I’m the last guy to critique the look and feel of operator consoles. I’m not the guy who says “lookie… at this sleek and modern design of a set that doesn’t do anything significant” crap
This set (again found off an eBay listing) is an operator console for ROLM based PBX systems. Despite the last patch of their flagship 9100 systems probably of two decades; some sets are still in use.
This Toshiba PBX Console was made for another system they sold before they focused solely on the Strata. From my research, in the midst of their business, they had the key system known as the Strata and a PBX system that could hold more than 300 stations. This console was incompatible with the smaller Strata
I have to say, the AT&T 301 and 302 would win on any console UI or looks any day!
You thought Avaya would be off the hook (non pun intended) right?
Nope! It would defeat the purpose of being the equal opportunity offender.
This console was made in the early 1970s for the Bell System’s Dimension PBX (and smaller versions most likely for the Horizon system.) The console was a weird design consisting of a shoebox form factor.
To the right of the set had only eight characters alpha numeric LED display. The console is filled with many indicators (the design at the time.) The console was very primitive for it’s time. No call appearances for overflowed calls. The buttons above the dialpad did act as such but they were referred (IIRC) as loopback lines.
Even stranger, as with many consoles at the time, would require a straight up, direct line from a special console port on the PBX to the location of the console. What was it’s connector? You guessed it, a 25 pair Amphenol plug!
While the Dimension console did in fact have BLFs with buttons, it was a seperate option and was located on the top, picture shown above.
In the mid to late 1980s, AT&T remade the set – took away the wood grain decal, mainstream of office telephones of the time, and made it jet black, to match the Merlin-like sets of the time as this console went into System 85 PBX line. If research confirms my out of experience of that PBX, the only attendant console, had to be one that was hard wired to the PBX. Unless with some reversed engineering, and some creativity, one could theoretically take AT&T’s ISDN console that was identical to the 302s, put it as an ISDN set and do it that way.
The Definity G3r succeeded the System 85/Definity G2 (aka a band-aid Dimension) in the mid 1990s. Release 5 was intended to be the combination of the 2 PBX systems, after all it’s core roots dates back to when the Bell System marketed the thing. Of the many fundamental changes, what retained were desksets, carriers, etc.; what went away was some of the user interfaces, the notorious MAAP to program the system, and the hardwired attendant console. A 302 could replace it via a 2 wire (2 pair if you wanted power coming out of the wall’s) voice drop and be affiliated in a DCP line over a dedicated attendant port. The only set that would continue with button caps at this point in the late 1980s lead into the 302 set to have similar clear plastic overlay for designation keys.
It’s strange the console given its “electronic” ability, could very well be mistaken for being some electrical box like an ol Call Director or 10 to 30 line set.
It’s one of those “I so just don’t want to remember this set”
Of the worst attendant consoles to exist on this planet, the vintage Northern Telecom would win hands down.
Joe the UCX Guy had featured this console and used it during his days while he attended Purdue.
These switchboards or consoles were tied behind a central office switch such as DMS series or the carrier grade PBX – the SL100 (which I believe is different than the original SL1.)
In short, central office services are much less feature rich and thats why it has little functionality.
But why in the hell it’s so honking big is beyond me. It’s one of the many consoles of those days that required a 25 pair Amphenol cable to function.
This one is a little more tolerable, it looks like an ACD console, but it’s an operator console. Fujitsu marketed an F9600 PBX in the 1990s, some customers took advantage of their offerings. (The City of Nashua, NH is one of the local users I can name off.)
The BLF is rather interesting because it’s something you expect from a Japanese made Key Telephone System. The DESI-d buttons looks like an equivalent to the Hundreds Group Select.
What’s also common with many of these consoles is how “dumb” they are. The time of day is essentially a local desktop clock on a phone. Some of the consoles have those little buttons similar to your car to change the time. So they couldn’t pull time of day information from the PBX itself.