Exchange visit

I went by our local (rural scotland) exchange the other day and noticed the door swinging open in the breeze. I thought I would be a good citizen and close it, but I had a nosey around the exchange first.
I took some snaps
http://www.triscom.co.uk/insideSDYexchg/index.html
any comments on what the stuff is would be very interesting, from knowledgable folks.
sorry the pics are a bit [censored]. mobile phone camera.


before anybody gets on their high horse, I am fully aware that what I did was illegal and dangerous etc but I know that i didnt do any damage, my visit was purely out of technical interest, and if I hadnt gone by & closed the door then the weather would have damaged the eqpt.

In reply to a post by MM0TJR:

I am fully aware that what I did was illegal and dangerous etc

Good job you didn't post any personally identifiable data then, Tris.

I hope that you also called BT to report it.

Don't think they would be too worried if you had seen it open, looked inside and shouted to see if anyone was there, or done a quick check to make sure someone was not laying injured on the floor then closed the door and called to report it.

What you may not have realised is that you could well have been captured on the CCTV that is installed in some remote exchanges.

exactly as I thought
both quite blatantly missing the point. I have nothing to hide whatsoever. If only BT did care enough to 1) come after me for trespassing, 2) keep the door locked 3) keep the building in decent repair then we would be enjoying far better service from them than we do.
CCTV!? do you think I came down in the last shower of rain?

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to apologise personally to the person who is responsible for this telephone exchange, and they might also be able to answer a lot of my questions during the same phone call.

who am I going to call to inform of an open door (and incidentally a door which has been substantially buggerred for about 5 years)? if the number starts with anything but 01, forget it.

http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/contactus/tellu...

more to the point, is that a picture of a DSLAM?

how does a DSLAM connect to the local loops?

It's probably something to do with telephones and broadband.

Best number is 0800 0232023 and usually there is a contact plate outside the building too.
There was a time when exchange locations were considered secret and did not appear on maps.

If the door is seen ajar again then give that number a call and also maybe the police, you might be stumbling upon a gang of metal thieves.

It is clearly a DSLAM, A websearch indicates that BT Wholesale uses this type of kit.Link


There are several regulars on here that appear to work for BT, if you post the name of the exchange I'm sure they will report it for you!. Maybe the door will then get fixed! It may even stop some Oik from pinching the equipment or the rain messing your service up.

Edited by kitcat (Wed 07-Nov-12 14:39:11)

Ignore them, their glasses are usually half empty, I'd of done the same!

CCTV or not, cheers for taking a look, I find it interesting too! Just think you could of saved the whole village a heck of a lot of downtime if some ASBO Teen got in there with fireworks at this time of the year!

I know rural Scotland probably isn't likely, maybe a sheep with a taste for wiring?

Edited by deleted (Wed 07-Nov-12 20:47:39)

IsThisA_DSLAM.JPG
Yes it is a part of a DLSAM. Pictured appear to be Fujitsu line cards - so very likely to be a BT DSLAM.

LDU.JPG
Fairly self-explanatory. This device allows for remote testing of the DSL service on a line. It is a Teradyne Celerity unit to be precise. Again - most likely BT installed and owned:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BT+Extends+Teradyne%27...

Pictured above the LDU is an ISDN Terminal Adaptor. Most likely used for out of band management of the DSLAM and/or LDU equipment. i.e. for accessing the DSLAM remotely should it become unresponsive on the wider IP network - the technician can dial into the ISDN line and access a management console on the DSLAM. Sarian 2000 are very flexible so it could be connected to the DSLAM via serial port or ethernet connection.

pcbs.JPG
Expansion cards to enable Caller Display (he says reading the stickers on the PCBs )

local-loop-frame.JPG
Yup that's a distribution frame. Used to interconnect the various pieces of equipment with the lines they are serving - meaning cabling can be hard-wired from there to the PSTN and DSLAM equipment, so enabling a line for service just requires the engineer to cross-connect with a jumper at the frame rather than faffing around running cabling every time.


Interesting pics from what I assume is a tiny exchange

Edited by deleted (Wed 07-Nov-12 21:26:58)

Thanks quite interesting

sheep getting in there is extremely likely. This year however the most damage has been done by verge cutting which comprehensively minced up a few miles of wiring which was laid on the surface; the grass then grew thick over it.
is that standard practice?
we used to have a BT linesman living here. in those days the exchange was immaculate (at least on the outside) and line faults were fixed by him on the same day.

benbird7, thx for your post. Im glad someone looked at it in same spirit with which it was posted.

the whole interest in uplink has come about because of this project

very interesting, thanks.

Interesting pics from what I assume is a tiny exchange

Tiny ? He appears to have stumbled in to a porta-loo !!!!
What's that, no more then 900 pairs leaving, at most .......... Cue the deliverance music.

there are 375 entries in the phone book for this exchange.
what does "TERN fitted" mean?

Edited by deleted (Fri 09-Nov-12 08:56:17)

Trans-European Road Network

Not particularly fast but great capacity!

In reply to a post by MM0TJR:

there are 375 entries in the phone book for this exchange.
what does "TERN fitted" mean?

It means that the exchange has been protected against ingress of sea gull excrement.

>>Pictured above the LDU is an ISDN Terminal Adaptor. Most likely used for out of band management of the DSLAM

More likely to be used to communicate with the LDU.

>>Expansion cards to enable Caller Display

This is interesting as it is likely to mean the exchange is a very rare UXD5. Basicly an old Monarch switch.

The link at the beginning of your thread isn't working.

The link works but "all images removed".

And it's not his thread.

That's a shame, I would have liked to have had a little gander at some in-exchange photos.

Maybe you'll get a chance to see them when they're used in evidence.

The 1911 Official Secrets Act makes the photographing of telephone exchanges and communication centres a punishable offence. I doubt if it's been repealed or superseded.

What has happened to the images?

BT's "security advisor" for Scotland & Newcastle got in touch with me, unsolicited, thanked me for bringing the insecure exchange to his attention but regretted that it had come to light in such a public manner.
I apologised to him and offered to remove the photographs from my website. He accepted this offer and so I removed the HTML code which automatically renders the photographs in the browser window. The result of this is that the photographs will no longer automatically appear when you click on the link in the post.

Post deleted by MrSaffron

Probably best said in a PM

Will do


> Got my reply - wonder why I bothered now

> ...apology received via PM.

Edited by b4dger (Sat 10-Nov-12 17:54:39)

a punishable offence

My experiences as a customer with BT over the years have been quite a considerable punishment.

In reply to a post by MM0TJR:

BT's "security advisor" for Scotland & Newcastle got in touch with me

How? Thro' here?

You seemed to scoff at the comment that CCTV could be installed and your visit might have been recorded on monitored.