[GreenKeys] Bunnell Pen Register

[Richard Knoppow]

    In LA the boxes activated bells and a register at fire 
stations. The police radio center had both. The bells gave the 
number of the box, a dispatcher than looked up the number in the 
registry to get the location. My rather dim memory is that the 
recorder was a tape punch. The boxes were in the older areas of 
the city mostly in the downtown area.
    The Gamewell telephones terminated in a PBX type switchboard 
in the radio room. It had connections to the various division 
headquarters. Most of the telephone traffic was non-urgent stuff 
that would either take up a lot of time or need some privacy.
     At that time LAPD maintained a MF transmitter (1730 Khz) 
whose purpose was mostly public relations since actual 
dispatching was done on VHF. It did have some utility since motor 
officers could listen to find out if they were assigned to cars 
in rainy weather and whether summer uniforms were approved. This 
transmitter was permanently discontinued during the 1965 Watts 
riots because it was easy to track at least some police activity 
through it. There were two main VHF dispatch frequencies each 
handling about half the geographic divisions in the metropolitan 
area and other frequencies for the valley and for the harbor and 
San Pedro area.
    Pasadena also had a MF station but I don't  know if they also 
used VHF at the time. Pasadena was a pioneer in the use of police 
radio.
    All OT.

On 1/30/2020 9:38 AM, Doug Alderdice wrote:
> On 1/30/2020 11:22 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
>>      Rather OT...  I worked for the Los Angeles police 
>> communications division in 1965 when the Gamewell fire alarm 
>> system was discontinued. 
>
> Buffalo is still using the Gamewell system!  Many/most of the 
> street boxes were removed long ago, though there are a few 
> still in place here and there, but building fire alarm systems 
> are still connected to it. The high school I worked in for over 
> 30 years still today has a Gamewell box in the basement right 
> next to and connected to the modern fire alarm panel that was 
> installed <10 years ago.  I used to have to show the fire dept. 
> personnel where it was when it had to be rewound when an errant 
> child would pull an alarm or a chemistry experiment went bad in 
> the lab or the drama teacher would smoke in the auditorium in 
> January ...
>
> Doug, KA2WFT
>
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-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL