New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-27
TELEGRAPH MACHINE IGolHD'
THE POLLAK-VIRAG 1NVENTloN DHNOt'
sTRATIoN NOT AS SUCCESSFUL
AS EXPECTED.

A number Of men interested In telegraphy were
invited TO be present yesterday morning III 'he
Pulitzer Building at test OF the foiiah'n zoe
automatic telegraph machine IL was PIoposee
that Josef Virag OF the inventors shouiu se"u
a message 10 Chicago. where 1t would be received
~, HE fellow inventor Anton Pollak. 1t Is SAID
,hat messages were recently sent from chicago 10
Milwaukee and back at the rate Of 122oOV words an
hour by this system. Messages were also sent
recently over circuits extending TO St Paul CIeVe-
land and Buffalo and over the last named circuit
the speed If is said reached $4,000 words an hour
In the operating of the machine the message mas
10 be translated first into code. using the Con-
tinental alphabet This is done by Wheatstone
perforator, which punches holes In strip or paper
tape. The tape is placed In the transmit'er De
tween a metallic needle constituting one poie ana
a wheel. constituting the other. so that whenever
the needle through perforation touches the Wheei
the code character is transmitted. The ransmit'er
Is worked with great rapidity by little motor
novelty of the system is the receiver, which is
a sort Of telephone. To enable tho vibrations 10
record the message a smaH steel rod, with little
mirror attached. is fastened 10 the centre or the
diaphragm Of the telephone receiver. and small
incandescent light is placed in such position that
its rays strike the mirror. Thereby beam Of light
is reflected, which goes through tube into the
drum and striking sheet of senstized paper on
a SPOOL records the message. The mirror responds
of course TO every vibration Of the diaphragm
any ordinary photograph. and there becomes visi-
ble a continuous black line describing acute angles
Some of these, pointing up, represent "dashes,
and others pointing down, represent dots" Con-
Meeting the angles are horizontal lines, which
represent the spaces between words and letters.
While It is claimed by the inventors that the sys-
TEN can transmit great number OF words as
40 900 an hour It is also acknowledged that moro
rapid method should be discovered for perforating
the strip Of tape. AS all these words are sent on
single wire. the system It is urged, would be
especially useful when many wires were disabled
by storm or accident.
The test was arranged to be made at II o'clock
SIDES the INVENTOR, Mr. 1iTag, and his assistant,
d Sbar were 6rs eecrSa EN-
gineer, of the Western Union Telegraph Company;
Of the Postal Telegraph Company and Newton
Harrison. Only the transmitter OF this system was
at Chicago there was nome in NewYork and
messages could be received here yesterday by the
The test. however, did not take place ar
ranged In fact II was nearly z o.Tlock before
Tribune office. 10 which messages were to be sent
Sns Of the system being held ana
II was not till o'clock that test signals worked
as an attempt was about to be made 10 send
message there was more trouble on the wire. th
The guests. Who had been informed Of the sue
cessfIl workings OF the system in September las
seven hundred miles, and recently from Chicag
70 Buffalo and back on loop wire: a distance Q
Many test signals were sent to Chicago late Il
sixty az words FaTe So ana
factorily received it was said: Then more troubl
graph Company N Chicago and the Office OF Of T TiS
Chicago Tribune" The wire was lost four times 1
attempt had 10 Be ABANDONED for the d Sgen at
o'clock Another test viii be made tomorrow c
Wednesday, and receiver will be sent here froI
Chicago for that purpose