Improvements in Means of Telegraphing through Long Uninsulated or Badly Insulated Submarine or other Submerged Cables, and in Maintaining Communication notwithstanding a Break in the Continuity of the Conductor.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, Sist Dec., 1690
Complete Specification Left, 30th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1897
0781 Dec., 1080
Complete Specification Left, 30th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1897
- PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means of Telegraphing through Long Uninsulated
or Badly Insulated Submarine or other Submerged Cables, and in
Maintaining Communication notwithstanding a Break in the
Continuity of the Conductor..
.
ALFRED CHARLES BROWN of 129 Algernon Road Lewisham in the County of
London Electrician do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention consists in providing means for utilizing the extreme sensitive-
ness of the Telephone as a Telegraphic receiver, and for adapting the minute and
slowly varying currents received over cable as described above for efficiently operat;
ing a Telephone; and general arrangements connected therewith. Also in causing
the Telephone Receiver to produce a permanent visible record of the signals.
For the above purposes I prefer to provide at the sending end of the Cable a
Battery, or Generator, and Morse, or other Telegraph operating-Key, one end
of the Battery, or Generator, being to Earth, and the other end put to line on the
key being depressed. Or the circuit may be normally closed, and be either
broken, or reversed in direction by the depression of the key, the normal direction
of current being then preferably Zinc, or negative pole to Line.
In either case I then provide at the receiving end a Telephone Receiver
capable of acting as a vibrating sounder, and a rapid vibrator or make and break,
operated by a local battery, or by mechanical, or other power, independently of the
line current, the said vibrator operating to disintegrate or split up the received
current, into rapid beats, or pulses, by rapidly making, and breaking, the line
circuit; but special precautions being taken to prevent the vibrator from pro-
ducing, or inducing, any current in the line circuit from its own action. This
is especially necessary where an electro-magnetic vibrator is used, and in this
case I take special care to insulate all parts of the vibrating contact arrangement
which are included in the line circuit, from every part connected to the local
circuit, and to bring the line circuit up to the contacts by means of a pair of
insulated wires well twisted together. For disintegrating the received current I
may also use a microphone, kept in vibration by any mechanical neans... The
least minute trace of current received from line, therefore, passing through such
rapid disintegrator, or make and break, and telephone receiver in series, causes
the latter to sound sufficiently to enable the Morse signals sent from the other
end to be read.
Where the continuity of the cable is broken, also, by the conductor becoming
parted, providing the ends remain anywhere in proximity under the water, I find
the communication can still usually be kept up by this method, the Telephone
Receivers used in this way being so exceedingly sensitive that they will respond
to the very minute traces of current collected or picked up and transmitted on by
the broken end of the cable on the receiving side, from that which is spreading out
through the water in all directions from the broken end on the Transmitting side,

page_text: To neutralise or reduce the effect of earth currents (which might otherwise
cause sounds in the Telephone Receiver) I prefer also to place in series in the
Line-circuit therewith at the Receiving end, or between the Telephone and. Earth,
a Condenser, which stops continuous earth currents, but the charging and dis-
charging of which, due to the slight but quicker changes of potential produced
by the signalling currents (disintegrated by the local vibrator) enables the signals
to be still heard and read. Or in some cases where the cables are shorter I may
apply the vibrator at the sending end, so as to either send rapid pulsations or
alternations of current directly to live, or else through the primary of an induction
coil the secondary of which is in-cluded in the line circuit, and in the latter case
where the cable is uninsulated or badly insulated, I may also introduce a strong
Battery or Dynamo current directly into the Line Circuit at one, or both ends
(the condenser being then omitted), Zine or Negative pole in each case being
preferably to Line, so as to keep the cable conductor polarized in the water, or
covered with a thin film of hydrogen or other non-conductor, thereby enabling. it
to better transmit 'a portion of the superimposed' signalling currents right through
to the receiving end. Under these conditions vocal specch can also sometimes be
transmitted; if a Telephone Transmitter take the place of the vibrating make and
break in the primary oircuit.
For causing the receiving Telephone to produce a visible record I may apply a
photographic process by attaching a small mirror to, or forming one on, the centre
of the Telephone diaphragm, and fixing the receiver in such way that a ray of
light from a strong source concentrated on: this mirror shall be reflected on to a
slit in a light-tight case, behind which slit a strip of sensitized paper is kept
moving along by any 'ordinary means, and the angle being such that the effect
of the vibration of the Telephone diaphragm is to broaden or spread out the spot
of light, or to concentrate the beam when at rest, but scatter it when in vibration,
so as to make the signals apparent on the paper slip either as broadenings and
narrowings of the line produced by the impact of the light beam, or as variations
of shadow density therein.
Dated this 24th December 1906.
Improvements in Means of Telegraphing through Long Uninsulated
or Badly Insulated Submarine or other Submerged Cables, and in
Maintaining Communication notwithstanding a Break in the
Continuity of the Conductor.
ALFRED CHARLES BROWN of 129 Algernon Road Lewisham in the County of
London, Electrician do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described' and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
According to one part of my invention I provide at the sending end of the
Cable, a Battery or Generator and Morse or other Telegraph-Operating-Key,
one end of the Battery, or Generator, being to earth and the other end being put
to line on the Key being depressed: Or the circuit may be morinally closed, and
be either broken or the current reversed in direction by the depression of the
Key, the normal direction of current being then preferably Zinc, or negative pole
to Line.
In either case I may then provide at the receiving end a Telephone Receiver

page_text: capable of acting as a vibrating sounder, and a rapid vibrator or make and break,
operated by a local battery, or by mechanical, or other power, independently of the
line current, the said vibrator operating, to disintegrate or split up, the received
current, into rapid beats, or pulses, by rapidly making and breaking, or varying,
the resistance of the line circuit, but. special precautions being taken to prevent
the vibrator from producing, or inducing,, any current in the line circuit. from its
own action. This is especially necessary where an electro-magnetic vibrator is
used, and in this case, I take special care to insulate all parts of the vibrating
contact arrangement which are included in the line circuit from every part con-
nected to the local circuit, and to bring the line circuit up to the contacts by means
of a pair of insulated wires well twisted together. Or I may also use a microphonic
contact or set of loose contacts in series in the line circuit at the receiving end,
arranged to be vibrated by electro-magnotic, or mechanical,, means, and with
further accessories hereinafter described.
The least minute trace of current received from line therefore,, passing through
such rapid disintegrator and telephone receiver, causes the fatter to sound
sufficiently to enable the Morse signals sent from the other end to be read.
Where the continuity of the Cable is broken, also, by the conductor becoming
parted, provided the ends remain anywhere in proximity under the water, I find
that communication can still usually be kept up by this method, the Telephone
Receivers, used in this wav, being so exceedingly sensitive that they will respond
to the very minute traces of current collected or picked up and transmitted on by
the broken end of the Cable on the receiving side, from that which is spreading
out through the water in all directions from the broken end-on the transmitting
side.
To neutralise or reduce the effect of earth currents I prefer also to place in
series in the Line-circuit at the receiving end, or between the Receiving Instru-
ment and Earth, a Condenser, which stops continuous, earth currents, but the
charging and discharging of which, due to the slight but quicker changes of
potential produced by the signalling currents enables the signals to be effectively
received:
Or in some cases I may apply a Vibrator at the sending end, so as to send rapid
high potential charges or pulsations or alternations of current directly to line, or
else send an intermittent current through the primary of an induction coil, the
secondary of which is included in the line circuit, and in the latter case where the
cable is uninsulated or badly insulated, I may also introduce a strong. Battery or
Dynamo current directly into the Line Circuit at either or both ends, Zinc: or
Negative pole in each case, being preferably to line, so as to keep the cable con-
ductor polarized in the water, or covered with a thin film of hydrogen or other
non-conductor, thereby enabling it to better transmit a portion of the super-im-
posed signalling currents or electric waves right through to the receiving end:
It is desirable also in some cases that the signalling currents should be applied to
the cable through a series of sparking knobs (as described further on) to make
them as sudden and impulsive as possible.
These super-imposed signalling currents or charges may then be received on a
plain Telephone alone or pair of Telephones at the Receiving Station,, joined up
in the ordinary way between the line and polarizing Battery or Earth of con-
denser; or if the microphonic contact or set of loose contacts be applied in series
with the line at the receiving end, as described in the first part of this specification,
I find that the said microphonic contact or set of loose contacts, colieres together
at and for every signalling impulse received through the line, thereby greatly
reducing its resistance for each signal until restored by the operation of the
mechanical or electro-magnetic vibrator, employed to shake the microphonic or
loose contacts before described..
These variations of resistance can therefore be utilized to either more powerfully
affect a Telephone, or a Syphon Recorder or other sensitive receiving Instrument
placed in direct or parallel circuit with the said loose contacts and a local battery cell,

page_text: or to affect a relay placed in such circuit and thereby control another local battery
circuit and so operate a less sensitive but more convenient form of Telegraphic
Receiving Instrument, such as a Morse Sounder, or Printer, giving a substantial
visible record. For these purposes the microphonic or loose contacts may be either
of carbon or metal, preferably granules or small pieces of easily fusible metal,
such as soft solder or similar alloys, or otuer loose contacts may be 'used:
7.
In the drawings Fig. 1 is a diagram of a set of' Apparatus, according to my
Invention, suitable for a long Cable, which is insulated for the bulk of the way,
but to earth or broken with the ends in near proximity at an intermediate part,
and on which there is not much earth current running; also for use under other
conditions.
ا.
In this figure A is a Morse Key, which operates to alternately connect and dis-
connect a direct Battery B, or Generator, to and from the Line, and to put the
Line direct, to earth between the beats, i.e. while disconnected from the battery
or generator, the other end of which latter is itself also joined to earth. An
ordinary "Send" or "Receive" switch is also preferably applied in the Line
circuit at each end, as indicated at D and D¹ in this and each of the following
diagrams. At the receiving end the current, which arrives in comparatively slowly
undulating waves, is then split up or disintegrated as described by being passed
through a pair of rapidly vibrating contacts or spring and fixed contact-stud,
lettered F & G respectively, which spring is kept rapidly vibrating by but in-
sulated from the armature of the trembler bell arrangements H which is kept
going electro-magnetically in the ordinary way as shewn. From here the line
current passes on through the receiving Telephone I to earth. The faintest trace
of received current, therefore, makes itself apparent as clear signals in the
Telephone..
Fig. 2 is a diagram of an arrangement suitable for use under the same condi-
tions as Fig. I just described, but where earth currents are stronger. In this case
a condenser J is inserted in the line circuit at the receiving end to stop con-
tinuous earth currents and the signalling Key. K at the sending end is double
current, that is, arranged to send reversals at each stroke, instead of plain makes
and breaks. Otherwise the apparatus is similar to that shewn and described with
reference to Fig. I.
Fig. 3 is a diagram of a complete double set of apparatus, suitable for working
over a bare or badly insulated Cable of moderate length, and whore a Telephone
Receiver may be used as a vibrating sounder for the receiving instrument. In
this Fig. L is a signalling Key operating to make and break a local circuit in-
cluding a Battery, a rapid make and break contact U and the primary circuit of the
induction coil M, whose secondary is connected between Line and one pole of
the polarizing Line Battery O, (or dynamo or other generator) the other pole of
which is connected to earth. Or other forms of high potential generating appa-
intus controlled by the signalling Key may be used instead of an induction coil;
as described above.
At the receiving end T is the receiving Telephone which is connected across
between Line and one pole of another optional polarizing Battery or generator 0,
the other pole of which is to earth. Or the polarizing Battery may be omitted or
a Condenser applied instead. The other parts of this diagram will be self-
explanatory.
Fig. 4 is a diagram of my arrangement where visible signals are required' or
Morse printer or sounder is required to be worked on Cables which may be bare
or badly insulated. In this figure the arrangements at the sending end are
similar to those described with reference to Fig. 3, except that, in this case, it is
desirable to connect the secondary, or high tension producing circuit, to the Line
circuit through a series of sparking knobs as shewn by the dotted lines at VV V. (the
direct connection between the points a and b being then, of course, broken) or
in other such manner that the sending, or signal, currents are applied to the Line
in a series of sudden impulses causing rapid oscilatory rushes, which have the

page_text: property of going through or affecting very great lengths of uninsulated submerged
wire without all leaking off through the water, especially if a short length of the
wire at each end is kept insulated and the resistance or the capacity of the Con
denser where used, at the receiving end, so adjusted as to tune the insulated part
of the circuit or cause it to syntonise with the insulated part at the transmitting
end. I find it advisable, therefore, to keep a short length of the wire so insulated
at both ends as well as, of course, for some distance over any crossing point where
the Cables may be crossed by other Cables or may be liable to be metallically
short-circuited or put into metallic contact with other large conducting surfaces.
At the Receiving Station the Line then connects to the set of loose microphonic
contacts, or set of conducting granules, which may be contained in a glass tube,
as shewn at W, with conducting ends or electrodes XX' shouldered into the tube
and held between a pair of spring clips cc, fixed to an insulating block which
clips also form the connections, or other loose contact systems may be used, the
whole is then arranged to be vibrated by the electro-magnetic vibrator Y, as before
described. The vibrator has preferably a spark-shunt across its coils as shewn
at r.
From here the Line circuit goes on through a local Battery cell d, and relay
shewn at e, and thence to earth. Optionally a Telephone, Galvanometer, Syphon
Recorder or other sensitive form of Instrument for indicating faint currents may
be inserted in the Line circuit in series of parallel with or instead of the relay e,
as indicated by the Telephone shewn in dotted lines at f (the direct connection
between the points and being then, of course, broken). The variations in
resistance given by the microphonic contacts on the passage through them of the
impulsive currents received from the other end will then suffice to throw over the
armature of the relay when used and so close another local Battery circuit and
operate the Morse or other receiving Instrument therein, as shewn at i. A Morse
sounder is shewn as a typical Instrument; but, of course, a Morse printer or any
other form of ordinary substantial Telegraph indicating or recording Instrument
may be used in its stead. The electro-magnetic vibrator is also preferably worked
from the same local circuit as a shunt for the Telegraph receiving Instrument,
as shewn, or a vibrator may be otherwise operated to shake the loose contacts.
A condenser m, which should be of small and adjustable capacity, is also pre-
ferably employed to bridge all resistances in the Line circuit at the receiving end
excepting the loose microphonic or cohering contacts, so as to make the latter
more sensitive to the minute impulses received from Line. Or the relay coils and
other resistances may be applied in parallel with the loose contacts instead of in
series therewith, as shewn, and in this case the condenser across the resistances
should be dispened with. A condenser or its equivalent may, however, then be
inserted in the Line circuit on either the Earth or Line side of the loose contacts,
and should also be of adjustable capacity for tuning ог syntonizing the time rates,
as above described. Or the loose contacts with accessories as shewn in Fig. 4 may
be used to replace the Telephone I in series with the vibrating contacts FG in
the arrangements shewn in Figs. I and 2.
To still further reduce the effects of earth currents in either of the arrange-
ments described, the Line circuit at the receiving end instead of passing through
the receiving arrangements shown, may pass instead through one coil (say the
primary) of an induction coil or Telephone transformer, having two coils of about
similar, or considerable, resistance, to earth or condenser. The second coil (or
secondary) of the Induction Coil is then joined up locally with the respective set
of receiving Apparatus, the two ends of the secondary then taking the place of,
or being substituted for the Line and earth connections of the receiving Apparatus,
as shewn in either of the drawings. It will thus be seen that steady carth
currents, passing through the primary of the Induction Coil, have no effect what-
ever in producing signals in the receiving Apparatus: (in fact some Battery
cells or other EMF may also be added in series in the line or primary circuit at
the receiving end) and slowly varying currents only affect the receiving Apparatus

page_text: very little, because they only induce very faint currents in the secondary. The
more rapidly changing signalling currents, however, induce stronger currents in
the secondary which produce effective signals.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
1. The combination of a Signalling Key, sending battery or generator silent or
inert vibrating contact operating to split up or disintegrate the Line current at
the receiving end of a submerged cable or wire, and Telephone Receiver applied
as and for the purposes described in reference to Fig. 1 of accompanying drawings,
or a set of loose contacts as above described.
2. The Apparatus and circuit arrangemonts described above in reference to, and
illustrated in, Fig. 2 of accompanying drawings:
3. The combination of a polarizing Battery or Generator, connected to
or badly insulated submerged wire, arrangements for producing rapid high
tension signalling currents to be super-imposed on the Line circuit, and a Tele-
phone Receiver for receiving such rapid currents and reproducing sound signals
therefrom, as and for the purposes above described with reference to Fig. 3 of
accompanying drawings.
4. The use and employment in combination with a submerged Telegraph Cable
or a bare wire, of a high tension electrical generator, induction coil or other means
of producing high tension or impulsive currents, or charges to be applied to the
Cable or wire at the sending end, and a microphonic contact or set of loose contacts
in series with the Cable or wire at the receiving end, as and for the purposes
above described with reference to Fig. 4 of accompanying drawings.
6. The use and employment in combination with the receiving part of the
Apparatus depicted in, and described with reference to, either of accompanying
drawings, of an Induction Coil, having two Coils of approximately equal resist-
ance, or each of considerable resistance, and joined up as and for the purposes
above described.