Vintage North American
Telephone Sounds & Recordings

 

Over the course of telephone history, there have been many different analog telephone switching systems used in North America - primarily the Step by Step, Panel & Crossbar switches. By the late 1990's, most of not all of these switching systems were long gone, but not forgotten! Before these switches were torn down for scrap metal, many people including myself collected the sounds produced by these unique and wonderful systems. Enjoy the sounds of yesteryear here at the Vintage Telephone Sounds section.

Vintage North American Sounds Index

Automatic Electric Step by Step
Various recordings of Step by Step (Strowger) equipment including dial tone, ringback, reorder & busy from GTE (Automatic Electric) switching equipment.

Stromberg-Carlson XY
Various recordings of Stromberg-Carlson XY switching equipment including dial tone, ringback & reorder.

Western Electric #1 Crossbar & #5 Crossbar
Various recordings of Western Electric (Bell System) Number 1 Crossbar (#1XB) and Number 5 Crossbar (#5XB) switching equipment.

Canadian Step by Step Recordings
Various recordings of Canadian Step by Step equipment.

Private Collector Step by Step Switch Recordings
Various recordings from three different Step by Step switches owned by a private collector (FTR-Kellog, Stromberg-Carlson XY and AE).

Miscellaneous Vintage Recordings
Other vintage recordings not elsewhere categorized.

Main Sounds Index Pages

Modern Telephone Sounds Main Page
 Vintage Telephone Sounds Main Page
 International Telephone Sounds Main Page
 Miscellaneous Telephone Sounds Main Page

Copyright 2006 Diamond Mine Online - Fredericksburg, VA USA
Page last modified November 22, 2006
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