Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-06-06

How CABLE MESSAGES ARE RECEIVED.
Until the fore part of November, the
French cable, having its terminus at North
Eastman, Mass, employed the flash system
of signaling. Now the cable is worked
duplex on the Stearns system, says the
Journal of the telegraph, using an auto.
matte recorder, by which the messages
are received in ink on narrow strip of
| paper.
By the system which has been displaced
the messages were spelled out by flashing
ray of light back and forth across a
standard line, the right and left flashes
corresponding with the dots and dashes of
the ordinary Geographic alphabet.
In this system the light is flashed by
reflection from an extremely light mirror,
which is turned from right to left by the
opposing influences of positive and
negative impulses. This system has the
advantage of being operated with very
slight impulses, but also the disadvantage
of leaving no permanent record.
To secure the latter very important
end tho recording instrument has been
adopted. The press dispatch announcing
the change states that in the new recorder
the ink is discharged by the agency of
electricity, land not by capillary attrac.
ton, as in other cable recorders" This
statement is incorrect, electricity being
now similarly employed in the recording
instruments used at Hearts Content, the
Newfoundland station Of the Anglo Amer
ican company's cables.
A recent visitor to Hearts Content
describes as follows the method of
receiving messages at that point. The
| ,oopr1or Sc o harco hoo ,1o e.
by the usual circles of fine wire, and
is hung between the magnetic poles, and
by a light lever and a thread almost as
fine as the strand of cobweb is connected
with delicate siphon hung in a little
reservoir of ink. The ink is electrified so
as to produce repulsion of the particles,
making 1t flow more readily through the
siphon, which outside is about the size of
a darnng needle and the interior tube is
scarcely larger than hair. The lower
end of the siphon rests against paper
tape playing perpendicularly through
rollers. The whole machine is almost of
gossamer fineness and hexibility, so as to
minimize the electric strain necessary for
working the cable.
Let us imagine now that coming
message has been signalled from far
across the ocean at Valentia. The operator
at first opens the simple machinery that
works the brass rollers. On the center of
the tape, as it passes the rollers, the
siphon at first marks only straight line.
Suddenly the line swerves to the right or
left. The message has started and the
siphon has just begun its record. Worked
by two keys and positively or negatively
electrified, the coil swings The siphon
point now to one side, now to the other
along the tape. Responsive to the trained
hand of the operator, the filament
of ink marks out enc notch, two notches,
three notches; then suddenly it may be a
high elevation or depression, until the
delicate line traced on the tape looks like
the tiny outline of a mountain range.
But it is a range whose every hilltop,
valley and peak means a telegraphc
symbol to telegrapher's eye. The
recorder is the invention of tho ia.
nous electrician, Sir William Thomp.
son. How delicate an interpreter it is
may be inferred from the fact that ten
jars work 1900 miles of cable, between
Valentia and Hearts Content, while
twenty five jars of the same electric power
would be needed to work three hundred
and fifty miles of land wire: in other
words, the recorder is more than twelve
times rs efficient for its purpose as the
ordinary Morse instrument. The record
er traces its character on the tape about rs
fast rs n slow penman copies letter.
Besides the delicacy of work, the recorder
as its name imports, has the merit ofI
leaving the record of the message.