Display

Digital History Museum

The Digital History Museum includes a large display of artifacts such as rotary telephones and older computers, among hundreds of other ancestors of our present technology.  The largest display is at Davis Campus building D2 on the third floor.  You also find some artifacts in the Computer Science department at Ogden WSU.  Finally, in the basement of the Alumni Center you will find the old WSU telephone switchboard.  

The artifacts in this section are telecommunication equipment.

Gallery


Pick Cable

Temporary cable used until permanent services became available. Called“pick” cable because one had to pick out pairs of colored wires.


Lead Spliced Cable

Lead spliced wires twisted together and covered with a cotton sleeve. The wires were then covered in a water-proof cloth coated in tar.


Fiber Optic Cable

A 24-strand cable used mostly outdoors to transmit sound or data. Used on campus at Weber State University.


Burial Cable

600 pair,Armored cable.Uses two shielding wraps of metal and foil.


Aerial Cable

Color coded and sealed with icky-pick, a sticky substance used to keep cables dry and free of corrosion.Approximately 1200 to 1800 pairs are grouped in anaerial cable.


Direct Bury Cable

Armored cable prevents animals and bugs from chewing on it. Is often found buried leading to houses. Works by way of pairing two binder colors.


Multi-Mode Fiber

Inside use Fiber Optic cable.


Multi-Mode Fiber Cable

Current multi-mode 12 strand fiber used at Weber State.


Aerial Fiber Cable

Used to deliver fiber optics, overhead. Notice the metal strand cable used to provide strength.


Coaxial Cable

Before fiber, Coaxial cable was the mode of connection. This one is a transcontinental cable which AT&T used across the country.  Each Coaxial cable,sometimes called Coax, would be perfectly centered.   Notice the difference on each end. Each individual middle colored cable could carry power, control and alarms.  Each Coax, at it send points, could connect 1800 pairs.  This one has 12 endpoints times 1800... That's a lot of lines. Each large cable is armor plated.  It is paper wrapped for grounding and strength.  Harper Ward, north of Brigham City was a main central distribution point for transcontinental cables. 


Aerial Paper - Wrapped Cable

Heavier cable,approximately with 100 pairs.This cable was used from Ogden to Salt Lake City circa 1950’s for phone services.Made of old lead and cotton sleeves.


Telegraph Key

Old telegraph key.  Used to send signals on suspended telegraph wire from one point to another, by tapping the key in a code that stood for Letters and words.

 


100- Pair Inside Cable

Used to connect the telephone equipment for two or more buildings. Cable is held together with simple plastic coating.


Double Coaxial

Double Coaxial cable for the Wang Computer.


Switchboard head set

Used by an operator at a main office switchboard,commonly called a “CO” Circa 1940’s.

 


Modern Garfield phone

Circa 1970's


French style telephone

With brass colored details,used in the 1800’s until early 1900’s


Candlestick telephone

Shown here with it’s black box,notice the fiber cord.
 


M & M telephone

Two seating and one standing M&M’s.


Goofy Telephone

Sleeping Goofy


Mickey Mouse Telephone

Standing Mickey pointing at hand set.


Buzz Light Year telephone

Standing Buzz


Clear Princess Telephone

The clearplastic let’s yousee themechanisminside


Snoopy Telephone

Standing Snoopy with his pal Woodstock.


R2D2 Telephone

Notice the hand set is held in R2d2’s leg.


Ma-bell

These telephones were leased from the telephone company, affectionately known as “Ma-bell’


Ma-bell

These telephones were leased from the telephone company, affectionately known as “Ma-bell’



Ma-bell

These telephones were leased from the telephone company, affectionately known as “Ma-bell’


ITT Telephone

Model 2500,blue rotary set.


Glass Insulators
Insulators held line wires to wooden telegraph poles and later to telephone, and power poles.

 


Blue Glass Insulator

Blue Insulator isconnected to it’swooden dowel.The insulator isscrewed into thethreaded dowel.



Porcelain Insulators

First produced in the 1850's for use on Telegraph lines. As technology developed they where used on Telephone and Electric power lines.


Early Cell Phone

An early CellularMotorola FlipPhone. Cellphones were firstdevelopedbetween 1974-1981.


Switchboard

Small Switch board, possibly used at WSU. Property of WSU Alumni.