...   
      
      
    BB>  Man, do I remember the first wire wrap connectors installed on the   
    BB> main frame at the old Main office.  Old timers just shook their   
    BB> heads and said that'll never last - solder is the only way.  :)   
      
    RW> I could see why they would think so.  YOu ahve to be rather   
    RW> careful with wire wrap, but it can be done, and done well.   
    RW> Just move slow, take your time.   
      
   We had at least 3 different tools for wire-wrap: One was a manual thing and you   
   twisted it like you would a socket wrench. Not real tight wraps, but they   
   worked and since it was about the size of a pencil it was easy to just stick in   
   your tool pouch.  A second type was the 'pistol' thing, still manual but much   
   faster than the hand wrap, but too large to stick in your pouch.  The last type   
   was motor driven for project work, by and large not used by telco but was by   
   WECO installers.   
      
    BB> About that same time the outside forces were going into punch type   
    BB> terminals, another thing that won't last.  :)   
      
    RW> I like punch down blocks.  One of my main patch bays in the   
    RW> remote truck, probably from telco applications, usual long   
    RW> frame jacks is why I think so, has punch downs.  I like   
    RW> them.  IF you need to reconfigure punch blocks are easy.   
      
   Yup, but again special tools are needed.  Not complex ones though, but it is   
   improtant to get the punch tight.  I've seen guys using long nose pliers to   
   push the wire down, then squeeze the connector, but that's really a no-no in   
   telco.   
      
    BB> However I suspect a lot of solder type blocks are still out there,   
    BB> at least in the PBX systems, and maybe a few of the smaller co's?   
      
    RW> Probably so, and as long as it's in a pretty static setup   
    RW> you're good, but if you need to reconfigure punchdown is   
    RW> very nice.   
      
   When I started as a frameman, in the largest office in town, it wasn't uncommon   
   to go through a 5 pound roll of solder each day!  A dozen 100 watt irons on   
   each side of the frame, turned on at 0800 and not turned off until the eve   
   shift did all the prelim work at night.     
      
   The good ole days ...   
      
      
      
      
      
      
       
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