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Catalog Data

Maker:
Knox & Shain  Search this
Physical Description:
wood (overall material)
brass (overall material)
copper (overall material)
Measurements:
overall: 9 in x 6 in x 13 in; 22.86 cm x 15.24 cm x 33.02 cm
Object Name:
telegraph receiver
telegraph register
Description (Brief):
The handle on top of this telegraph register appears to have been an adaptation by the users at Oberlin College rather than something that came with the device. The register was made by Knox & Shain, a noted Philadelphia maker of telegraph equipment.
Telegraph registers are electrically-activated printers that receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The pulses energize the register’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm holding a pen or stylus. A clockwork mechanism pulls a strip of paper across the pen or stylus, recording the message. Short pulses draw or emboss a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers.
Location:
Currently not on view
Web subject:
Communication, telegraph  Search this
Credit Line:
from Oberlin College, Dept. of Physics, thru David L. Anderson
ID Number:
EM.324273
Catalog number:
324273
Accession number:
253039
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Electricity
Telegraph Registers
Communications
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-41ae-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_706645