Rodgers telegraph relay
name: label: maker
content: J. Rodgers
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 telegraph relay appears similar to early units from the 1850s and '60s. The frame is marked "J. Rodgers New York" about whom we have no current information.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York
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 Western Union Telegraph Co.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.181420
label: catalog number
content: 181420
label: accession number
content: 31652
objectType: label: Object Name
content: relay
label: Object Name
content: telegraph relay
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: aluminum (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 1/2 in x 8 1/4 in x 6 3/4 in; 13.97 cm x 20.955 cm x 17.145 cm