TOM Telephone

[John McNamara]

The telephone at Top of the Mountain is back in service. Many thanks to those who restored the wire a few weeks ago and to James Napilini who helped me today. 🤗

[Bill Reidy]

That's great news, John.  Thanks!

Mike's been busy burying the wire on the north end of the Mountain Extension.  That should protect the wire in that section.

How many rings for Trout Brook?

[John McNamara]

How many rings for Trout Brook?

Four

[Bill Baskerville]

Long or short?

[Paul Crabb]

I would think 4 long as Sheepscot is 1 long, AC is 2 long, and TOM is 3 long at least by the cheat sheet I have.

[Roger Cole]

Reminds me of when I was a child and we were on a party line.  Our ring was one long and two shorts.  The younger generation won't have any idea what I'm talking about.

[John Scott]

We had the same and it provided a great means of keeping up with local gossip ....... !

[Bill Baskerville]

Ditto John from another old timer

[Benjamin Richards]

Reminds me of when I was a child and we were on a party line.  Our ring was one long and two shorts.  The younger generation won't have any idea what I'm talking about.

Some of us have an idea...My grandmother likes to reminisce about eavesdropping on the party line in her neighborhood...had to be very careful about the receiver "clicks".

My wife's family owns property on Loud's Island and there was a party line there before lightning destroyed it. There is still an old directory hanging in the living room, probably 20+ entries. Our house is 4 long.

[John McNamara]

There is still an old directory hanging in the living room, probably 20+ entries. Our house is 4 long.

You'll feel right at home at Trout Brook! 

[Russ Nelson]

Are we using magneto phones with a local battery? Or is the battery supplied at the Sheepscot end? How far can we go with our cable? How many volts will we have by the time we get to Trout Creek? I'm guessing that it's 18 gauge twisted pair direct burial? So we're up to about 90 ohms. It looks like a phone will work as long as it is getting between 6 and 12 volts at about 30 milliamps. So if we supply 12v, by the time it gets to Trout Creek, it will be 12 - 90 * .030, or 9.3V. Should be plenty.

[John McNamara]

We are using magneto phones with a local battery. The on-train telephones are U. S. Army Field Telephones.
From https://olive-drab.com/od_electronics_ee8.php:
The U.S. Army Field Telephones EE-8, EE-8A, and EE-8B is a portable field telephone designed for use on either local or common battery telephone systems. The talking and signaling range varies with the type of wire used, the condition of the wire (dry, wet, frayed) and whether the wire is on the ground or in the air. As a local battery telephone, a talking range of 11 to 17 miles is typical, suitable for Corps area usage. (Emphasis mine)