Australian Phonecard
Anritsu
Test & Demonstration Cards

 
Telecom Australia - Miscellaneous Anritsu Test/Demonstration/Sample Cards
   

The Australian Anritsu Silver 5000 unit Test Card, and the Australian Anritsu Corporation Green 200 Unit Demonstration Card, shown below, were printed by Toppan Printing and magnetically encoded by Anritsu in Japan. They were provided around 1987 / 1988 by Anritsu Corporation to Telecom for the use of the Chief and Senior Telecom Engineers in familiarizing themselves with, and obtaining experiencing in, the operation and performance of the Anritsu phone system and technology. These cards were not used by Telecom Payphone Technicians for the field testing of Telecom Payphones.

These Cards had a units remaining scale on both their top and bottom edges and therefore did not need an arrow on the face of them to indicate the correct edge to be inserted into the phone, because  either edge of the cards could be inserted into the phone, with the remaining units after a phone call being shown on one of the two scales on these cards. However, this novelty did not progress onto any other Australian Anritsu cards which subsequently had an green arrow to indicate the end of the card to be inserted into a Telecom Payphone.

 The Anritsu Corporation Bronze Sample Card, shown below, is recorded officially as being both an Egyptian, and South African card, and confirmed for those countries. It is not an Australian card, even though it had previously been listed as one on the Colnect Website.

   
Front Of Miscellaneous Anritsu Card Back Of Miscellaneous Anritsu Card
   
Australian Anritsu Silver 5000 Unit Test Card
   
Australian Anritsu Corporation Green 200 Unit Demonstration Card
   
Anritsu Corporation Bronze Sample Card
   
   
Telecom Australia - Anritsu Corporation First Type Test Cards
   
The Australian Anritsu First Type Test Cards used were the basic un-encoded Anritsu Corporation Sample Card supplied by Anritsu Corporation in Japan, as shown below. These cards were subsequently encoded by Telecom Engineers in Australia, with various different $ Values which were often hand written, with a black permanent marker, on the face of the phonecards. They were used by Telecom Engineers from 1987 to 1988 to learn and to obtain experience with encoding Anritsu Phonecards and also for testing the operation and performance of the payphones and the overall phone system being developed for Australia. These Test Cards had a units remaining scale ranging from 0 to 20 units, and rising by increments of 2 units. When a $ Value was written on one of these cards, it was typically within the range of $2 to $100, and the $ Value on the card equated to 20 units.
   
Front Of Anritsu First Type Test Card Back Of Anritsu First Type Test Card
   
   

Telecom Australia - Anritsu Corporation Second Type Test Cards

   

In September 1989, Telecom Australia signed an interim agreement, with Anritsu Corporation, and Toppan Printing Company (both of Japan) and Alcatel STC Australia, to work together and achieve a viable Payphone system. Anritsu supplied the phonecard reader technology as well as Anritsu Corporation test cards, and would encode the trial phonecards, while Toppan printed the phonecards for the trials. Alcatel would provide Telecom with the finished Phonecard Payphones.
 
The Australian Anritsu Second Type Test Cards were introduced by Telecom in 1989 and used until approximately the end of 1990. They were used in the Geelong Trials and subsequently in the initial rollout phase of Phonecards in Australia. They were Serially Numbered from 0000000000001 to around 0000000003000, most had a hand Stamped $ Value and all were magnetically encoded by Telecom in Australia, and had a value remaining scale ranging from 0 to 100% rising by increments of 10%. There were three (3) distinctive batches of these Cards. The First Batch contained cards with Serial Numbers ranging from 00001 to 01000, The Second Batch had cards with Serial Numbers ranging from 01001 to 02000, and the Third Batch had cards with Serial Numbers ranging from 02001 to 03000.
 
These Test Cards have Stamped $ Value denominations and Serial Number Ranges as follows:


Stamped

$ Value

Serial Number Ranges

Quantity

First Batch

Second Batch

Third Batch

$1.5

00001 to 00200

01001 to 01200

02001 to 02300

700

$2.0

00201 to 00400

01201 to 01400

 

400

$3.0

00401 to 00600

01401 to 01600

 

400

$5.0

00601 to 00700

01601 to 01700

 

200

$6.0

00701 to 00800

01701 to 01800

 

200

$10.0

00801 to 00900

01801 to 01900

 

200

$20.0

00901 to 01000

01901 to 02000

 

 200

No $ Value

 

 

 02301 to 03000

700

NOTE: A $1.50 phonecard in 1990 could make a maximum of 5 x 30 cent phone calls which would produce a maxi-hole used phonecards with holes punched at the 0%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% positions on the % remaining scale of the card. However several used $1.50 stamped Anritsu Second Type Test Cards have been sighted with one or more holes punched in them at the 10%, 30%, 50% 70% and/or 90% positions on the card which would indicate that at least some of these cards were actually encoded with a $ Value higher than $1.50.

   
Front Of Anritsu Second Type Test Card Back Of Anritsu Second Type Test Card
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Telecom Australia - Anritsu Corporation Third Type Test Cards

 

Telecom’s experience with its Anritsu Second Type Cards indicated that it was:
·   unnecessary to have Serial Numbers on their test cards, and
·   preferable to have the $ Value printed on the face of the cards, as opposed to hand stamped onto them.
 
Telecom ordered and acquired the Australian Anritsu Third Type Test cards from Anritsu Corporation towards the end of 1989. These Anritsu Test Cards were; not serially numbered, were the only ones printed by Toppan with their $ Value printed on the front of them, and had their $ Values encoded onto them by Anritsu in Japan.
 
These Test Cards were produced with values of $1.50, $3.00, $6.00, $15.00, $30.00, $60.00, and $120.00, printed on them, and had a value remaining scale ranging from 0 up to the $ Value shown on the front of the card, rising by increments of 10% of its $ Value. The lower value cards (the $1.50 to $30 cards) were used by Telecom Telephone Technicians for servicing payphones in the field. The $60 and $120 cards were used by Chief and Senior Telecom Engineers and not by Telecom Telephone Technicians. The lower value test cards were used in the Geelong Trials, and also in the subsequent rollout of phonecards in the States and Territories of Australia during 1990.

 
Front Of Anritsu Third Type Test Card Back Of Anritsu Third Type Test Card
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Telstra Payphones Test Card

 

These were the last official Magnetic Anritsu Test Cards and 5,000 of them were produced in Australia by Placard towards the end of 1996. They are believed to be the Prefix 1316 Telstra Phonecards. These Test Cards did not have the $ Value of the Card printed on their fronts, but were encoded by Telstra with a value of $1.50, and had a value remaining scale ranging from 0 to 100% rising by increments of 10%. They were produced for Telstra Payphone Technicians to use in the field for testing, servicing and maintaining Telstra Payphones.

 
Front Of Telstra Payphones Test Card Back Of Telstra Payphones Test Card
$1.50 Telstra Payphones Test Card - Prefix 1316 


 

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