Lesson Plan 6.

15
(Day 3)

Unit 6. Energy and Information and Communication Technologies

Topic: Sending Messages by Electricity: The Telephone
Time Frame: 3 days

I. OBJECTIVES:

General Objective
Explain how transmission and reception of message occurs in a telephone.

Specific Objectives (Day 3)

1. trace the paths followed by a call in a network system;
2. explain how components interact in a telecommunication network system.

II. SUBJECT MATTER

A. Lesson: Access to the Network

B. References:
1. Science and Technology for a Better Life
2. Physics SEDP series
3. Module on Telecommunications, Science and Technology 11 Curriculum
Guide, 1991.

C. Material
Teacher’s Handout (attached)

III. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

A. Motivation
1. Recall the five major functions of a telephone set that allows us to make and
answer a call. Recall also the important parts of a telephone and their
functions

B. Activity Proper
1. Use the transparency masters (see teacher’s handout), in leading the class
discussion.
a. Transparency Master # 1 shows two phones connected together and to a
battery. (You can use an actual setup if materials are available. The
resistors are used to isolate the phone from the battery for safety and to
control the current. Connect the battery to the red and green leads of the
phone cord. Polarity does not matter for purposes of this demonstration.)

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 Explain that
i) the telephone set requires electric current to operate the transmitter
and touch pad. Relate this to the previous discussion on how the
transmitter and touch pad work. (If an actual setup is available, the touch
pad should be able to generate tones if the battery is strong enough).
ii) this is a common battery telephone line that is typical of the earliest
usage of telephones
iii) all telephones on such a line were hooked to the common battery
iv) a hand crank generator was used to generate ringing current
v) ringing was coded for each family (i.e. two short and one long for the
Cruz family)
vi) ringing was heard by all telephones
vii) later development came when an operator was added in the middle
of the line. The operator can manually switch one line and connect it
to the others.
b. Transparency Master # 2 shows the system network. Use this transparency
together with the data sheet to explain how a telephone set is connected to
the network. You can trace the paths followed by a call in a network
system and explain how the components interact in a telecommunications
system.
c. Transparency Master #3 shows how the switching network and the use of
number combinations gives a unique address to your telephone and allows
accessibility to place a call through out the world.
2. Extend the discussion to the limitations of using copper wires and introduce
the use of optical fibers, which will be discussed in the succeeding sessions
3. Summarize the important points discussed.

C. Generalizations
1. The sender and the receiver are connected via the telephone wires
2. Switching devices are used to connect the sender and the receiver
3. The use of a central office switching system and operators minimizes the
networking of wires between areas.
4. Networking and branching using machines and telephone numbers increases
the speed and accessibility to place through out the world.
5. The telephone has limitations; you cannot reach anyone anywhere at
anytime
6. The conventional telephone is limited by the use of copper wires for its
medium especially at this age of the Internet.
D. Valuing
Discuss with the class the proper use and the etiquette of using the phone
IV. ASSIGNMENT
1. Read about Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism. Who were the major
contributors to the theory and what were the contributions of each?
2. Outline Maxwell’s reasoning that led him to his hypothesis of the
existence of EM waves
3. Describe in your own words Maxwell’ theory.

Unit 6. Energy in ICT Lesson Plan 6.15 The Telephone 6-78

 Lesson 6.15
Teacher’s Handout
Transparency Master # 1.

Transparency Master # 3

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Transparency Master # 2

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 and the WORLD
PHILIPPINES
Data Sheet: Access to the Network
Telephone set --The telephone set is a remarkable device. It allows the user to request
service from the central office of the telephone company. It addresses the call by sending
called number information. It converts the sound of the voice to electric current, and from
electricity back to sound. It permits a two-way conversation on the telephone line. It
alerts you when a call comes in.

Telephone line--The telephone line is the connection to the public switched telephone
network. A call can go across the street, across the country, or around the world.

The telephone line is a circuit path to the central office of the telephone company. Since
it is an electrical circuit, a loop of two copper wires must exist in order for the current to
flow. Just two wires are needed to access the telephone network. Industry terms for the
telephone circuit are ‘local loop’, ‘subscriber loop’, or just ‘loop’.

If your household has exclusive use of the telephone line then it is referred to as a single-
line-service. If you share the use of the line with another household, then you have party-
line service. Only one party at a time may have a private conversation on a shared line.

Drop wire--Service to the house typically uses two or four wires arranged together as
pairs. This service is known as the drop wire. The drop wire uses terminals to connect the
telephone set to the distribution cable. These wires carry telephone service from the
central office of the telephone company and back. The drop wire may be buried or aerial.

Protector --The protector, as the name implies, is a safety device. It is a little grey box at
the customer’s location where the drop wire and the house telephone cables meet. It is the
junction between your telephone service line and your house wiring.

The protector contains components that permit dangerous voltages and currents to pass
safely to the ground. It protects against electricity from lightning or high voltage power,
for example. The telephone set works on low electrical current and voltage (50 volts DC,
and 30 to 60 milliamps of current). This amount of electricity poses no danger to people.

The protector is connected to the house electrical ground. This safety ground can be your
cold water pipe or, neutral wire of your Hydro electric service a metal ground rod set into
the Earth.

Terminals--Terminals are the connection points for the cable bringing telephone service
from large cables to the house. Many types of terminals exist. Some areas use aerial
‘ready access’ terminals hanging in alleys. If an area has underground service, there may
be a ‘pedestal terminal’ in the neighborhood. Large buildings use ‘metal inside terminal’
boxes.

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The ready access terminal is a metal container about 60 cm long hanging from aerial
cable. Your drop wire connects at the terminal to a larger cable with fifty to two hundred
pairs of conductors.

Pedestal terminals are used for buried service cable. It is a green metal container about 60
cm high.

Outside Plant Cable-- Outside plant cable refers to the network of cables that bring the
customer’s telephone circuit to the central office of the telephone company.

The distribution cable serving a street joins other distribution cables serving the
subdivision. Distribution cables are cables of up to five hundred pairs of conductors.
There may be more than one drop connected to the distribution cable at a given terminal.
Several distribution cables may be necessary to provide telephone service to a residential
subdivision. These distribution cables are spliced into a large ‘feeder’ cable.

Feeder cables may consist of up to four thousand pairs of wires. The feeder cable brings
the connection back to the central office, converging in much the same way as a freeway
system converges upon a city.

Splices are junction points between two or more cables. A feeder cable may join up to
three distribution cables at a splice. Splices are grey or black in color and look like large
sausages.

Cable vault--Cables enter the central office in an underground cable vault.

Central office --The central office serves as the hub of the outside plant cable network.
All the customer lines return here.

It is here that cross-connections between telephone lines are made. Equipment in the
central office can switch any line to any other line. The central office also has
connections to other central offices, long distance lines, and operator service facilities.
Collectively, all this switching equipment is known as a ‘switch’. Each pair of conductors
providing service terminates on the distribution frame in the central office. Jumper wires
on the ‘frame’ connect your cable pair to a service port on the ‘switch’.

Switch --Switch is a generic name given to the switching equipment in a central office.
Switches can be electromechanical, electronic, or digital. Electronic and digital central
offices are computerized and are highly reliable. The lines are now served by electronic
or digital switches. Switches are generally composed of three parts:
1. Control Unit – computers and related hardware;
2. Common Equipment – shared equipment servicing switch;
3. Network – matrix of possible paths connecting customers.

The control unit is the nerve center of a central office switch. The control unit consists of
a group of computers and associated equipment. The control unit does all the thinking in

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processing a call through the network. The following represents a sequence of functions
that the control unit follows for a typical local call:
a. detects request for service;
b. connects dial tome to customer;
c. accepts called number information;
d. checks of called line is in use;
e. reserves path through network;
f. connects ringing generator to called line;
g. connects ring-back tone to customer;
h. detects called party answering;
i. removes ringing generator and ring-back tone;
j. connects path through network;
k. supervises both lines;
l. detects phones hanging up;
m. clears both lines.

The common equipment part of the central office switch supplies services that are hared
by all telephone lines. These shared services include dial tone, ring-back (busy signal)
tone, and ringing generator. Common equipment is the collective name for all the
equipment that services customer lines.

The network portion of a central office is a matrix of possible paths between all telephone
lines. It is in the network where the connection is made to the called telephone number.
The network usually provides one channel or path for every eight lines in service. For
example, if there are 1000 telephone subscribers in an area, there are about 125 network
paths to provide them with telephone service. The network is shared because it is not
economic to provide as many paths as there are telephone lines. It has been shown that
this level of service will handle 99% of all call attempts. Blocked calls appear to
customers as a fast-busy tone.

Trunks--Trunk is the name for a communications channel connecting two central offices.
The telephone network is comprised of switching centers and interconnecting trunks.

Multiplexing Equipment--A multiplexer is a piece of equipment that combines many

channels before sending out on a communications system. The systems connecting
switching centers may be wire, radio and microwave, satellite or fiber-optic cable. A new
fiber-optic system may carry as many as eight thousand voice communications channels.

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