Irishwashguy
There was something a little more 'real' about the old electromechanical exchanges. The modern Irish/British ring tone generated by digital switches is just fairly dull and always sounds exactly the same. The old equipment in service through the 1970s and early 80s was a little quirkier each switch behaved a little differently.
The digital equipment's great, reliable, high tech etc etc, but it's just a big load of boring looking computer cabinets all operating silently.
I always find it amazing that the old crossbar, rotary and step-by-step switches kept the world talking for so long. They were amazingly complex machines by any standard, yet they worked quite reliably and often without major issue for many decades.
Despite being entirely analogue, they were able to route calls, play out appropriate announcement messages and interact with end users pretty effectively.
Although that being said, without all the digital circuit switching and now IP switching developments we wouldn't be chatting on this board, so I suppose there's no point in being too nostalgic about those rooms of clicking relays
Below : A distribution frame in an Ericsson ARF (crossbar) exchange as was used in Ireland and formed the basis of the automatic system here from the 1950s onwards.
