Making A Two-Way Telegraph

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Messages Over The Wire

Are you interested in making a 2-way telegraph? If yes, then you have landed at the right place! In the 1850s, the telegraph enabled a new form of communication which could be used day and night.

This page focuses on making a two-way telegraph.
 

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What Is A Telegraph ?

According to Wikipedia - "A telegraph is a machine for transmitting and receiving messages over long distances, i.e., for telegraphy.

The word telegraph alone now generally refers to an electrical telegraph. Wireless telegraphy is also known as CW, for continuous wave (a carrier modulated by on-off keying), as opposed to the earlier radio technique using a spark gap."



Know more about telegraphy - go here.

Know More On Telegraphs :

What is a Telegraph?

WikiAnswers - What is a telegraph

The History of the Telegraph - Samuel Morse

WikiAnswers - What does a telegraph mean

Assemble your own Mini Telegraph Poles!

35529 1/35 Metal Telegraph Poles

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The Key And The Sounder

The two parts of the telegraph are the key which is used to send a message and the sounder which receives it. They are joined by wire. For two-way communications, each operator must have both a key and a sounder.



BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT YOURSELF ON THE SHARP BLADE!


Things You Will Need

1. Four pieces of wood, about 10 cm x 5 cm x 3 cm thick.

2. Some steel screws.

3. Some nails.

4. A small piece of cloth.

5. Two steel hinges, 5 cm x 2 cm.

6. Two thin saw blades, about 8 cm long.

7. Some thin, plastic-coated wire.

8. Two 4.5 volt batteries.

Make A Two-Way Telegraph

STEP 1

Use a saw blade to make a key. If you can't find a short blade, ask an adult to wrap a cloth around a long saw blade and snap the blade in half.

STEP 2

Screw the key to one end of the wood, but do not tighten the screw yet. Put another screw in the other end of the board so that the key almost touches it.

STEP 3

Make a coil by winding a long piece of plastic-coated wire 50 times round a screw. Screw the coil into place on a piece of wood.

STEP 4

Insert a nail into a second piece of wood and nail the two pieces together with a third as shown in the picture.

STEP 5

Now fix the hinge in place supported by the nail. Leave a gap of about two millimetres between the hinge and the coil screw.

STEP 6

Make two keys and two sounders. Connect them to the batteries as in the picture. Now tighten the screws at the fixed end of the metal keys.

STEP 7


Test the system by pressing key 1 so that the free end of the metal blade touches the screw underneath it. This should make sounder 1 click. Test again with key 2 and sounder 2. If everything works, you are ready to start sending messages in Morse Code. Some help is given below in understanding Morse codes.

When you press a key, the current flowing through the wire coil makes the screw magnetic. It attracts the free arm of the hinge, which moves upwards and makes a click. When the key is released, the hinge falls back.

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A Recommended Read

The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers

In The Victorian Internet, Tom Standage examines the history of the telegraph, beginning with a horrifically funny story of a mile-long line of monks holding a wire and getting simultaneous shocks in the interest of investigating electricity, and ending with the advent of the telephone. All the early "online" pioneers are here: Samuel Morse, Thomas Edison, and a seemingly endless parade of code-makers, entrepreneurs, and spies who helped ensure the success of this communications revolution.

The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line Pioneers

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Understanding Morse Code Basics Video

A short and simple video to better understand Basic Morse Code

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Know About The History Behind Morse's Invention

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Reinventing Morse

Build your own Telegraph

In order to build a telegraph, a 12-volt battery, light bulb socket, wire cutters and more are needed.
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Morse Code Blog Posts

Get To Know More...

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By Paul Ridden Urgent messages sent using Morse Code via radio waves or by electrical telegraphy are, by necessity, quite short - after all, you don't want to spend all day dotting and dashing your way through War and Peace. These days, of course, ...

Telegraphy Books

More Books On Telegraphy

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