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BELL
SYSTEM PRACTICES (BSPs) Technical
Documentation for Bell System products
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LARGE FORMAT BSP|
BSPs
are extremely useful to
collectors, as they contain loads of information on product features,
ordering options, colors, wiring,
maintenance and other technical
details.LARGE FORMAT BSPs - 8 1/2 X 11 inches Individual BSPs ran from one to as many as 50 or 60 pages each. For a particular product, seperate BSPs often covered Identification, Selection, Connections, Installation, Operation and Maintenance. Each was typically stapled or glued together, and punched with 7 holes to fit either 3 or 4 pin binders. Each was also identified with a BSP number (described below), a date and an issue number. New issues were printed to describe new products and options, changes in technical specifications, different production parts, the adoption of new installation or service techniques and (occasionally) to correct errors. Packages of updates were periodically distributed, and had to be manually filed in each binder set in use, to keep the documentation set up to date. With literally thousands of BSPs published, this would have been quite a challenge for anyone lucky enough to have a large library of BSP binders. This creates an obvious problem for collectors. If it's not enough of a challenge to find a reasonably complete set of BSPs for one's primary area of interest, things are complicated by wanting to know changes that happened during the life of a product. Several issues of each BSP are thus needed! We've seen some BSPs with issue numbers in the 60s or even higher. Some index documents that were frequently revised seem to have gone from issue 99 back to issue 1. The issue number AND date are thus required to uniquely specify a particular document. SMALL FORMAT BSPS - 4 x 6 7/8 inches Shown with a carrying case above, these compact BSPs were produced primarily for installers to take along on the job. Sets were made up that contained the products most often used by an installer, and packaged in a hard board carrying case that was designed to fit conveniently in the installer's truck. While the same BSP numbers and content were used, the small format required the information to be typeset again, and corners and tabs were die cut, incurring additional cost and increasing the possibility of inconsistency and error. These BSP s were made from the 1910s through the 1960s! BSP HANDBOOKS During 1969 and 1970 several Operating Companies experimented with producing bound copies of sets of the large BSPs for installers. The feedback was that their 8 1/2 x 11 inch size was too large for convenience. Beginning in 1970, the Bell System produced several sets of smaller format handbooks in the 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch format. Each BSP was photo-reduced, so the additional typesetting step was eliminated. The binding was simple and inexpensive, like a paperback book, so the books were cheaper, but not updateable. They were reprinted with current useful BSP issues every year or two and the old sets discarded.    Several series were eventually developed, covering topics of interest to different groups of installers. STATION SERVICE
MANUAL - Mainly single line sets and related components and techniques
used primarily by residential installers.
KEY SYSTEMS SERVICE MANUAL - Mainly multi-line sets and related components and techniques primarily used by commercial installers. STATION SPECIALTIES SERVICE MANUAL - Covered special function equipment, such as speakerphone connections, automatic dialers, answering machines and announcement machines. DATA SERVICES REFERENCE HANDBOOK - Devices (including modems) and procedures used to interface computers and other electronic data equipment to the telephone network. INTERCONNECTION SERVICE MANUAL - Electrical interfaces required for voice, data and customer supplied TIE lines. REGISTRATION SERVICE MANUAL - The FCC Registration Program, including specifications for jacks used to connect to the telephone network.  A library of just a few of the sets published during the 1970s takes up about 6 feet of shelf space. BSP NUMBERING PLANS BSPs were initially issued with numbers in the form: Lss.nnn.vv where L = the letter indicating the series, ss = the numeric 2-digit section number, nnn = the 3-digit number of the BSP in the section, and vv = a one or two digit numeric variation code, if needed.
The BSP number was followed by the sequential Issue number and Date. For example, C11.001, Issue 4, 7-25-41 "Plan for System Issued Practices." Pages were normally on white paper. Addenda were on pink paper. Temporary Information Sheets were on blue or light green paper. In the early 1960s, the format was changed. The initial letter was eliminated and the number was in the all numeric form: ddd-sss-kkk where ddd = Division Number, sss = Division-specific Subdivision Number, and kkk = Key Number. "ddd" Division Number Codes
The BSP number was followed by the sequential Issue number and Date. For example, 000-010-010, Issue 5, April 1964 "Bell System Practices - Plant Series General Plan" BSP SOURCES As you can easily see, the chance of finding anyone with a complete set of BSPs readily available is exceptionally small. It's even difficult to get a set of BSPs showing the evolution of a particular set over a period of 5 to 10 years. For many years, collectors were lucky enough to be able to order BSPs directly from Lucent's web site. That has since stopped, so BSPs must be found on-line or on the used market. I've had some luck searching for a BSP using "bsp" followed by the BSP's number in quotes -- e.g. bsp "000-010-010" This currently returns a match on the site telephonearchive.com. Wiring diagrams from BSPs for many phones are being added to the telephone collector club sites: www.telephonecollectors.org/library http://atcaonline.com/diagrams.html The handbooks still appear fairly frequently at telephone shows and on-line auctions at reasonable prices. Other BSP books and binders seem to command premium prices currently. Some phone club members are scanning groups of BSPs and making them available on CD. If you need BSPs, you should consider joining a collector club. You may find a source and will certainly find folks with similar interests who can help with wiring or troubleshooting issues, even if the documentation is difficult to find. No matter how much or how little you know, there will probably be areas in which you can now or will soon be able to help others. Happy hunting! "You can't have too many BSPs!" Please send any comments, additions and corrections. Last update: 15 September 2008 |
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©2004-8 paulf. All rights reserved.
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