I moved into a house built in the 1950s in the north eastern US and this outlet is on the back of the house but I can’t find anything like it searching online. If anyone knows what it is I’d greatly appreciate the enlightenment!
That, my friend, is an outdoor phone outlet. I have never seen something like that before. It used to be that instead of having a little plug, it would have a big plug, and all four connectors would be spaced out like that. That is for a phone.
The cool thing here is back then that must have been swanky as fuck. Nobody had phones on the outside of the house!
thanks. I remember seeing this more than once as a kid but I can’t recall exactly were and I don’t think any were in use.
It looks like it works by some form of electricity.
I understood that reference.tiff
Pre-60s phone jack
Oh, this is just one of them; there should be two other keyholes. When the three medallions of the Founding Patriots are reconfigured into their true form as Keys of Genesis and inserted in these keyholes, they unlock the way to the Path of Radiance, at the end of which is a power capable of turning back the Antichrist.
Although, it’s hard to tell from the photo; if it’s brass, not copper, then it’s just an old furnishing anchor.
That was what we used for phone jacks before the current standard. It takes a square plug with 4 matching posts. We had one growing up.
This.
The jack type is the original Bell System jack. Used to have these in the house I grew up in. We had to buy the Bell 4-pin to RJ-11 adapter for the more “modern” phone.
I confirm and corroborate.
My house was built in 1952 for my grandparents, and the phone jacks in several rooms are like this.
Cool weather cover, guess they wanted to go outside with their old phone, plug in, make a call and sit outside chatting.
Kids. They just can’t pull the curly cord 100’ from the kitchen, down the hall, and to their room anymore.
Probably for plugging something in <3
It’s either that or something else
And if it is something else, is either something similar or something completely different.
And it either still commonly used today, used in a few rare places, or not used at all anymore.
Type 505A telephone jack. You can see one in this wiki under History.
It’s a Bell 548A jack to be more precise. It’s compatible with both 283B (the older square shape) and 505A (the later round shape) plugs
OH, that’s the name and not the current rating! Pick up there phone, it’s fucking Zeus!
505A telephone jack
current rating
That would make for an amusing phone… Once I guess
When Thor is calling.
Now I’m imagining a mad scientist hooking some weird antenna up to a telephone while screaming something about jigawatts.
Was that ever a valid pronunciation of gigawatts, or did somebody admit that it was a misreading of the printed word?
I frequently say jigawatts and jigabytes ironically. But probably often enough that it’s no longer ironic.
But probably often enough that it’s no longer ironic
Yeah that’s how they getcha
In my country we say jigawatts (and jigabytes, jif, and so on)
I can’t believe you say jigabytes! Don’t you know know jibibytes are more precise?!?
Fellow Americans, why are we at war with Iran for no reason when this country exists?
Be gentle to the Australians. It is a silly place full of horrors beyond your reckoning, and dangerous animals too.
Back in my day, our phones were powered by the wrath of Zeus. We had to anger him BOTH WAYS to get some lightning to call and hang up.
I ran across 18v AC of his wrath stripping one side of the phone wire with my teeth on a scheme to capture and store \ use ring voltage to power devices. Free electricity you know.
Pocketbook empty
Can’t afford a cell
Looking for juice
Found a bottomless well
No stripper, no crimps
Used teeth on the shell
Now my heart’s all aflutter
With the touch of Ma Bell
I don’t understand the reference. Can you please explain?
Zeus is the Greek good of thunder and lightning.
lol! Gee, thanks. 😂
No, I meant with the phones. What’s the relation?
Was that like some reference from an ad? A movie?
The jokes about the phone connection and Zeus is that 505A can be read as 505 amps, an electrical measurement for current. 505 amps is quite a lot, especially in the context of being for a phone. 505 amps is about equivalent to 20 1200 watt microwaves running at the same time (120V).
Aaaah OK. Thank you for the explanation! 😊
I might have mixed up threads to your comment :) what reference were you reffering to?
I got a really good laugh out of this thank you
Thank you, I’ve never seen older than the 6P4C, I love learning little tid bits of history like this!
Sure. Honestly I’ve never seen one in person. 4 wires is the norm for telephones and I figured it was too small to be high voltage so I guessed comms then researched it. Ended up being right luckily 😅
Wonder if it actually still works
Thats good question, I might have to go antiquing to find something to try it out with… although i suppose I’d have to pay to activate the line so maybe not.
And yeah I ruled out power right away since theres no poka-yoke feature to prevent mixing up hot, neutral, and ground, but “four prong outlet” and reverse image searching weren’t getting me there.
They made adaptors from what you’ve got to rj11.
That is a very old phone jack. I actually have an adapter for this because I have an old phone with that style.
Pardon me, but why is it outside?
Cell phones hadn’t been invented yet
Whoever owned the house wanted a phone outside, I would assume.
I wonder if the house has a pool. I imagine someone wanted a phone on the patio table by the pool. That seems iconically 50s to me.
I have a relative with a phone by his pool
He uses an old rotary phone for it, because it’s all pretty basic electromechanical stuff that can’t really get messed up from it being out in the rain or whatever. It can’t make outgoing calls because modern phone systems don’t work with rotary phones, but it receives incoming calls just fine
It should maybe be noted that he’s an old school telephone lineman who really knows his stuff, so I don’t know if there were any other adapters or anything needed to make his setup work.
No additional adapters needed. Other than touch tone (button pad) vs pulse (rotary dial) and the shape of the plug, landline phones are pretty much the same as they were in the 30s. Everything between them has changed tremendously, but the phone on the end of the line is very basic.
ngl that looks like a pretty amazing place to live. Love that look
that looks similar to the HOA buildings that my aunt lives in in florida, it’s an enclosed pool but, the glasswork is similar.
I would love to live in a place like that as well, but I couldn’t deal with the HOA’s said locations almost always have
No pool now but Im doing some digging and found some abandoned conduit and tons of what I think are old diy decorations so I’d say the evidence is strong there probably was.
Yes, I remember when I was a kid and my family built their house, it was a big deal that we were the first we knew with the new style phone jacks instead of those
Frustration.
All technology has this included for free
What you’re likely seeing as “4-pin” wiring is a 4-conductor cable (two hots + neutral + ground), used for 240V circuits like electric dryers, ranges, or central air conditioners.
Outdoor? Looks more like a vintage telephone jack.
Absolutely is
You know, now that I think about it I agree. I was a kid in the 60’s and I think I vaguely remember them now that I dwell on it.
Boy, is that and old memory to dredge up…
Boy, is that and old memory to dredge up…
It’s good for the psyche.
Did it conjure up any other, perhaps seemingly mundane, details us nerds might appreciate?
Only that they were a pain in the ass to use and wire up.
Nobody mourned their passing. Modular was way better.
