I’ve decided on my Easter weekend project… I need to swap the position of two #phoneExchange cabinets in my shed, so I can set up the one I’m taking to #emf2024 as though it’s installed on-site

I’ve measured, it’s possible… but involves moving about 15 heavy crates full of GPO relays, 7U of network equipment, 2 #strowger exchanges, an #isdx PABX, several reels of cable and other miscellaneous stuff I’ve forgotten about!

Perhaps this needs to be a time lapse video of some kind

Help!

Does anyone have an ISDX (preferably an isdx-mn) that's running V3.2 of the OS?

Both my boot floppies are bad and throwing checksum errors.

v3.2 is super old! This dinosaur is in captivity, not in regular service, but I'd like it to run again.

If anyone has either a boot disk they can lend me, or a working system that they would be willing to clone a boot disk from - please let me know, I have blanks!

pls boost!

#telecoms #telecom #isdx #siemens #plessey #telephoneExchange #pabx

5 years ago (yesterday) I took delivery of a new #shed to use as a #workshop for my #telephoneExchange collection.

Today it’s full of exciting junk, some of which even works!

It’s got 4 #strowger exchanges, an #isdx and a load of aging #ciscoVoice kit.

Total capacity is nearly 200 lines!

There are shelves full of spares down one side, and shelves full of #phones and test gear down the other.

The bench is covered in my current project, waiting for the weather to improve so I can paint it!

I've spent a happy couple of hours running 4 new #phone lines from one side of the #telephoneExchange shed to the other.

There's not a lot to see (just some new outlets on the wall behind the #isdx) but I think this is the first bit of #telephony I've done in the shed in months.

It means I don't have to drape the #modem cables across the doorway any more!

I’ve spent over a year been looking for a Mk1 operators console for my #isdx #TelephoneExchange

I finally got one a few weeks back, but before I start trying to wire it up to the #PhoneExchange I wanted to give it a once over, and #GetTheBatteriesOut if needed!

It all looks good, no obviously leaky caps, no battery to remove, most of the chips are date coded 1986.

I’ve put it back together, and now I can proceed with sorting out the exchange end!

#phone #telephone #telecoms #vintagePhone

The acrylic insulators are held in place by a pair of roll pins.

I’ve just spent a satisfying half an hour or so using a vice, a nail, and a socket set (as a spacer) to push the pins out of one side. I could then remove the insulator, and move it over to the other broken card puller.

I’ve now got one fully working card puller instead of two broken ones!

Not that I’ll ever use it, the cards come out just fine without the special magic tool!

2/2

#isdx #TelephoneExchange

These devices are “card pullers” for removing PCBs from an #isdx #TelephoneExchange

The pins locate in holes on the card, and the acrylic insulators press against the chassis. You then squeeze the handle and frame together, and the card unseats from the backplane so you can remove it.

The acrylic bits are prone to snapping off as they rattle about in the back of the van, and it’s rare to find a complete one of this style these days!

I have collected two broken ones...

1/2

Behold! The majestic rarity that is the ED 2.88MB #floppyDisks used by my #ISDX #TelephoneExchange

There are even some diagnostic disks in here that “might” work with the firmware revision mine is running!

This is beyond exciting!

Combined with the spare drives I scored today, these will allow me to back up my running config before I lose the lot by fiddling with it!

Oops! I appear to have come home with the operators console, and an enormous quantity of spare PCBs and cables for my #isdx #TelephoneExchange

More importantly, there are also two spare 2.88Mb ED #FloppyDrives in there, it’s taken nearly a year to track some down!

I've been poking at the documentation for my #ISDX #TelephoneExchange with a view to making up some cables... and... I think this might be the craziest pinout I've ever encountered.

Numbering a matrix of pins as ABC/1-14 fine, I can understand that.

But:

Pair 1 = C3+A4
Pair 2 = C4+A5
Pair 3 = A8+B8
Pair 4 = C11+A12
(etc)

How on earth does that make any sense?

I can't buy the connectors anyway, and premade tails seem to be £20 each, so it doesn't matter... but still!

#Telephone #Telecoms