The Coolidge examiner., 1931-07-10
Machines That Are
Almost Human
The Electrical Doctor
B y E. C. YLO


MACHINES suffer ailments and
ANA breaks, just as human beings
do, and the "illness" or breakdowns
on the part of machines has cost
industry a tremendous sum each
year.
So science has produced the
electrical DOCTOR" This device
diagnoses the ailment Of machine
accurately and instantly, and di
rects its cure.
The electrical doctor" doesn't
compute, juggle figures, or answer
questions, but its marvellous per-
fOrmance is almost akin to the
thinking and skill of the human
brain, and it does its task without
the possibility of errors of the hu
man brain.
An electrical doctor" is sta
toned at nearly every electrical
transformer in the country. Scores
of other machines are TO be guard
ed by these electrical doctors" and
similar devices, and science has
scored another triumph of saving
time and money.
The electrical Doctors" name is
corOnaphone. 1t is a device so SEN
sitive that a slight variation in
sound will put it to work.
High voltage transformers make
a humming sound all the time; that
is, when nothing is the matter with
them. When anything goes wrong,
the sound changes. 1t was upon
this change in sound that scientists
based the working of the corona
phone.
Only certain things can happen
to a high voltage transformer, and
each of these things has its own
distinctive sound.
The cOrOnaphOne pays no atten
ton to the peaceful, Industrious
humming of the transformer when
all is going well, but just as soon
as the transformer becomes i'll, or
has anything the matter with it, it
lets out a squawk, and the "electri
cal doctor" gets on the job
The corOnaphOne instantly mott.
fies headquarters. 1t tells not only
what is the matter with the trans
former and where the trouble is.
but it diagnoses the ailment and
makes a complete and accurate re
port, all in the time /. takes to
fash q signal.
The principle of the coronaphOne
is that of starting action by sound.
The squawk Of the aiIing trans
former is recorded on the corona
phone, and starts it operating. The
distinctive sound of the ailing part
of the transformer notifies the
electrical doctor" just where the
trouble is, and also what the
trouble is. An automatic flash to
headquarters promptly brings the
repairmen, and the threatened
breakdown in electric service Is
averted.
Electric service companies for
merly had to employ hundreds Of
men to hunt down trouble when
transformers and power lines got
out of order. Besides the waste in
energy, there often were long de-
lays in finding the seat of trouble
and making repairs so that service
could be resumed.
The electrical doctor" is the out
growth of necessity. When electric
service companies in the large cities
realized the necessity Of supplying
electric current to outlying suburbs
and territory many miles away
from the central power plants they
put their problem before scientists.
Large forces of men could not be
employed to care for these exten
siOns, and the service would not
warrant the building of complete
power plants in every suburb.
SO the electrical doctor" or cor
onaphOne was devised. AS a re
suit, in all cities and densely pOpu-
lated sections of the country, there
are now complete electric substa
tiOns where the electric current is
strengthened and distributed with
out the aid of a single human
hand. Automatic machinery is con
stantly at work, guarded over by
the electric doctor"
(e. 1881. Western Newspaper Union.)