DIYbanter - View Single Post

In article ,
(Beachcomber) wrote:

If you wanted a lighted dial, then the installer would use the yellow
and black wires for a lighting circuit and wire these to a plug in
transformer somewhere in your house

To this day, I encounter these from time to time. Many are still plugged-in
but haven't been needed for YEARS.

(The birth of the very first wall warts!)

HA! I never thought of that but you're right: When those "dial light"
transformers began service, they were the ONLY "wall wart" in a house - for
many, many years.

I heard that sometimes, these would catch on fire.

I got in on the tail end of this debacle.

The new "lighted dial" Princess then Trimline phones required a separate A.C.
transformer for their dial light power. I'm not sure how many years after the
wall warts first appeared, but some years later, The Bell System contracted
with a company named "Ault" to manufacture these little "warts". I don't know
how much time elapsed but, due to more than a few meltdowns and fires, The
Bell System launched a *HUGE*, massive, nationwide "Ault Transformer
Inspection" program.

At some point touch-tone became available, but Illinois Bell stuck you
with an extra 70 cents per month to be this modern.

Did you know that, for the first couple of years, there was no * or # on
the Touchtone keypad? They were 10-button phones. The * and # were added
early on but did *NOTHING* for YEARS - until Call Forwarding and Speed Dialing
became available as Central Offices were upgraded to electronic switches.
--

JR