9:20 "This machinery will work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, clattering on year after year until new electrical discoveries replace it." They got that prediction right.
What the GPO achieved with electro magnetic/mechanical switching, was nothing short of fantastic. Even then, though,they knew it would be replaced. Great old film!
5:32: I remember working in a drawing office in about 1990; on one side were the old boys with their drawing boards and well-used but trusy tools of the trade; on the other, the youngsters using the CAD systems. Yes, modernisation/progress was on its way, but I still enjoyed watching the draftsmen at work.
To Brent Fischer & Jamie P That electronic background hum you both mention adds an atmospheric spooky quality to this film. May be unintended, but it's very nice. Reminds me of Twin Peaks when Dale Cooper is dreaming, and is in the white lodge, the red room with the dancing dwarf. Black (White) Lodge - part 1
fantastic! Wonderful to see the intro sequence of abstract visuals by ( the modernist sculptor) Laszlo Moholy-Nagy; vision of the sexy art deco future!
I started at the good ole GPO in 1975 too as an Operator, (Northwich Cheshire).. yes good old days I loved my job and carried on with BT. I am still friends with my 1st engineer boyfriend...he is 71 I am 65...we had fun in the (re)(Peter) station😉.. as I say as that is his name. Nothing like working on cords..computers didn't do it for me,but tech moves on..fantastic streams..I am engrossed watching..very clever mechanicals... .you engineers certainly knew your stuff that's for sure !
Well now I know why our touch tone phones in the 80s/90s had the pulse/tone button... Because at least some exchanges still had mechanical machines relying on those pulses. That's pretty crazy!
6:00 nice roof top views of pre war 1933 London, but did this beautiful new telephone exchange survive the Luftwaffe air raids 8 years later? much of the area around St Paul's seen in the film suffered total destruction.
@@martinbaines -- The Faraday Building is in the south-west of the City of London. It was originally built as a sorting office for the General Post Office. In 1902 it was converted to a telephone exchange serving sections of London, and underwent several capacity expansions over the next several years. In 1933, a new section was added on the western side of the building, over doubling the size of the building as a whole. The section was built to house the International Telephone Exchange. The new section included a raised central portion with decorative turrets which was highly controversial at the time as it blocked the view of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Thames River. This led to a new law that restricted the height of new buildings in London to protect the sightlines of the Catherdral.
The headlamps used 50volts DC from the exchange supply, jack sockets were mounted on the equipment racks @8.16 you see the engineer plug in his lamp, soldering irons also used these 50v sockets.
Not sure about the UK, but there are some museums and even private collectors that have these classic mechanical exchanges. The connections museum in Seattle, Washington has both mechanical and electronic switching equipment on display including a small community version of the type of equipment shown as well as the equipment used in larger exchanges here in the US of the panel and Crossbar type.
Such modern science! I noticed - maybe for the film sensitivity - that they must have used a lot of face foundation and powder on the guys, as non of them had a 5 o'clock shadow. No hint of whiskers.
The Brits must have been well ahead of AT&T..or the dates on the old films are misleading..the 1932 AT&T films were proud of the maze of cords and jacks that those poor operators had to utilize!
disoriented1 Actually the US and the UK were contemporary with each other in the telephonic biz. You may have seen a manual exchange in a newer AT&T (or Bell Telephone/Western Electric.) film but bear in mind there were manual exchanges in both the US and the UK untill the 1960s! The first US automatic dial exchange in the US was installed in the 1890s! By the 1930s dial exchanges rapidly expanded in both countries.
"Frerrrtfully porsh!" "One two thriii four ferrrrve... One two thriii four ferrrrve... One two thriii four ferrrrve... " Being TOO well spoken is almost as bad as speaking with too broad an accent: "Sorry? Did you mean *five?*"
The GPO used to interview the time of day announcer for a voice that was (I forget exactly how they said it) most typically English. In England and America, it seems it was always a woman's voice that announced the time.
In the background of the audio I can hear an electronic tinnitus sound similar to the phone line. Is that part of the original film or was it added in by the uploader to make it sound more phone-like?
I vote no, having to dial my own call, next thing I'll be asked to scan my own groceries and bag them myself. I don't know anybody's phone number now. I just ask Google to call and it rings, just like the operator that only knows how to say collect or person-to-person, a strange thing still available with unlimited calling everywhere now the pay phones are gone everyone carries their own little personal tracker.
9:20 "This machinery will work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, clattering on year after year until new electrical discoveries replace it."
They got that prediction right.
Love the intro with Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary. Very British.
This is very well shot and edited. Thank you for sharing.
What the GPO achieved with electro magnetic/mechanical switching, was nothing short of fantastic. Even then, though,they knew it would be replaced. Great old film!
5:32: I remember working in a drawing office in about 1990; on one side were the old boys with their drawing boards and well-used but trusy tools of the trade; on the other, the youngsters using the CAD systems. Yes, modernisation/progress was on its way, but I still enjoyed watching the draftsmen at work.
Rather arty and UFA-like for an educational film. Excellent!
Now all they have to do is stop the scam calls.
Excellent movie, Uniselectors as they are known were used by the Post Office and British Telecom well into the 1980's!
To Brent Fischer & Jamie P
That electronic background hum you both mention adds an atmospheric spooky quality to this film. May be unintended, but it's very nice. Reminds me of Twin Peaks when Dale Cooper is dreaming, and is in the white lodge, the red room with the dancing dwarf. Black (White) Lodge - part 1
fantastic! Wonderful to see the intro sequence of abstract visuals by ( the modernist sculptor) Laszlo Moholy-Nagy; vision of the sexy art deco future!
Slide rule. I’m old enough to remember using one.
This is beautiful. Thank you.
Some of the first computers were made using surplus telephone exchange equipment.
Brings back so many memories! Thanks.
That flute was hilarious. 😂
I know LOL
"One two three four five ... one two three four five ..." Sounds like it should be in a Kraftwerk tune.
That's hilarious! Definitely worthy of a reply 4 years after your comment. 😉
Thought the same thing!
I started at the good ole GPO in 1975 too as an Operator, (Northwich Cheshire).. yes good old days I loved my job and carried on with BT. I am still friends with my 1st engineer boyfriend...he is 71 I am 65...we had fun in the (re)(Peter) station😉.. as I say as that is his name. Nothing like working on cords..computers didn't do it for me,but tech moves on..fantastic streams..I am engrossed watching..very clever mechanicals... .you engineers certainly knew your stuff that's for sure !
Well now I know why our touch tone phones in the 80s/90s had the pulse/tone button... Because at least some exchanges still had mechanical machines relying on those pulses. That's pretty crazy!
and some phone companies made you pay more for touchtone. the t/p switch was to save money.
This has an eerie creepy mood about it somehow
6:00 nice roof top views of pre war 1933 London, but did this beautiful new telephone exchange survive the Luftwaffe air raids 8 years later? much of the area around St Paul's seen in the film suffered total destruction.
Amazingly it did. It's the Faraday Building and is still there and still used by BT.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_Building
@@martinbaines -- The Faraday Building is in the south-west of the City of London. It was originally built as a sorting office for the General Post Office. In 1902 it was converted to a telephone exchange serving sections of London, and underwent several capacity expansions over the next several years.
In 1933, a new section was added on the western side of the building, over doubling the size of the building as a whole. The section was built to house the International Telephone Exchange. The new section included a raised central portion with decorative turrets which was highly controversial at the time as it blocked the view of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Thames River. This led to a new law that restricted the height of new buildings in London to protect the sightlines of the Catherdral.
I remember slide rules (and pencils, and eyeshades...) too. Fine documentary; oddly unsettling at times. That tin-whistle playing is...well...uh...
Cool. When is this newfangled dial service coming to my community?
Looks futuristic to me now.
Calling Dr. Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard!
The English accent has changed drastically
Great Archive, I would be worried about wearing a head bulb with 240v swimming around my head lol
The headlamps used 50volts DC from the exchange supply, jack sockets were mounted on the equipment racks @8.16 you see the engineer plug in his lamp, soldering irons also used these 50v sockets.
The narrator sounds like Peter Lawford.
Ahhhh, the good old days.
Does anyone know what happened to all this wonderful old equipment...hope some was kept for future generations to see.
Not sure about the UK, but there are some museums and even private collectors that have these classic mechanical exchanges. The connections museum in Seattle, Washington has both mechanical and electronic switching equipment on display including a small community version of the type of equipment shown as well as the equipment used in larger exchanges here in the US of the panel and Crossbar type.
Most of it got Scrapped
There are dedicated museums - search on line
With a title like that, I expected more action from Mr. Dial.
great video of prehistoric times. wow
@ 11:55
Who said custom phone ringtones were a modern invention? This bloke's got it *already*
Such modern science! I noticed - maybe for the film sensitivity - that they must have used a lot of face foundation and powder on the guys, as non of them had a 5 o'clock shadow. No hint of whiskers.
Not a lot had changed in 1980 when I joined the telephone company.
This was all high quality equipment built to last
fantastic.
Clarke - March For The Prince of Denmark, Trumpet Voluntary in D
3:34 That's a lie! All somebody speaking the Khoisan click languages has to do is say hello and the exchange would dial Australia! :D
No, sound wouldn’t operate the switches; you had to break the circuit.
04:00 would made a perfect car alarm.
Thanks for sharing!
Excellent film note 12:36 how the operator is using pen with a rubber end so not to wear out the dial
More likely it was so as not to wear out the operator's finger
3:25 - Car burglar alarm going off.
it's a number station.
The Brits must have been well ahead of AT&T..or the dates on the old films are misleading..the 1932 AT&T films were proud of the maze of cords and jacks that those poor operators had to utilize!
disoriented1 Actually the US and the UK were contemporary with each other in the telephonic biz. You may have seen a manual exchange in a newer AT&T (or Bell Telephone/Western Electric.) film but bear in mind there were manual exchanges in both the US and the UK untill the 1960s! The first US automatic dial exchange in the US was installed in the 1890s! By the 1930s dial exchanges rapidly expanded in both countries.
very good
Check out slide rulers
"Frerrrtfully porsh!"
"One two thriii four ferrrrve... One two thriii four ferrrrve... One two thriii four ferrrrve... "
Being TOO well spoken is almost as bad as speaking with too broad an accent: "Sorry? Did you mean *five?*"
The GPO used to interview the time of day announcer for a voice that was (I forget exactly how they said it) most typically English. In England and America, it seems it was always a woman's voice that announced the time.
In the background of the audio I can hear an electronic tinnitus sound similar to the phone line. Is that part of the original film or was it added in by the uploader to make it sound more phone-like?
Every video from this time Has lots of background noise
Probably dust that collected on the audio strip of the original film years ago
I vote no, having to dial my own call, next thing I'll be asked to scan my own groceries and bag them myself. I don't know anybody's phone number now. I just ask Google to call and it rings, just like the operator that only knows how to say collect or person-to-person, a strange thing still available with unlimited calling everywhere now the pay phones are gone everyone carries their own little personal tracker.
OMG what is that flute noise!!!! seriously???!
Thats one broken dial 😂
I think it’s one that wasn’t completely built yet
Reckon I’ll skip ⏭ the flute part! 😐