AUTOMATIC TELEPHONES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1639, 4 January 1913, Page 4

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONES.

SIX EXCHANGES TO. BE EQUIPPED, The PoistroMtoir-.G©nerfll Informed o, Dominion' reporter yesterday l that thi Government had called tendore : for full ; automatic equipment for thoi telophono, exchanges ot Auckland, , Wellington; '>; Blenheim, Hanulton,' Masterton, and;';'• Oamaru. Tenders are to oloso on May I next. Three companies, that'manufacture!, apparatus of this kind have bocij invited'. '. to submit tenders. ■ Tho equlpm'onfcs', fos Auckland and Wellington/will bo for Bonioy. '. thousands of linos each, while the re*. ;"''■■ quiromoiits or tho other/smaller, plaocff named will- bo met by'-installations'of; 4,-\. few hundrod lines in each caso.' ■:'.■:■■ ■'-. . V '.-.- Tho two cities of Wellington nnd AjicKji > land haw practically outgrown' tho,ulti-<v.-:■': junto capacity of tho existing class o{p : ' switchboard, and tho oldor portions of tliqi:' , board'are much, worn, To provide, for 'i .'• -.'; hew- subscribers* it has boon deoided.-.tat, abandon tho introduction of more ?■'. switchboards,. aud\w-ith that object autoi niatao apparatus to ncoommodata 500 suw scribors for each of tho places named bc»n ordered, and is duo,to arrivo in tho Dominion within two or three ; weeks! when a start >yill bo at buco madoto'gctl it ready for operation. -■'■' ■'.'; Tho smaller places;referred to have at ; present wry,inferior appliances, and' as,;, now apparatus is necessary'it-has been/:-'.. decided to equip with what is considered' to l)o tho most efficient system. Thoro oro, other places that also require new to-bi phone exchange equipments. These, how-, over, aro less urgent and,will reooivo ow eidorotion later," "<■'.■ , . ' - ,-• , Tho .citiosiof Christchurchi and Duhcdiri t haw not yc-t reaohed the ultimate capacity ■' of their present switchboards. It is there!,; fore possible, for them, to carry, on for « while longer, but it is considered that.itho introduction of tho automatic. 6ystom ttl ; those plaocs would effect both ec6njiny . and improvement in tho e|rvico,-an(f it is hoped that it will bo pojbible to: bstal the full automatic system at no wry 'di* tnnt date.■;. ■■■•'. ■'■•'-,''■'•-':■'''''".', At tome of i tho exchanges at present working on tho earth return system,"ori rangements havo ' been mndo/to install metallic circuits so soon as matp.rial; ! can/; . bo provided.' This will, in some instances, bo dono by means of armoured cable la'd; in.trenches, or where circumstances wat><; I rn.ut,m suitoblo conduits. i 1 ;.'.- '..'.!