The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-08-22
Cable Messages.

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 Sterns
system, using an automatic recorder,
by which the messages are received in
ink on n narrow strip of paper.
By the system which has been dis
placed the messages were spelled out by
flashing a.ray of light back and forth
across a standard line, the right and
left flashes corresponding with the dots
and dashes of the ordinary telegraph
alphabet. In this system the light is
flashed by reflection from an extremely
light mirror, which is turned to right
and left by the opposing influences of
positive and negative impulses. This
system has the advantage of being
operated with very slight electric i'm
pulses, but also the disadvantage of
leaving no permanent record. To
secure the latter very important end
the recording instrument has been
adopted.
A recent visitor to Hearts Content
describes as follows the methed of re-
ceiving messages at that point: The
recorder is a horseshoe magnet, cleo
trified by the usual circles OF fine wire,
and attracting small metallic coil.
The coil is hung between the magnetic
poles, and by light lever and thread
almost as fine as the strand of a cobweb
is connected with a delicate siphon hung
in little reservoir of ink. The ink is
electrified, so as to produce repulsion
of the particles, making it flow more
readily through the siphon, which out
side is about the size of a darning-
needle and. the interior tube scarcely
larger than a hair. The lower end OF
the siphon rests against paper tape
playing perpendicularly through rollers
The whole machine is almost of gossa-
mer fineness and Aexibility, so as to
minimize the electric strain necessary
for working the cable. - atr
Let us imagine now that a coming
message has been signaled from far
ac.os the ocean at Valentia. The
operator at first opens the simple ma.
/ chinerY that works the brass rollers
On the center of the tape, as it passe:
between the rollers, the siphon at frs
marks only straight line. Suddenly
the line swerves to the right or left
The message has started, and the end o.
the siphon has begun its. record
| Worked oy two keys, and positively anC
negatively electrified, the coil swing,
the siphon point now to one side, now
to the other, along the tape. Respon
sive to the trained hand of the operator
the filament of ink marks out one notch
two notehes, three notches; then sud
denly it may be a high elevation or de
preston, until the delicate line traced
on the tape looks like. the tiny outline
of q mountain range.
But it is range whose every hilltop
peak and valley means an alphabetical
symbol to the telegrapher's eye. TIL,
recorder is the invention of the famous
electrician, Sir William Thompson
How delicate an instrument it is may b'
inferred from the fact that ten jars worl
work 1900 miles of cable between Va
lentia and Hearts Content, while TWEEN
ty-five jars of the same electric power
would be needed to work $50 miles o
land wire. In other words, the records
is more than twelve times as efficien
for its purpose as the ordinary Mors,
instrument. The recorder traces il
characters on the tape about as fast As
slow penman copies letter. Beside
its delicacy of work. the recorder, as it
name imports, has the merit of leavin:
the record of the message. 0
the Telegraph.