Western Electric type 7-A amplifier
Dateearly 20th Century
Inventory NumberRS0146
ClassificationAmplifier
Subject
Maker
Western Electric Company
1869 - 1995
Cultural Region
Dimensions25 x 31.8 x 19.3 cm (9 13/16 x 12 1/2 x 7 5/8 in.)
Material
DescriptionA Western Electric-Cruft 7-A amplifier mounted in wooden box with metal hardware and bakelite front/knobs and dial. Also, three (glass?) tubes attached to front of instrument.
Signedplate on top panel: 7-A AMPLIFIER / Western Electric / LICENSED FOR USE ONLY AS A PART OF THE / WESTERN ELECTRIC LOUDSPEAKING TELEPHONE OUTFIT / PAT. IN U.S.A. / JAN. 19, 1907 FEB. 16, 1908 FEB. 1#, 1912 / MAR. 2, 1915 - TWO PATS. / AUG. 26, 1919 JAN. 27, 1920 AUG. 19, 1920 / APR. 21, 1921 NOV. 23, 1921 / PATENTS APPLIED FOR / MADE IN U.S.A.
Functionpossible function: WE 7A dating from 1922, at the dawn of electronic amplification. When you picked up a phone and asked for "Long Distance", that's the circuit that amplified your voice and sent it to the next city, over many miles of twisted-pair wire. Wonder where the phrase "line stage" comes from? You're looking at one of the first ones ever made - the "line" refers to a telephone line, not a component sitting two feet away. Telephone practice migrated to studios and radio stations, which used the services of AT&T Long Lines to build the first radio networks
http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/Rosetta_Stone.html
http://www.antiqueradio.com/we7a_10-99.html
http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/Rosetta_Stone.html
http://www.antiqueradio.com/we7a_10-99.html
Historical AttributesCruft
Western Electric Company
Date: early 20th-mid 20th Century
Object number: RS0156
Western Electric Company
Date: early 20th Century
Object number: RS0157
