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1-INTRODUCTION :
Optical embossing on rigid supports and reading devices were produced from 1975 in the central laboratories of Landis & Gyr (Zug) and Communication SA (Geneva). Very quickly, laboratory stored memory optical-cards (phonecards) with high levels of quality and security were tested from June 1976 and few field-trials with phonecards were performed in the end of 1976 for the acceptance of the optical system. In January 1977 the first customer (RTT Belgium) ordered a quantity of 5.000 phonecards which were manufactured within few days and introduced in Brussels from February 1977 (see FI-STU11-BEL-01 and FI-STU11-BEL-02). That was the earliest industrial application and production in the revolutionary field of coherent optic ! Sony and Philips both developped in laboratories optical digital audio disks and reading devices from 1975 with a first industrial production of CD-Rom in the late 1982 (five years after the introduction of phonecards in 1977).
This website is dedicated to this decisive innovation launched in 1972 in Switzerland by visionary collaborators from Landis & Gyr Communication SA (Zug and Geneva).
2-MUSEUM's CONTENT :
* Online Catalogue including the earliest optical-cards produced by Landis & Gyr (Zug),
* Technical Features about production of optical-cards (Zug) and optical-readers (Geneva),
* Articles for download (in English, french, German) about optical-cards' systems,
* Last News about community and events from all over the world,
* Tutorial to be consulted in case of first access,
* Click HERE for the last updates.
3-RARITY of CARDS :
* Ultra rare = Up to 5 cards are known !
* Extremely rare = Less than 20 cards are known !
* Very rare = Great stuff for swap !
* Rare = Already proud of that one !
* Difficult = It was found in a telephone booth !
* Common = Come on !
4-FEATURES in PREPARATION :
* Cards production in Zug (Switzerland), Croydon (Great-Britain), Hsinchu (Taiwan PRC),
* Understanding the cards' production and embossing of the optical structures,
* Panorama of Payphones (phonocard) produced by L&G Communication SA in Geneva...
Sincerely yours, Alain Knecht (April 2018).
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