In 2018, the first representatives of the zero generation will come of age. They grew up in a world where a wireless mobile phone has long become commonplace; most of them are used to treating a landline telephone with disk dialing as exotic. And those whose childhood and youth passed in the "home era", remember the advantages and disadvantages of such devices. Let's remember the features of such devices, as well as find out the history of their appearance.
The history of the appearance of phones
All centuries, mankind has dreamed of finding a way to quickly transmit information. The first grand breakthrough in this area was the invention of the telegraph. Inspired by this device, many dreamed of a device that will transmit not only signals, but also sound.
For the first time, the concept of the telephone and its name (a combination of the Greek words “far” and “voice”) were invented by the French mechanical engineer Charles Bursel in the middle of the 19th century. However, he did not go further than theory.
The first device, which can be considered a phone in the usual sense for us, was invented in 1860 by the American Antonio Meucci. As a pioneer in this field, Meucci tried to patent his invention, but he was ahead of Alexander Bell, who until 2002 was considered the designer of the first telephone. Being not only a great inventor, but also a great businessman, Bell managed to make a fortune on the phone. For many years he was a leader in this field. This was achieved not only due to the original ideas of the scientist himself, but also due to the fact that his company successfully bought and implemented the ideas and patents of others.
The first telephones were connected directly to each other. Because of this, subscribers could not call anyone else, which was very impractical. Subsequently, all devices began to be connected to the central station, in which telephonists distributed calls by numbers. Over time, this system became automated.
Inventing dial phones
The advent of the disk apparatus the world owes to the paranoia undertaker from Kansas City named Almon Strowger. During the next crisis, he decided that the decrease in the number of his clientele is due to the fact that the bribed telephone operator connects all the callers to the Strawger office with his competitors. He was right or wrong, the story is silent, however, in order to protect himself, the undertaker began to look for a way to make calls without the participation of intermediaries.
After six years of work on this project, in 1897, Almona Stroger's company introduced the world’s first operational disk telephone. The success of his invention was tremendous, and soon the undertaker's company became a serious competitor to Bella. However, Stroudger had cooled by that time to his idea. Favorably selling his patents, he retired to retire.
The first models of the disk telephone did not have openings for the fingers. Instead, special teeth were present on the apparatus. Only in 1902, the usual holes appeared, and at that time they occupied almost the entire circumference of the disk.
In the future, the company of Alexander Bell outbid Strouger's patents and began to produce a new model of devices.
The appearance of a disk phone in the USSR
In the Soviet Union, the first devices with disk dialing were introduced by order of V.I. Lenin in 1918 in the Kremlin. They were part of a secret government communications system and were called “turntables”. This term is still used in the meaning of "phone number of the boss."
Until 1968, in the USSR, subscriber numbers were hybrid, for this reason not only ten digits (0-9), but also letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, I were indicated on old disk phones , K, L).
Throughout the entire period of the existence of the Soviet Union, communication devices have always been in short supply, however, as well as obtaining their own subscriber number.
In the early eighties, devices with a disk set gradually began to be replaced by push-button analogs. Most often they were imported.
In the nineties, an avalanche of push-button telephones from China surged into the expanses of the former USSR, which were simpler and more convenient than their disk counterparts. For a decade, the latter have been almost completely discontinued. And with the advent of mobile and CDMA communications, landline telephony generally began to lose ground.
What is pulse dialing and how does it differ from tone dialing?
The main difference between a disk telephone and a push-button telephone was the mechanical dialing method - pulse. Its essence is that each of the numbers is transmitted to the PBX using sequential closing / opening of the telephone line - pulses. Their number corresponds to the number selected on the disk. In order to separate the number of pulses of one number from another, longer pauses were left between them. This principle resembles tapping Morse code.
In push-button stationary and mobile phones, everything is much simpler; for communication, tone signals of different frequencies for each digit are used here.
Button or disk dialing: which is faster
In addition to the tone, the disk telephone is inferior to the keypad and in the speed of communication with the subscriber.
The fact is that in the apparatus with the keys, the desired number is dialed in a matter of seconds by simply pressing the buttons. In the case of a disk phone, more time is needed. The fact is that to dial each of the numbers you have to turn the dial all the way and wait until it returns to its original position.
Modern analogue
Although today, devices with disk dialing have remained only in individual state organizations (without the means to replace them), as well as among the elderly, in recent years they have again begun to become popular. But not because of their functional features (in this category they have long been outdated), but because of the propagandized love of antiques.
Following modern trends, many companies today resumed production of disk retro phones. There is also a whole line of accessories with a disk device for smartphones, as well as programs that mimic this device.
It is worth noting that this demand is just a tribute to fashion and nothing more, since a push-button device still surpasses a disk phone in all respects.