Well, after December 2020 was quite a doozy of a month, December 2021 said “hold my beer” and blew away whatever crappy stuff was happening in 2020, to the point where for the first time in my life (since I can remember), I actually did not celebrate Christmas with my family. More on that later, but long story short despite having more projects than I know what to do with, my ADD brain led me to hyperfocus on telephony; something that I hold dear to me as exposure to most of ma bell’s refuse (equipment, phones, switches, computers, etc) in my childhood is what led me to technology in the first place. I had access to a ton of gear (even just seeing some of it) through a family friend that owned a recycling plant near my uncle’s house, and got to bring home some stuff like old phones (2500 sets) and tinker with them.
One thing I distinctly remember were many “Merlin” phones; and of course getting a nostalgia kick, I found a couple “analog” Merlin phones that had that silver/sleek 1980s futuristic look I remember, with membrane buttons and the At&t logo.
Continue reading “Telephony Home Lab – Part 1 (featuring the At&t Merlin Phone System)”