While enjoying 2016 Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque In New Mexico, I visited the Telephone Museum of New Mexico.
Early Telephone Equipment was on display. Suppose the two top switches is movable contact arm and the rows of lamps are contact points mounted on wooden board with electrical connections on the back of board. Rotating or moving the arm over different groups of contacts does what a wafer switch connection would do today. These individual connection pins on top of board seemed to be spring loaded to push upward against contact arm.
Bottom is fiber optic cable light signal input through hole in metal collar where light sensitive diode connected to two pin jack output allows electrical conversion of light signal. This was very short connector only a few inches long. It was round and seemed to have five holes to put fiber optic line to line up with internal diodes.
What happened to SERVICE minded Bell Telephone Company? Bell Telephone service was the best telephone I ever had and I remember when the company was broke up.
Answer I got was Bell Telephone men made the first transistor, that wonderful invention. The American government wanted more access to Bell Company transistor use and broke up the company into seven groups to end Bell Telephone Company. Your great invention gets you put out of business.
