Fig. 300. Rear View of Target Signal, Magneto Switchboard
[View full size illustration.]

The drawing, Fig. 297, also gives a good idea of the method of mounting the hand generator that is ordinarily employed with such magneto switchboards. The shaft of the generator is merely continued out to the front of the key shelf where the usual crank is provided, by means of which the operator is able to generate the necessary ringing current. Beside the hand generator at each operator's position, it is quite common in magneto boards, of other than the smallest sizes, to employ some form of ringing generator, either a power-driven generator or a pole changer driven by battery current for furnishing ringing current without effort on the part of the operator.

Fig. 301. Dean Two-Position Switchboard
[View full size illustration.]

Switchboards as shown in Figs. 294 and 295, are called single-position switchboards because they afford room for a single operator. Ordinarily for this class of work a single operator may handle from one to two hundred lines, although of course this depends on the amount of traffic on the line, and this, in turn, depends on the character of the subscribers served, and also on the average number of stations on a line. Another single-position switchboard is shown in Figs. 299 and 300, being a front and rear view of the simple magneto switchboard of the Western Electric Company, which is provided with the target signals of that company rather than the usual form of drop.