Hovercopter
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While looking for vintage tools, found this. What da heck is it? Please Help!
- Thread starter Hovercopter
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OP
Hovercopter
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- Mar 20, 2016
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Weighs 6 Oz
r_olson_06
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Hovercopter
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- Mar 20, 2016
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Only has Seven holes, and fingers are uncomfortable when placed in. That's what I first thought. Thanks
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The technical term is "finger wheel"
That's actually a pretty rare one, which may be why someone kept it.
At 6 oz, I'd say that's metal, right? Looks like it.
The vast majority were plastic --- those used in corrosive industrial areas were sometimes metal.
May also have been military shipboard use, for a dial-controlled fire circuit or other secure system.
They were in fact used for a lot of other numeric sequence dialing, as people were so familiar with how to use the telephone version.
That one may even not be from a telephone - it could be a similar spring loaded finger wheel from a safety lock of some fashion.
I'd read once that various pieces of industrial equipment could be set up to require a numeric sequence to be dialed in order to actuate it, using the same pulses in an electrical current loop that the phone did.
A lot of equipment built off the idea of pulse interrupted current loops, including transmitter lockouts to de-energize huge AM antenna relay couplers, AC power interlocks, security gates, etc.
That threaded hole was possibly for a stud to be screwed in and perform the same "stop" function when it contacted the finger stop.
Also sometimes the threaded hole was used to stop unauthorized use.
That's actually a pretty rare one, which may be why someone kept it.
At 6 oz, I'd say that's metal, right? Looks like it.
The vast majority were plastic --- those used in corrosive industrial areas were sometimes metal.
May also have been military shipboard use, for a dial-controlled fire circuit or other secure system.
They were in fact used for a lot of other numeric sequence dialing, as people were so familiar with how to use the telephone version.
That one may even not be from a telephone - it could be a similar spring loaded finger wheel from a safety lock of some fashion.
I'd read once that various pieces of industrial equipment could be set up to require a numeric sequence to be dialed in order to actuate it, using the same pulses in an electrical current loop that the phone did.
A lot of equipment built off the idea of pulse interrupted current loops, including transmitter lockouts to de-energize huge AM antenna relay couplers, AC power interlocks, security gates, etc.
That threaded hole was possibly for a stud to be screwed in and perform the same "stop" function when it contacted the finger stop.
Also sometimes the threaded hole was used to stop unauthorized use.
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