The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1884-07-02
woRklNo Az rLRcrnlo cAplr.
How Message IL Deceived After lie Pas
sage Under the Ocean.

There is no similarity whatever in the
practical mechanism of ocean and land tele-
graphy. Telegraphing by sound over long
cables is not practicable. The instrument
most used is recorder" which receives
its message after its instant journey under
thousands of miles Of water. The recorder
Is horseshoe, electrified by the usual cir
Giles of fine wire, attracting small metallic
coil Tho coil Is hung between the mag.
netic poles, and by light lever and q thread
almost as thin as the strand of a cobweb, is
connected with little syphon hung in q
little reservoir of ink. The ink is electri-
lied, so as to produce q repulsion of the par
dcles, making it flow more readily through
the syphon, which outside is about the size
of a darning-needle, and the interior tube
scarcely larger than hair. The lower end
of the syphon rests against paper tape,
playing perpendicularly through rollers.
The whole machine is almost of gossameI
faeness and fexibility, SO as TO minimize
the electric strain necessary for working the
cable. Imagine, now, that message has
been signalled from far across the ocean.
The operator at first opens the simple ma
,hinery that works the brass rollers. On
the centre of the tape, as it passes between
the rollers, the syphon at first marks only
straight line. Suddenly the line sweryes to
the right or left. The message has started,
and the end Of the syphon has begun its
record. Worked by two keys, and positive
ly or negatively electrified, the coil swings
the syphon point now to one side, now to
the other, along the taps. Responsive to
the trained hand Of the operator, the fila
ment Of ink marks out one notch, two
uotches, three notches then, suddenly, il
may be high elevation or depression until
the delicate line traced on the tape looks
like the tiny outline of mountain range.
But 1t is range whose very hilltop peaks
and valleys means an alphabetical symbol
to the telegrapher's eye. How delicate an
interpreter the recorder is may be inferred
from the fact that ten jars of battery work
1900 miles of cable, while twenty-five jars
of the same power would be needed to work
$50 miles of land wire, In other words,
the recorder is more than q dozen times MS
efficient for its purpose as the ordinary
Morse instrument The recorder traces its
characters on the tape about as fast as a
slow penman copies q letter. Besides its
delicacy of work, the recorder as its name
imports, has the merit Of leaving the record
of the message, a point which, in lawsuit
involving on alleged mistake of q word,
might save the company thousands of dol
lars. Superseded by the recorder, but an
instrument still used in emergencies, is the
reflector It san electrical adaptation
of reflected light, not much unlike the pro.
cess with which child anuses itself when
flashing q ray from hand mirror. The
mirror is set in metallic case, which when
electrified positively or negatively. gives {
double motion. A bright lamp shining
through slit makes an upright bar of light
which Is reflected into dark box yart
away and plays to one side or the other of
line in the centre. Looking into the tox
the layman sees only fash darting TO tn,
right and left. But these double fiai hel
! give the dot and dash, which, in various
combinations, are all the telegrapher needi
Tor his alphabet. The reflector is less ii tri
cate than the recorder, but as il could not
register the message, il wns discarded