Miniature Bunnell main-line telegraph relay
date: label: date made
content: ca 1900
name: label: maker
content: C. I. Ways
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 miniature relay was made by the donor as a replica of a commercial main-line relay made J. H. Bunnell & Company. Ways made an operational set of miniature telegraph pieces that included this relay.
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 C. I. Ways
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.313153
label: catalog number
content: 313153
label: accession number
content: 177205
objectType: label: Object Name
content: relay
label: Object Name
content: telegraph relay
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 3/4 in x 3 in x 2 in; 4.445 cm x 7.62 cm x 5.08 cm