Telegraph Sounder
date: label: date made
content: ca 1890
name: label: maker
content: J. H. Bunnell & Co.
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. According to a Western Union tag, this sounder was used on the Chicago, Kansas and Western Railroad. W. T. Baker of Western Union's New York repair shop sent the sounder to the company museum in 1937.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
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
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Western Union Corporation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.332363
label: accession number
content: 294351
label: catalog number
content: 332363
objectType: label: Object Name
content: telegraph receiver
label: Object Name
content: telegraph sounder
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 in x 3 1/4 in x 5 5/8 in; 7.62 cm x 8.255 cm x 14.2875 cm