Heard a new guy call a 66 block 'the old phone thing' and it made me think

I was finishing a job in a Portland basement and the apprentice with me pointed at the dusty block and asked what it was. Told him we used to punch down hundreds of lines on those for office systems. Now it's all Cat6 and fiber runs to a little ONT on the wall. Makes you miss the solid click of a good punchdown tool. What's the oldest piece of gear you still run into on a regular job?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_margaret2mo ago

That name is almost too perfect... might start using it myself. Still find those old blocks in so many apartment building basements, just sitting there like tech fossils. The real throwback is the occasional rotary phone still hooked up to one, usually in a grandma's kitchen. Makes you wonder what else is still running on pure copper and hope.

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haydenharris2mo ago

Found a payphone still working last month.

paule531mo ago

Oh man, you nailed it with that "copper and hope" line. That's exactly what it feels like when you spot one of those old blocks still wired up in some forgotten corner of a basement. I've seen them too, just sitting there like they're waiting for someone to come along and turn the whole building back into a party line. It's kind of wild to think about how much of our world is still held together with old tech and good intentions, you know? Makes me wonder how many other systems are just one rusty wire away from giving out completely.