[GreenKeys] Nose Oil

[Don Robert House]

Tom,

Nose oil was specified for the wiper contacts for the old Panel  
Central Office.  This equipment was 11' 6" tall and the selectors rose  
up and down spinning rods.  In the 20s and 30s up until the last panel  
office was scrapped in 1984 there was a technician known as the  
"Equipment Cleaner"  Imagine different kinds of grease and oil and  
cleaning compounds.  Bell engineers did not want the normal oil on  
wiper contacts, so the practice instructed the technician to rub their  
index finger on the side of their nose and use that oil for these  
contacts.

My good friend and elmer Dave Alm, WG9J (SK) won many bets with this  
little bit of nostalgia.

The only remaining panel office is at the Museum of Communications in  
Seattle.

Don
Bell System 1966-1983
Ameritech 1984-1996


On 15 Mar 2013, at 7:16 AM, til128 at aol.com wrote:

No kidding - has anyone heard of "nose oil"??

I have heard rumors of its use in relays . . April fool joke or was  
this actually used?

TT

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