Steiner telegraph transmitter
name: label: maker
content: Western Electric
label: maker
content: Steiner, Josef
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 was intended for use on duplex telegraph circuits that allowed two messages to travel simultaneously on the same wire. A note found with the unit refers to this as a "Steiner" telegraph transmitter. Josef Steiner's patents were typically assigned to Western Union so this object likely reflects one of his improvements.
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 Western Union Corporation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.331895
label: accession number
content: 294351
label: catalog number
content: 331895
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Steiner 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: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 3/4 in x 8 3/4 in x 4 7/8 in; 12.065 cm x 22.225 cm x 12.3825 cm