Building a Homemade PBX: A Personal Journey Through Telecommunications
By
rickcarlino
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
A personal narrative about the author's lifelong fascination with telecommunications technology, starting from childhood experiments with homemade intercom systems and shortwave radios, leading to a career at Bell-Northern Research. The article details the journey of building a homemade PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system, reflecting on the hands-on learning and passion for telephone technology that shaped the author's professional path.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledI've been fascinated with telecommunications from an early age.
When I was twelve or so I had an intercom system from which I could talk to most of the house from my corner of the kids' room.
My decision to go for a co-op and then fulltime job at Bell-Northern Research was influenced by the closeness to telephone technology this would entail.
I ended up designing computer hardware which, while it does run telephone central offices, has no visible relation to telephones.
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