Telegraph Reader

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Pitchy
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks bud, all done with a side grinder. :)
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OldWin
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by OldWin »

Nice job, Pitchy. I missed this until Six posted a pic of it on the Garand thread. He gave it to me for winning page 91.
Mighty nice of him, huh? :D
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks, oh yea real nice, this is worse than paying taxes i make something and someone else gets it. :lol:
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Got the telly that came from RR depot in Big Springs TX, very cool indeed.

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video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivcT3Bh1DqA
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Sixgun »

I like that Pitchy...there's a piece of history complete with the code written on the board. Any idea of the era?---6
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks Six, don`t really know what year it was used i did find pics of the rr depot in Big Springs though.
I lifted up the batt eliminator so i could see what the DC output is and it`s 1.5 volts, the sounder is 400 ohm`s.
For some of you code readers what did i say in the last three groups.

Did a quick search, here`s a pic from 1896 but they didn`t have electricity then so had to be later.
http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/BigSp ... .htm#depot

Maybe this one.

http://www.texaspacificrailway.org/stru ... big-spring
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Ok a test for you guys in the know, can you tell me what letters i`m sending?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR-VJ610Yj8
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by OldWin »

Well, I can't tell you about the bn letters, buddy.....
But I did decipher that you got some neato stuff there, Pitchy.
There is some serious history there. I love old stuff like that. The story is just a bonus.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Probably boring you guys too death with this stuff, put the home made key on this machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3hMD3DXKO0
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

I talked to the guy i bought this from and he said his father worked as the telly operator for the P-T in Big Spring for 44 years then a co-worker put the equipment on that board for him.
So seeing the board wasn`t original i decided to make a new board for it that doesn`t take up so much room.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by GunnyMack »

Hey that's cool you got some history on the setup. Always nice when you have info about stuff.

Now the question is are you going to set up a telly in each of your out buildings so your wife can call you for dinner?
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Old No7 »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:01 am Another neat piece of engineering, Lenn.
It has been 50 years since I knew Morse code and semaphore, too, in Scouts. Forgot everything.
:lol:
That's neat. I like it too Lenn!

You sure are "Professor Emeritus of The Old School" -- and we need MORE of that these days.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks fellers, it`s all for display no need to learn the code as there`s no one else around that would want to chat.
Gunny Norma and i are always together doing things so running wires would not work.
Made a separate code board.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Sixgun »

Pitchy...on your code board you forgot the 10 numerals........I'm letting you know in case you need to write my name "6".

I was reading a story on the Morse code and it said it usually took two months of learning to become proficient in receiving and sending the code to 20 words a minute. As a kid, we were taught the basics in Boy Scouts for emergency situations.---6
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Old No7 »

Sixgun wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 6:42 pm As a kid, we were taught the basics in Boy Scouts for emergency situations.---6
Yup, boaters learn that too...

SOS = "Save Our Souls"
dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot

Easy to key on a flashlight or sound on a horn if needed.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Grizz »

I was a ham operator from 8th or 9th grade. Restricted to morse code. My proficiency is about in negative realms by now. Eventually you stop hearing letters and start hearing words, then phrases.

Used to do semaphore with a neighbor kid from our rooftops. Fun stuff. I don't remember a single letter.

I'd like to mention that learning code as dot dash dot, etc., is counterproductive and has to be unlearned to acquire speed proficiency.

rather than [ dot dash dot ] for the letter "r", use [ didadit ], that's the sound. best way that I learned is with code tapes, I imagine you can find this online. they sent random letter groups at slow pace, but with the correct sound spacing. the spaces are part of the code too.

my favorite key is iambic paddle that makes telegraphy far more efficient, effortless, and more fun than pounding the straight key. IMO

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks Grizz, i have no intention of learning the code and have no need to as there`s no one but myself to listen to it. :)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by gamekeeper »

I read somewhere that Johnny Cash was a Morse code reader in the Air Force and was possibly the first American to know that Joe Starlin was dead.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Good ole Johnny, man of many talents.

Picked up this Menominee today.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by KWK »

Pitchy wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:34 pmMade a separate code board.
You might want to make another one. That's International, not American, Morse code. It would be a shame to have an old RR set without the code table it might have used. Or you might check to see if that RR did convert to International along the way--some did.
Last edited by KWK on Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

KWK wrote: Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:30 pm
Pitchy wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:34 pmMade a separate code board.
You might want to make another one. That's International, not American, Morse code. It would be a shame to have an old RR set without the code table it likely used.
I talked to the son of the original owner, the board wasn`t the board used at the RR depot a friend made it up for him after he retired.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Next project, going to attempt wiring two sounders and keys together to illustrate how they were used on a line.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Beaver`s mad that no one noticed him. :shock:
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by GunnyMack »

Ya better get a trap line started so your telegraph line doesn't go down!
I had to look again and zoom in to see the beaver cutting- you have a great sense of humor Pitchy!
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks Gunny, the notch was already in the pole so figured the beaver would fit right in. :)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Got and installed the main line sounder today, one on the left.
They were quite a bit larger.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Finished the beaver board but forgot to post a picture.

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Yesterday we made a wireless telly here`s the first model witha video.

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I used a model T buzz coil.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNtpV-m9RsE

Today we remodeled it.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by OldWin »

Wow! Very classy. Nice job, Pitchy.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by GunnyMack »

The steel rods are where the high voltage jumps? Are you getting ready for your own Dr Frankenstein experiments? :lol: :lol:
That is a very nice looking setup my friend! Any word on your sprocket? Cant wait to see the mower running
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks OldWin and Gunny.
Get ready for a mower video in about 20 minutes in the mower thread. :)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Ray »

I'm beginning to think the name(s) on pitchy's birth certificate was/is alexander graham bell-nikola mandich tesla-thomas alva edision-guglielmo jameson marconi......

how is that for a hyphenated handle ?
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Ya forgot Newton who i`m related to according to my Grandmother. :)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Ray »

Pitchy wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 6:05 am Ya forgot Newton who i`m related to according to my Grandmother. :)
the apropros one I missed was samuel finely breese morse, the inventor of the telegraph.....
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by piller »

Why Marconi? He was just a thief who didn't invent anything. He stole a toy his boss had made and patented it. Many years later Marconi's name was removed in the pursuit of truth. The inventor of the radio didn't even take it seriously.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Grizz »

really piller?

if not for Tesla we would have DC mains, right?
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by piller »

Tesla considered the radio a toy. Marconi stole it and patented it. If you do a simple patent search, you will find Tesla being given the credit for his invention. That is what I was saying and pointing to. I didn't say anything about AC vs DC and the issues of power loss due to coriolis effect on DC power. My comment was just about that thief Marconi.

You are forgiven for leaping to the incorrect conclusion.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Grizz »

yeah, I get that.... seems that the patent theft thing is alive and well in our times too, eh?
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Another addition to the collection a relay, they were used if it was a long line to the next station to boost the signal on the other end.

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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by piller »

With low power Direct Current, it is easy to understand the need.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Made this sounder today, wound the coils also.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPxfezyJ2UY
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by gamekeeper »

That's real cool, looks like it could have been in a Western...... 8)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks GK, i`ve been wanting to make one from scratch since i got into the telly stuff.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by mark »

Marconi was an astute business man, Tesla was ....., there are many like them.

Tesla, was a genius++.

I think we want to remember the Scottish mathematician, James Clerk Maxwell, who brought it all together.

They climbed on successive shoulders.

Good on you Pitchy for re-creating a telegraph, it's to your credit.

Cheers Mark
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks Mark, if it was back in the day i could of made one climbed a telly pole and made a bunch of clicking noises. :lol:
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by OldWin »

Nice job, Lenn. Looks for real old timey. :D
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks Jay. :)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by jeepnik »

This has been said before but bears repeating. The depth of knowledge here is astounding. Kids know everything. Old guys know everything they don't.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by Pitchy »

Thanks jeepnik, i agree. :)
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by piller »

If the world ever goes to visit Miss Helena Handbasket, well, we have enough people on here that we could all get together and form a community that could survive.
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Re: Telegraph Reader

Post by wm »

My Dad was a radio man in 8th AIr Force in WW2 and it always amazed me how much morse code he had retained from training and how fast he could convert dots and dashes into letters even after all these years.

Funny thing was he could do the letters but then he would actually have to stop and read the text. Allthelettersjustrantogetherasalongstring. He would have to parse out the words. Something most folks don't appreciate about that form of communication. Your not sending words, just letters, one at a time.

Wm
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