SLOT TELEPHONES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 130, 18 June 1937, Page 13

SLOT TELEPHONES

Timing Devices Now Universal .n i * twr -The Post Office has almost completed the equipment of slot telephones -with a timing deviee imposing a three minute limit on the length of a conVef sation for a penny. To continue beyond three cninutes involves payment of another penny, and this is operating eifectively in restricting indefinitely long chats which may prevent the Uso of public call offices for Utgent mes sages. Except for the clockWOfk mochanism, every part of this deVice is uianufactured in the departmont 's workshops, and it Was designed by its olHeerSt Dfoppiiig in a penny to Open a Con vofSation trips a catch,- setting the, clockwork in motion. It can be heftriJ tickiiig away quietly until just before the end of three minutes when a mild btizzing reminds the callei: that further payment Will be necessary if the conversation is to continue There is no limit on the use of the slot tele phone, but every three minutes has to bo paid for. Over 800 timing devices have been fitted to existing public call telephones operating through autOmatic oxchanges, and there is no need for this ingenious mechanisni in conhection with manually controlled exchanges, because, the operator checks the duration of a call, A sitailar time-checking systena has been designfed by the department fdf use iil thfeepOnny slot telephOnCS. A l-athcr difiicult problefli was presented by the fact that the thfeepehny bit is fcoo light to opefate any device with eertainty, However, this pi'oblem has been solVed by reinfofcing through electrical means the delicate i3resSure exorted by the Woiglit of tho eoiii,