OB-33

The OB 33 telephone was a German-made local cell phone. The initials ΟΒ mean in German Ortsbatterie, in English Local Battery and in Greek they were called local array phones. They were so named because they used a battery as a source of energy to draw their own power. In Germany it was the main device for the railway network. All devices were connected in parallel in one line. The selection according to which the remote station was called was made by ringing the bell of different frequency and length using a corresponding remote or short remote crank, according to a type of Morse code. Each individual OB connection on this line was assigned its own “bell code” in this way. The base plate and the housing-shell are made of solid steel sheet, the hook switch assembly and the fork, as well as the handset and the crank screw are made of bakelite. Released in 1940 in three shades of white, black and brown. It was one of the main telephones of the German Army in World War II. It operated on the Railways until the mid-1970s. In Greece it was taken over by Siemens after the war and installed on the railways, replacing telegraphy. It was also used by Government Services until the mid-1990s.