"ameijers" wrote in message
...

"Goedjn" wrote in message
...

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.

I want a phone-set with buttons for the other four tone-pairs. :-(

Actually, the specifications for TT are a 4x5 grid, and the military was
somewhat involved in the R&D process. Back then, the dividing line between
Ma Bell and the Feds was rather fuzzy in spots. ATT long lines, and the
military phone system, were rather intertwined. Satellites and VOIP, along
with other companies actually owning outside plant and long lines/fiber,
have made things more distinct. I've seen the 2500 phones with the extra
buttons- they supposedly did magical things on the old AUTOVON network,
including seizing trunks when needed.

Yeah! AUTOVON. Mostly, when I was near an AUTOVON phone I was told
NOT to f**k with the right row of buttons. Not sure what they all did, but
you
could basically the planet (as far as our military is concerned). I'd
suppose louse
up my career too at the time. I'm thinking very early 1970's.

In my collection, I used to have a
2500 w/o the * and # buttons- not sure what happened to it. All the copper
parts were there for the two missing buttons- they just didn't put buttons
above them. Different top cover with the square holes, and 2 less buttons.

aem sends...
--
Herb