DIRECTORATE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
THE FIELD ORGANISATION
By: A N Holdstock
page 3 of 8


Skills of the kind required are in great demand and frequently in short supply, and there is no doubt that the demands for such skills can be eased by the use of Automatic Test Systems which, however, because of their investment cost, are only economic if they handle very large numbers of units.

During the past two years the Directorate has examined Automatic Test Systems (ATS), and has considered how they might best be employed. The factors to be taken into account are as follows:

a. Economic use of ATS demands full employment of expensive equipment which in turn implies centralised repair of large numbers of units.

b. The present system, built up over a number of years, whereby skilled technicians are outstationed close to centres of customer activity, performs a very useful function in many ways, and it would be a pity if centralised servicing led to their disbandment.

c. Mobile and main station equipments are too bulky for easy transportation in large numbers.

Maintenance Problems

Alert Receivers

Bulk transportation of Firemen's alert receivers in special transit cases is no problem, in fact units from the North of England can be at Bishops Cleeve (our central repair depot) in five hours.

This receiver has been chosen for the first excursion into automatic testing and Messrs Marconi Instruments have been entrusted with the task of producing a system, which should be coming into service at the beginning of 1972.

Although automatic testing has been highly successful for a number of years, particularly in the aircraft industry, the step which we now propose to take will involve reliable interconnection at radio frequencies without the use of special connectors. Nowhere in the world has this been done before, and the Directorate is therefore breaking new ground, as it did previously with Police Pocketfones and batteries.

The system by which the Service will be supplied with serviceable alert receivers is a very simple one. Outstations and depots will retain serviceable spare equipment which will be uncoded and therefore suitable for use at any station . When an unserviceable unit is received, it will be given a simple go/no go test to ensure that the coding unit is serviceable. The coding unit will be removed and inserted into the serviceable receiver which will be tested and handed over on a one for one basis.

Mobile Equipment

The application of automation to mobile equipment maintenance need not be incompatible with the retention of outstations, or with Service Communications Personnel playing a full part in maintenance of their communications. A three stage system would operate as follows:-


Source: Home Office DOT Exhibition 1971 Papers

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