Chester telegraph relay
date: label: date made
content: ca 1860
name: label: maker
content: Chester, Charles T.
notes: label: Description
content: Telegraph relays amplified electrical signals in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages traveled as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver. Short pulses made a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The pulses faded in strength as they traveled through the wire, to the point where the incoming signal was too weak to directly operate a receiving sounder or register. A relay detected a weak signal and used a battery to strengthen the signal so that the receiver would operate.
label: Description
content: This relay was made by the firm of Charles T. and John N. Chester, two brothers who successfully partnered in New York City. Charles (1826-1880) founded the firm and provided the expert telegraphy knowledge while John (1820-1871) kept the books and managed the business operations. Donated to the Smithsonian in 1905, the relay is in poor condition and the lever arm or tensioning arm may not be original to the piece. The oddly-shaped hammer head does not seem to be correct for the contacts on the arm.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
label: See more items in
content: Communications
label: See more items in
content: Telegraph Relays & Repeaters
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from William A. Glassford
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.232449
label: catalog number
content: 232449
label: accession number
content: 44145
objectType: label: Object Name
content: relay
label: Object Name
content: telegraph relay
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: marble (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: silk (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 in x 8 5/8 in x 5 5/8 in; 7.62 cm x 21.9075 cm x 14.2875 cm