telegraph receiver
Datecirca 1876
Inventory Number1997-1-0565
ClassificationTelegraph Receiver
Subject
Maker
Western Electric Manufacturing Company
1869 - 1881
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Dimensions10.8 × 13.5 × 24.4 cm (4 1/4 × 5 5/16 × 9 5/8 in.)
Material
DescriptionTelegraph receiving instrument mounted on a rectangular, wooden base. There are binding posts, one in each of the four corners of the base. In the middle of the base are two horizontal cylinders (electromagnets). The magnets are connected in the back by a metal plate, out of which comes an adjustment dial. In the front the magnets are also connected by a metal plate, this one in turn connected to a metal lever. The lever moves via an axle running above the magnets, with adjustment knobs on either side of the axle. The end of the lever rests between the sides of a U-shaped piece of metal, which is in turn mounted on a metal arch. The metal plate in front of the magnets is connected to what looks like a large metal binding post, via a spring that runs under the arch.
Signedon metal: W.E. M.F.G. CO. Chicago
Inscribedon base: 202 OHMS; ABCD
on bottom of base: D 10/16/76
FunctionThis instrument is used for receiving telegraphic messages from distant locations. When a current runs through the battery, it activates the magnet, which in turn exerts a force on the lever. The current is turned on and off by the operator of a signaling apparatus connected to the receiving apparatus by wires. The lever is attracted to the magnet when the current is on, and returns to its resting position when the current is off, making a sound when it hits the metal arch. In this manner, a Morse code message can be sounded.
Breguet
Date: 1870-1900
Accessories: paper roll; key
Object number: 1997-1-0554
U.S. Electrical Supplies
Date: 1910-1920
Object number: 1997-1-0578
Jules Mouilleron
Date: 1880-1890
Accessories: key; paper roll
Object number: 1997-1-0553
Harvard College Observatory
Date: circa 1869
Object number: 1996-1-0082
