found this in the master bedroom. Nothing on it to identify it. Home was built in '64. No plumbing or wires found on the exterior wall, attic or crawlspace. Home buyer didn't seem to care, but my inquiring mind wants to know. Any thoughts?

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Maybe some kind of retainer that would hold the door open? Imagine a pin on the door that would engage in the hole. Just a guess.

75 ohm coax someone ran through wall with a coax gasket (often seen outdoors imbedded in a caulk ring) in a telephone jack ring; instead of proper mounted termination box with plate containing female/female coax connector.

Originally Posted by Todd Belverstone

Found this in the master bedroom. Nothing on it to identify it. Home was built in '64. No plumbing or wires found on the exterior wall, attic or crawlspace. Home buyer didn't seem to care, but my inquiring mind wants to know. Any thoughts?

This is from back in the old "Bell System Days". It is a wall outlet for a telephone station cable that went through the hole. Inside, had you been able to take it off, you would have seen the screw terminals and a separate screw to hold the cable strain relief clip.

In the day, before 1970 +/-, Bell South, Indiana Bell, Northen Bell and all the other Bell companies owned the phones, we only rented them from Bell. A Bell service man came to your home to wire each phone to one of these boxes. The old cable that ran from the wall to the phone was about 1/4" dia, thus the large hole. Pop off the outer ring and the old phone lines are probable still there. I do not remember when the 4-pin plug-ins started in use.They allowed you to move the phone (only the well-to-do had more than one phone) to other rooms.

Originally Posted by Don Horn

In the day, before 1970 +/-, Bell South, Indiana Bell, Northen Bell and all the other Bell companies owned the phones, we only rented them from Bell. A Bell service man came to your home to wire each phone to one of these boxes. The old cable that ran from the wall to the phone was about 1/4" dia, thus the large hole. Pop off the outer ring and the old phone lines are probable still there. I do not remember when the 4-pin plug-ins started in use.They allowed you to move the phone (only the well-to-do had more than one phone) to other rooms.

Back then, in the old days, I started out by working in the local telephone Central Office. We did all the work in the central office to establish a new telephone number and connect it to the cable going by the house. Most people had black phones, those on welfare all had colors.

We always had a black phone until the mid 60's. I had a good job while in high school and purchased (signed a rental agreement with Northern Bell) to have a blue "touch tone" phone installed at our home. I think I got it as an anniversary gift. Cost me $5.00 a month.
I lived in St. Paul, MN -- Was it Northern Bell or Northwest Bell? Been too many years.

I wonder with all the technology available if the pups of today will still remember useless stuff? First phone number TI8 6834 (Tilden). Probably not. I remember when the touch tone phone was the huge technology because you could dial the radio station (WCAO AM Baltimore) faster than your friends with rotaries. Don't post any more pictures like this. I'll start thinking I'm getting old.

Originally Posted by Thom Walker

I remember when the touch tone phone was the huge technology because you could dial the radio station (WCAO AM Baltimore) faster than your friends with rotaries. .

.
Not if I pre dialed all but the last # and had the dial twirled up on the last digit ready to let her lose.

Originally Posted by Billy Stephens

.
Not if I pre dialed all but the last # and had the dial twirled up on the last digit ready to let her loss.

Only if that last digit was a "1" did you have a fighting chance. Anything else and Touchtone (TT) was faster. If it was "0"---
"Fuhgeddaboudit".

Remember when you could dial "TIME" ? " At the tone the time will be....." Or how about "Dial a Prayer"? And then there was that annoying fluctuating sound when you left the phone off the hook too long - sounded like a malfunctioning police siren !

In the 50's our number was 624, same number as our street address. There were three families on the same "party line". Each had a different ring, one, two or three rings. You could tell if some one else was on the line and listening in on your call. Now days, "Big Brother" records everything that you say or post. Maybe the good old days were better?

Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by Jim Hintz

Remember when you could dial "TIME" ? " At the tone the time will be....." Or how about "Dial a Prayer"? And then there was that annoying fluctuating sound when you left the phone off the hook too long - sounded like a malfunctioning police siren !

We had "Time", and "Receiver Off Hook" (ROH) tone, but I guess we didn't need help as you West Coast folks must have---didn't have "DAP ".

What was really neat was when you picked up the phone someone asked "Number Please". Got to know a few of the Operators just by their voice. It was sad, and lost the personal touch of a friendly voice, when got modern with Dial Tone. Oh well......

Originally Posted by Rich Goeken

We had "Time", and "Receiver Off Hook" (ROH) tone, but I guess we didn't need help as you West Coast folks must have---didn't have "DAP ".

What was really neat was when you picked up the phone someone asked "Number Please". Got to know a few of the Operators just by their voice. It was sad, and lost the personal touch of a friendly voice, when got modern with Dial Tone. Oh well......

I'm about an inch from remembering her name. I can almost here my mother saying "........., give me Thelma") I have a different recollection of the color phones. It was a symbol that my Dad was moving up. We got a private line first. Then we got a color phone AND an extension line, then a touch phone. Status was easier then, or at least cheaper.

But, the two phones I remember best are the black "desk model" phone my grandmother still had at the time she died and the first 3 watt cell phone I got. Either could have doubled for a murder weapon and both worked really well for their intended purposes.

Waxing nostalgic is the bee's knees. Just don't make me go back and live that way. I like my stuff!

Originally Posted by Rich Goeken

We had "Time", and "Receiver Off Hook" (ROH) tone, but I guess we didn't need help as you West Coast folks must have---didn't have "DAP ".

What was really neat was when you picked up the phone someone asked "Number Please". Got to know a few of the Operators just by their voice. It was sad, and lost the personal touch of a friendly voice, when got modern with Dial Tone. Oh well......

My Mom was a telephone operator in Aberdeen when she met my Dad in 1950. Everytime I think of it, Lily Tomlin comes to mind !

Originally Posted by Jim Hintz

My Mom was a telephone operator in Aberdeen when she met my Dad in 1950. Everytime I think of it, Lily Tomlin comes to mind !

Gracious, is this the party to whom I am speaking?
I often say that when I call someone.
If they know what I'm saying, it gives away their age.

Thanks for all the info... and memories. I can relate to almost all the stories (I didn't know any operators). I grew up with a rented phone, but I guess we were modernized by the the 70's. One of my first solo driving adventures was turning the phone back into the Bell store.

Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell

Gracious, is this the party to whom I am speaking?
I often say that when I call someone.
If they know what I'm saying, it gives away their age.

We're "OLD !"