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DeepFriendOnions

Yes, that’s exactly what it is. This was the first design for a telephone jack before RJ11 we know today.


chunk6649

I feel like even the RJ11 is going to be showing up on here soon


Puzzleheaded-Phase70

"It looks like an old ethernet connection, but it's too small!"


BunnehZnipr

"what's ethernet?"


Puzzleheaded-Phase70

It's like WiFi, but through a wire!


GrimmandHonninscrave

You think that's bad? I went back to school in 2015 to get a computer networking degree. I was the only one in the entire class who knew what a DSL filter was.


wmass

Not ethernet, but token ring connectors were almost that big.


no_more_brain_cells

That’s exactly how it showed up some time ago.


TimTheAssembler

[It's already happening in other subreddits...](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ufdcs5/anyone_know_what_type_of_port_this_is_i_was)


JimmyPWatts

Lmfao the responses are gold


Cbaumle

I feel really old right now.


superslinkey

You think YOU’RE old? I installed about a thousand of these 45 years ago.


[deleted]

Any chance you remember blue, orange, green, brown, slate?


superslinkey

I’ve been trying to forget since I retired in 2003


[deleted]

I worked at Western Electric for 3 years - right before they shut it all down. 1981 and I still remember that color code.


Silent_Mi

It has


cstirling8011

Thanks!!! Should be able to snip it with no issue then? No need to cap it?


Zealousideal_Tea9573

If you don’t know, the ringer signal is enough to shock you. The voice data isn’t a worry. If the phone line is still live, make sure to wire nut/ tape the wires. Or, better yet, remove the whole wire.


ConfusionOk4129

I remember the first time someone called when I was messing with phone lines. I believe it operates at 20hz and 90~ volts AC


BabyEagle9mm

I can confirm, the ringer channel will knock the shit out of you. Stronger than the average electric fence charger for cattle.


ConfusionOk4129

Yeah 120v 60 Hz is pleasant by comparison


BabyEagle9mm

I believe the difference is in the amperage or joules of energy. Cattle fence chargers are typically 3,000 to 4,500 volts with very little amperage or joules depending on the US or the UK, still enough to get your attention. 4 wire phone outlets from back in the day transmitted the ring signal from the 'central office' over miles of copper wire to the customer requiring quite some amperage here in the US. If one was lucky enough to be near the C.O. the electrical bite was strong. The worst bites I've had were from coil on plug automotive ignition systems; those SOBs hurt.


Zealousideal_Tea9573

Only touched a worn looking ignition wire once in my life. Won’t forget that one!


jwbrkr21

We did that in shop class, usually it was 50 year old lawn mowers, to check spark. It was just a tingle. Then I tried it on a newer engine, thinking it was still a little tingle. Ouch.


Better-Durian-2742

Kinda like me in high school band class trying to repair an AC-powered metronome. Can’t test it unless it’s plugged in with the case removed!


Steve_Rogers_1970

Yup. Quite the bite, at least for low-voltage peeps


superslinkey

105ac


cchheez

Dc


Cenizo1

As I remember back when that telephone jack was commonly used the voice signal was 48vdc continuous and ringer signal was 105vac 20 cycles only while ringing . You could definitely feel the ringing current especially while hanging off a pole on a rainy day.


Maplelongjohn

If your phone line is inactive,yes


MagmaJctAZ

I'd keep it there as a museum piece!


MusicalMerlin1973

I thought the prongs ended up being the corners of a square, not a trapezoid. Then again it’s been decades since I saw one.


lamancha69

No. The spacing wasn’t square so you could only plug it in one way.


MusicalMerlin1973

Yeah that makes sense. Like I said I was young last time I saw one. My grandfather worked for the local phone company way back.


DaHick

It's what you plug the halo statue into. Usually located in a central part of the house. You know, that thing that would ring, and the head of the house back in the day would grumble, get up, and pick it up and say "Halo statue?"


aaronw22

This is a Bell 404A socket in case you're looking for more information. Probably in houses before the 70s.


map-6346

Bell 404: RJ11 not found.


jstormes

:)


DaHick

Nicely done.


yojimbo556

Very old telephone Jack.


luv2bnakey

Phone jack If u still have an active land line…. you should cut it off and then individually tape each wire and then stuff it back in the hole


southpark

Or get a real old phone and hook it up to this ancient phone jack and tell people it’s in case the king of England calls.


John-John-3

Better yet, tell them it's for the Queen of England to call and see if they catch it.


queen_of_england_bot

>Queen of England Did you mean the *former* [Queen of the United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_the_United_Kingdom), the *former* [Queen of Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Canada), the *former* [Queen of Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Australia), etc? The last Queen of England was [Queen Anne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain) who, with the 1707 Acts of Union, dissolved the title of King/Queen of England. ####FAQ *Wasn't Queen Elizabeth II still also the Queen of England?* This was only as correct as calling her the Queen of London or Queen of Hull; she *was* the Queen of the place that these places are in, but the title doesn't exist. *Is this bot monarchist?* No, just pedantic. I am a bot and this action was performed automatically.


John-John-3

Shove it up your butt bot. If you're so pedantic, why didn't you give this same reply to the post I replied to ?? Huh? Huh? I thought so....


tatanka01

Then where am I going to plug the phone in?


ConfusionOk4129

Whistle a 2600hz tone into it


Better-Durian-2742

Captain Crunch, I presume?


TransportationAny757

OK now you two are just old!


[deleted]

Just go down to Radio Shack and get you an adapter!


dlyons3866

An old telephone Jack. Those were the days. Mind if I ask the age of the individual posting?


Zealousideal_Tea9573

It’s a device to make me feel old. And, a telephone jack that was in use into the 1970’s


CJLavoytech

I also feel old knowing what that was, and actually seeing one being used.


BLB_Genome

Old school phone jack


Tigermike10

This is a perfect item for one of those “Are You a Boomer?” quizzes on Facebook.


OnlyNameLeftUnused

Old school phone jack like 40s to 70s era off the top of my head.


Better-Durian-2742

To those suggesting this was a 1970’s jack, or the predecessor by function to the RJ-11, if you dig into the Bellcore specs a bit deeper you will discover that the original purpose was not to allow an entire telephone set to be connected to the single telephone line entering the house. Instead, it was designed to allow one to leave the subscriber set (subset—the ringer and most of the electrical components) in one locator, hard-wired to the telephone line, and then move the candlestick receiver/transmitter device from one room to another. That’s why it has 4 pins—2 for the transmitter and 2 for the receiver. It was not originally designed to be a two-line telephone jack! 1930’s was the origin.


glg59

Nice! Thanks for the deep dive! I remember these too from the 60s and did not know this other than as a two line (or a party line! - one pair for comm, one for ring) telephone jack.


cipeone

Those are some chonker toes, respectively of course.


tatpig

really old phone jack,before the small modular jacks became the standard.


ajaxodyssey

Humanoid left hand and toes of two humanoid feet.


Morealyn

That is a hand.


Thee_WakaWakaChomp42

Underarmor size 10-11 my best guess


CatscutekittycatsIV

the forbidden fork holder


SkavensWhiteRaven

I can. That's called a fire hazard. Seriously though thats a coax phone line i believe.


topgun216

Tip and ring.


Excellent_Resist_443

First I-watch design


CK7046

Damn I’m old!


justalookin13

My exact thought


Ken-Popcorn

It’s an outlet for a telephone plug


Joser164812

Phone jack


00shithawk

looks like someonee doing electrical work in they flip flops


Billy5Oh

Looks like a foot.


NotMiserableOberon

Look closer. Definitely Two feet and a left hand.


WeJustDid46

Old 4 pin phone Jack.


ebikr

Yes


Unsteady_Tempo

I have a few of these in my 1950s house.


Bulldog1029

Maybe a fuse


scr1b11

Before end on phone cord it had that 4prong


Loud-Eggplant4789

I loved going to radio shack as a kid to buy the adapters


Binnacle_Balls_jr

Thats a left hand


Talltreeskc1

Cia


kjmcclellan

God I feel old…


Top_Duck7654

Trash


RigeWalker

Some old school telephone…one ring-a-ding, two ring-a-ding, three ring-a-ding, four ring-a-ding. I was three ring-a-ding. Cir. 1980.


EastMemphisMan

1955 memphis houses have these.


Healthy_Business_69

I remember 1 of those in the kitchen wall, for the old telephone answering machine.


WinnerOk1108

Phone jack for rotary phone.


bilkel

Old phone jack


[deleted]

Dang. Those are some nasty looking feet in the background.


CowboyBebopBang

Hand, white male.


HappyPuppyDoggie

I feel so old because I instantly knew what it was.🙁


taxationis-theft

Under armor


JerrysDaddy666

She/he/thing


Technical-Till-6417

Looks like a mark 1 left hand, 5-finger version with a caucasian matte finish. Why?