Telegraph Sounder
name: label: maker
content: Western Electric
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. This sounder was manufactured by Western Electric, more typically known as the manufacturing company of the Bell Telephone system. Western Electric also made telegraph equipment and this unit displays the round, hollow armature often seen on their sounders.
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
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.331825
label: accession number
content: 294351
label: catalog number
content: 331825
objectType: 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: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in x 6 1/8 in; 10.795 cm x 8.255 cm x 15.5575 cm