Telegraph Sounder and Speaking Telephone
date: label: date made
content: 1879
name: label: maker
content: Dolbear, Amos E.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Telegraph sounders convert electrical pulses into audible sounds and are used to receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. Short pulses make a dot, slightly longer pulses make a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. The pulses energize the sounder’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm. The arm makes a loud “click” when it strikes a crossbar and the operator translates the pattern of sounds into the original language. Inventor Amos Dolbear, known for his early experiments in telephony, made this patent model of a combination device that worked both as a telegraph sounder and a telephone receiver.
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 Sounders
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.252631
label: catalog number
content: 252631
label: accession number
content: 49064
label: patent number
content: 220205
objectType: label: Object Name
content: patent model
label: Object Name
content: telegraph receiver
label: Object Name
content: telephone
label: Object Name
content: telegraph sounder
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
label: Other Terms
content: telegraph sounder; Telephones
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cloth (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 1/4 in x 4 1/2 in x 4 1/4 in; 10.795 cm x 11.43 cm x 10.795 cm