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BSRS - Bell System Repair Specifications

Incredibly hard to find documents. Formerly D-series BSPs. Scope and plan: "These documents are primarily intended for use in Western Electric Company Service Centers in the repair of apparatus and equipment removed from Telephone Company plant." As documents are scanned and added to the Library, they will be filed here: BSRS  Thanks for the scans to Astrid Smith - Connections Museum, Seattle (THG). OCR by TCI.

Each document uses a novel issue control process, updating each page individually. An index page has an issue number and date, with the current revision level of each page in the document!

Categories for Automatic Electric Catalogs and Brochurres

 Browse the Library > Document Repository > Catalogs, Manuals... > Automatic Electric > AE Catalogs

 Browse the Library > Document Repository > Catalogs, Manuals... > Automatic Electric > AE Circulars/Brochures

Shortcuts: AE Catalogs, AE Circulars/Brochures

SWITCHERS!  Find switching documents faster.

Use these Menu Bar entries:
   Browse the Library > BC Switching Library > Western Electric > WE Switching Docs
   Browse the Library > BC Switching Library > Automatic Electric > AE Switching Docs

Updates Wanted for “Dials and Pushbuttons”
by Stanley Swihart


The TCI Library provides a page to collect comments and new original research related to areas covered in this monumental 584-page dial reference.
Go to "Dials and Pushbuttons"

Thanks to Terry Michaels for contributing 29 issues of "AT&T Radio Notes," spanning 1959 - 1966. More issues and more periodicals are welcome.
Go to "AT&T Radio Notes"

Western Electric Card Catalog, ca. 1989

Thanks to Astrid Smith, Connections Museum, Seattle (THG), a database of over 18,000 cards in over 500 categories, and dating from 2/28/1913 to 9/30/1989 is available on their site here: http://catalog.spmh.us/

Also available here: https://www.telecomarchive.com/cc/ (OCRed pdf's) Thanks to Sam Etler.

Filenames in the index indicate Category, Part Number, Card No for part, Card Date. e.g.
  ringers, , 1, 1964-04-30.jpg
  ringers, , 2, 1985-11-29.jpg
  ringers, C4A C4B C4C, 1, 1983-04-29.jpg

Where:
  ringers, - card catalog section heading
  C4A C4B C4C, - list of coded part numbers that apply (i left out color codes)
  1, - card number, in the sequence for that part number
  1983-04-29 - date of issue of the particular card

Where the part numbers field is blank, that's supposed to be the
front-matter for that section.

Use a Control-F search in the index to help find a keyword, category or model number of interest.

Also see the related TCI Library pages: WE Card Catalog and Northern Electric Catalog Cards. Links are under "Browse the Library" in the black Menu Bar.

 Bell Laboratories Record Cumulative Index

Chuck Hensley has compiled a complete index covering material in all BLR issues!  (September 1925 - December 1978)

This monumental 422 page work was completed by scanning individual index documents, appending them into a single file and sorting them by keyword.  It is fully searchable by keyword, making research a lot more effective.  Thanks Chuck!

Find it by searching for Complete Index BLR
Go to the Complete BLR Index

Bell Laboratories Record articles

There are a lot of scans from Chuck Hensley's collection of BLR magazines in the Library.

You can easily navigate to the BLR folder by starting at "Browse the Library" in the menu bar and selecting Document Repository / Catalogs, Manuals... / Western Electric / Bell Labs Record.

Shortcut: https://www.telephonecollectors.info/index.php/browse/document-repository/catalogs-manuals/bell-system-we/bell-labs-record

HINT:  A neat way to see articles on a topic in chronological order is to go to Search / Basic Search and enter a BLR subject query using a keyword or keywords describing a topic of interest.  This is great for researching the evolution of products or services. For example:

  • BLR Dialer
  • BLR Picturephone
  • BLR PBX
  • BLR Payphone
  • BLR Speakerphone

Experiment with other subject keywords.

(If you enter these queries in the search box in the upper right corner of the window, the results will be sorted with Newest additions first.  You can change ordering to alphabetical to sort the results in chronological order.)

Ericsson Historical Documents

Product Catalogs from 1886-1976, LME Review issues from 1924-2003, annual reports, and other publications can be downloaded directly from the Ericsson site:
https://www.ericsson.com/en/about-us/history/sources

 


New User?

Read the articles under "Introduction" in the black menu bar above.

Recent Contributors

Thanks for new documents from Ed Palazzo, Bruce Patterson, Jon Kolger, Paul Ivester, Len Hicken, Paul Fassbender, Fred Haynes, Kurt Rudolph, Wade ("Kellogg KITT"), the Connections Museum, Rick Walsh, Jeff Lamb, Jeremy Walters, Mark Cuccia, Alan David, Harry Joseph, Charlie Terry, Karl Brose, Dennis Hock, Tim Griffin, Remco Enthoven, and Steve Cichorsky.

Please send a file to add your name to this list!

30 Latest Additions

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Hints for using the TCI Library

"Menu Bar" for site navigation.
Many menu choices are hidden until you mouse over words in the black Menu Bar (above).  If you want help getting started, see the links under the word "Introduction" in the Menu Bar.
 
The user interface is oriented toward the user’s choice to either Browse or Search for information.  The Browse the Library menu entry offers many quick links to move around the Library quickly.  Try it!

Three search options.
The Library’s keyword-based searches, called Basic Search and Advanced Search, accept keywords as short as 2 characters (WE, AE, etc.) and search strings up to 255 characters.  If you get more than 1,000 items, refine your search or try the Google Search option.
 
When selected from the Menu Bar, Google only searches for files in the TCI Library.
 
Library INBOX.
The INBOX may hold some files that have been submitted but not fully processed into the Library.  These are often topics of current discussion on the TCI Email Group. Items in the INBOX are not found using Basic or advanced searches, but ARE found by a Google Search.
 
Remember to check the INBOX if you don't find something with the other searches.
 
Finding BSPs.
Many BSPs are currently only identified by BSP number. If a text search doesn’t produce a BSP, try looking in one of the many BSP index documents to find a BSP number for the product you are researching just as you would do if referencing a paper library of the BSPs. Then enter the BSP number in the search box.
 
Finding CDs and SDs.
Some related CDs and SDs are filed in different areas. Try searching for just the numeric portion of the name.  Remember to check the INBOX if you don't find something with the Basic or Advanced searches -- or use the Google search.
 
Compact Category Listing.
When browsing, to change the category listing view from normal to compact, click on Browse the Library in the black menu bar.
 
To change from compact to normal view, click on Document Repository in the drop down under Browse the Library.

 

 

Telephone Collectors International was incorporated under the laws of the state of Kansas on May 13, 1986. The goal of the organization is "to educate the public, as well as the members of the Corporation, regarding the history of telephony, the value of old telephones and related items, their collectability and preservation; to research telephone history and publish and provide literature thereon; to promote the public exhibition of old telephones and related items; and to promote common courtesies and guidelines for use by the public." Telephone Collectors International is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization, to which U.S. tax deductible contributions can be made.