SYSTEEM 8000

There were two configurations: the 2/2/5 (2 external lines, 2 simultaneous calls and 5 internal extensions) or the 5/5/25 (5 external lines, 5 simultaneous calls and 25 internal extensions). The exchange was programmed by means of ‘strapping’ – creating or removing jumpers on the circuit boards. In terms of handsets, there was a choice of three types: the standard 4-wire handset, the 4-wire hands-free handset or the 6-wire operator handset. The operator handset required additional ‘expansion cards’, and only one operator handset could be connected. Analogue handsets could not be connected. One option that was available, however, was a ‘remote handset’. For example, the exchange was located in Boortmeerbeek, but the office in Kortenberg also wanted an internal handset to avoid call charges. In such cases, a remote line was installed from the main exchange to the branch in Kortenberg, where the ‘remote unit’ was set up with a standard telephone handset. This allowed users to make internal or external calls via the exchange at a different location.