Stromberg-Carlson
Encyclopedia
Stromberg-Carlson was a telecommunications equipment and electronics manufacturing company formed in 1894 as a partnership of Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson. Along with four other companies, it controlled the United States national supply of telephone equipment until after World War II
.
, each invested $500 to establish a firm to manufacture equipment (primarily subscriber sets) for sale to independent telephone companies
.
Stromberg-Carlson was originally located in Chicago, with Carlson managing manufacture and Stromberg responsible for marketing. Stromberg-Carlson quickly established a reputation for reliable equipment and stable prices.
In 1901, the temporary chief executive of the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company
, Wallace De Wolf, assisted executives of rival telephone equipment manufacturer Western Electric
in an attempt to take over Stromberg-Carlson. A bitter stockholder fight ensued, and the takeover attempt failed. Stromberg-Carlson reincorporated as a New York
state corporation in 1902, where state law better protected the company from takeover efforts.
In 1904, Stromberg-Carlson was purchased by Home Telephone Company, a relatively large service provider based in Rochester, New York
. The new owners quickly relocated all Stromberg-Carlson operations to New York
. In 1955, Stromberg-Carlson was purchased by General Dynamics.
In 1970, Stromberg delivered the first CrossReed PBX to the newly constructed Disney World in Orlando Florida. Over the next 10 years more than 7,000 CrossReeds were delivered globally.
During the 1970s, Stromberg developed what is arguably the first fully digital PBX, the DBX. The first DBX was installed at Export, Pennsylvania in 1977 and consisted of 960 ports. While this first field trial had limited success, Stromberg went on to develop the DBX-240, DBX-1200 and the DBX-5000. Also during this same period, Stromberg developed a number of leading edge technologies and products, including the first digital AUTOVON switching system and the first digital Command and Control communications system.
By 1980 General Dynamics was undergoing a significant change and in 1982, General Dynamics sold the Stromberg-Carlson operations in several parts. The Stromberg key-systems was sold to ComDial, the PBX/DBX division was sold to United Technologies and the Central Office division was sold to Plessey of the UK. Plessey eventually sold "Stromberg Carlson," the DCO business unit, to Siemens AG in 1991.
The new company, Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, became the third largest vendor of central office switches in the United States—with a combined installed base of 5 million access lines. They continued to manufacture the Siemens DCO
as well as the Siemens EWSD out of the Lake Mary facility, moving production of the EWSD from New York to Florida.
In 2006 the DCO line of Siemens Stromberg-Carlson was sold to GENBAND
, a Next Generation Networking
company based in Texas.
Among Stromberg-Carlson's ventures were:
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
In 1894, Alexander Graham Bell's expired. Stromberg and Carlson, Chicago employees of the American Bell Telephone CompanyAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, each invested $500 to establish a firm to manufacture equipment (primarily subscriber sets) for sale to independent telephone companies
Independent telephone company
An Independent telephone company in the United States was a telephone company providing local service that was not part of the Bell System group of companies, "Ma Bell", before the 1984 Bell System divestiture or breakup of the Bell system...
.
Stromberg-Carlson was originally located in Chicago, with Carlson managing manufacture and Stromberg responsible for marketing. Stromberg-Carlson quickly established a reputation for reliable equipment and stable prices.
In 1901, the temporary chief executive of the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company
Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company
Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company was a major manufacturer of telephone exchange equipment. It was founded in Chicago, Illinois, by Milo G. Kellogg, an electrical engineer...
, Wallace De Wolf, assisted executives of rival telephone equipment manufacturer Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
in an attempt to take over Stromberg-Carlson. A bitter stockholder fight ensued, and the takeover attempt failed. Stromberg-Carlson reincorporated as a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state corporation in 1902, where state law better protected the company from takeover efforts.
In 1904, Stromberg-Carlson was purchased by Home Telephone Company, a relatively large service provider based in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. The new owners quickly relocated all Stromberg-Carlson operations to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1955, Stromberg-Carlson was purchased by General Dynamics.
In 1970, Stromberg delivered the first CrossReed PBX to the newly constructed Disney World in Orlando Florida. Over the next 10 years more than 7,000 CrossReeds were delivered globally.
During the 1970s, Stromberg developed what is arguably the first fully digital PBX, the DBX. The first DBX was installed at Export, Pennsylvania in 1977 and consisted of 960 ports. While this first field trial had limited success, Stromberg went on to develop the DBX-240, DBX-1200 and the DBX-5000. Also during this same period, Stromberg developed a number of leading edge technologies and products, including the first digital AUTOVON switching system and the first digital Command and Control communications system.
By 1980 General Dynamics was undergoing a significant change and in 1982, General Dynamics sold the Stromberg-Carlson operations in several parts. The Stromberg key-systems was sold to ComDial, the PBX/DBX division was sold to United Technologies and the Central Office division was sold to Plessey of the UK. Plessey eventually sold "Stromberg Carlson," the DCO business unit, to Siemens AG in 1991.
The new company, Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, became the third largest vendor of central office switches in the United States—with a combined installed base of 5 million access lines. They continued to manufacture the Siemens DCO
Siemens DCO
Siemens DCO was introduced in 1977 by Stromberg-Carlson. The Stromberg-Carlson DCO was the first digital Class 5 telephone switch installed in the USA...
as well as the Siemens EWSD out of the Lake Mary facility, moving production of the EWSD from New York to Florida.
In 2006 the DCO line of Siemens Stromberg-Carlson was sold to GENBAND
Genband
GENBAND is a privately held company which makes IP multimedia application and infrastructure products and solutions for fixed wire line, mobile, and cable network service providers. The company was formed in 1999 as General Bandwidth and since 2010 is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.It has major...
, a Next Generation Networking
Next Generation Networking
Next-generation network is a broad term used to describe key architectural evolutions in telecommunication core and access networks. The general idea behind the NGN is that one network transports all information and services by encapsulating these into packets, similar to those used on the...
company based in Texas.
Switching systems
Stromberg-Carlson produced several unique switching systems, including:- XY, a "flat motion" switch logically similar to Strowger switchStrowger switchThe Strowger switch, also known as Step-by-Step or SXS, is an early electromechanical telephone switching system invented by Almon Brown Strowger...
ing. The "XY Selector" was not invented by SC, but licensed from L.M. Ericsson of Sweden in the late 40's and re-engineered for U.S. switching applications (Ericsson used it for PABX and a very small Rural Exchange application). XY was very popular with REA (RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION) funded independent telephone companies and out sold all other vendors in the less than 1000 line applications in the 50's. The largest XY ever in service was installed in Anchorage, AK by RCA Corporation for the U.S. Air Force. Later purchased by Anchorage Telephone Co, it eventually grew to over 10,000 lines. - CrossReed 400/800/1600, an electronically controlled, wired-logic PBX with expansion up to 2,400 ports; notable for its quick dial tone speed & first video telephone in the world.
- ESC, an early electronic, wired logic, reed-switch with a matrix similar to the AE EAX. The ESC, was not however Stored Program Control and had more in common with crossbar switching than other SPC electronic switching systems. It was however notable for its quick dialtone speed. (ESC-1, ESC-2, ESC-3 and ESC-4)
- DBX-288/1344/5136 & Excalibur, the first fully digital PBX. Used a LSI/PDP-11 microprocessor in the early models and grew up to over 32,000 ports & 128,000 directories in the Excalibur.
- DCO (Digital Central Office), a time-division switch similar to DMS-10. The Stromberg-Carlson DCO was the first Class-5 digital local office switching system installed in the U.S. Stromberg-Carlson put their switch (lab-prototype)into service in July 1977 in Richmond Hill, GeorgiaRichmond Hill, GeorgiaRichmond Hill is a city in Bryan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,959 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Richmond Hill is located at ....
. This switch was SC's "REA FIELD TRIAL" office, but was never accepted by the telephone company (Coastal Utilities Inc) and was replaced with a Northern Telecom DMS-10 in the early 80's.
Military, institutional and consumer electronics
In addition to telephone equipment Stromberg-Carlson produced military communications gear, institutional sound systems, and high-end stereophonic equipment. Many included Stromberg Carlsons "Acoustic Labyrinth" loudspeaker enclosure design, a forerunner of the modern transmission line loudspeaker enclosures.Among Stromberg-Carlson's ventures were:
- Radio and television receivers, loudspeakers, paging systems, commercial sound amplifiers, and microphones
- The ubiquitous BC-348BC-348The BC-348 is a compact American-made communications receiver, which was mass-produced during World War II for the U.S. Army Air Force. Under the Joint Army-Navy nomenclature system, the receiver system became known as the AN/ARR-11. -History:...
HFHigh frequencyHigh frequency radio frequencies are between 3 and 30 MHz. Also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decameters . Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted Medium-frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Very high frequency...
radio, manufactured during World War II and for a decade after - Institutional intercomIntercomAn intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...
and public address systemsPublic addressA public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in... - Ground-Air-Ground tactical communications, AUTOVON and secure systems used by various government agencies worldwide