As we have seen, a number of inventors had patented ways and means to adopt the five-unit code for operating a telegraph printer system by the transmission of a start pulse to start both transmitting apparatus and the distant receiving apparatus at the same time, followed by transmission of a selected code and a stop pulse. To achieve successful operation, very close speed adjustment was required. At first, this was achieved by the use of governed motors and, later, when accurately timed, 60-cycle alternating current became available, the problem of synchronous operation of send and receive stations was solved by the use of synchronous motors.
Fig. 7 Morkrum Company’s Blue Code Typewheel Page PrinterPicture through courtesy of Teletype Corporation
Fig. 7A Morkrum Company’s Green Code Typewheel Page PrinterPicture through courtesy of Teletype Corporation
Telegraph printer systems of this type were used by telegraph companies for city-to-city transmission of telegrams and by news-gathering and -distributing organizations to transmit the news from headquarters to newspapers in different cities. While start-stop systems of this type were used successfully on press circuits and on telegraph message station-to-station circuitry, trouble was experienced when a number of printer send-receive units were set up in an intercommunicating system. Here it was found that the receiver start was not always in time with the transmitter start, due to varying line circuit conditions and a variation in the start release mechanism at connected stations.
It seems odd that synchronous systems, where both transmitter and receiver were started at the same time (requiring both transmitter and receiver to maintain synchronism), held the field for so long a time, thus limiting telegraph transmission to one-way operation.
It evidently took a mind not bound or hampered by the standard and accepted way of operating synchronous systems to discard such old ideas and to set forth boldly on a new pattern which, in reality, differed but slightly from the then-established synchronous systems, and to sow the seed for starting further developments leading to the present telegraph typewriter, TWX, and TELEX intercommunicating systems. Such a man was Howard L. Krum, who, in further thinking on the subject, came upon the almost simple idea of having the transmitter start the receiver rather than having them both start at the same time. This arrangement required higher speed operation of the receiver and therefore the receiving code pulse positions were spread over a shorter area, which meant progressively decreasing the angular division of the receiving members. Then, to set the received start pulse in the most favorable position with relation to the following code signal reception, an orientation adjustment of the receiver start position was provided.
(Note: On June 20, 1961, Kleinschmidt wrote to Howard Krum—then in retirement in California—giving a short description of the Morkrum Company activities, including the wording of the above last two paragraphs, and asking him to write the Morkrum story. Howard Krum replied on July 3, 1961, indicating his approval and saying that he would be glad to put together some notes for Kleinschmidt. It was quite a shock, therefore, when a letter was received from Howard Krum’s son, Charles, in September of 1961, telling of his father’s sudden serious illness. Then, regretfully, it was not long afterwards that word was received of Howard Krum’s death on November 13, 1961.)
