Harper's Electricity Book for Boys

by Joseph H. Adams

PLAN OF TELEPHONE CIRCUIT, COMPRISING RECEIVERS, TRANSMITTER, ELECTRIC BUZZERS OR BELLS, LEVER-SWITCHES, PUSH-BUTTONS AND BATTERIES FOR STATIONS NOT OVER FIVE MILES APART.

If the boy at the left wishes to call up the boy at the right he removes the receiver (R) from the hook (L S) and presses on the button (P B). This closes the circuit through the battery (C C C), and operates the electric buzzer or bell (E B 2) at the other end of the system, through line No. 1 and line No. 2. The operation may be clearly understood by following the lines in the drawing with a pointer. The boy at the left may keep on calling the boy at the right so long as the receiver (R 2) hangs on the lever (L S 2) and holds it down against the plate (A A). But directly the receiver (R 2) is removed, the lever (L S 2) flies up—being drawn upward by the spring (D) shown in [Fig. 14]—and closes the telephone circuit through the spring-contact (B B), at the same time cutting out the bell circuit. The boy at the left having already removed his receiver, the telephone circuit is then complete through lines Nos. 1 and 2 and batteries C C C and C 2 C 2 C 2, the boys at both ends speaking into the transmitters and hearing through the receivers. The contacts B and B B are made from spring-brass or copper, and are attached inside the boxes at the back, so that when the levers are up contact is made, but when down the circuit is broken or opened. In [Fig. 18] an interior view of a box is shown, the door being thrown open and the receiver left hanging on the hook.

TELEPHONE INSTALLATION. INTERIOR VIEW OF BOX

The arrangement of the several parts will be found convenient and easy of access. E B is the electric buzzer, L S the lever-switch, P B the push-button, T the transmitter, and R the receiver. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are binding-posts or terminals, and B is the spring-contact against which the lever-switch (L S) strikes when drawn up by the spring (D).

The wires that pass from 6 to 7 and from 4 to 8 should be soldered fast to one side of the hinge, and those running from the terminals or nuts at the back of the transmitter (T) to 7 and 8 should be similarly secured. Small brass hinges are not liable to become corroded at the joints, but to insure against any such possibility the ends of several fine wires may be soldered to each leaf of the hinge, so that when the door is closed the wires will be compressed between the hinge-plates. For long-distance communication it will be necessary to install an induction-coil, so that the direct current furnished by the batteries, in series with the transmitter, can by induction be transformed into alternating current over the lines connecting the two sets of apparatus. This system is somewhat more complicated and requires more care in making the connections, but once in operation it will be found far superior to either of the systems hitherto described.

A Telephone Induction-coil

It will be necessary to make two induction-coils, as described in [chapter iv.], [page 62], [Fig. 8]. A telephone coil for moderately long-distance circuits is made on a wooden spool turned from a piece of wood three inches and a half long and one inch square, as shown at [Fig. 19]. The core-sheath is turned down so that it is about one-sixteenth of an inch thick. This spool is given a coat or two of shellac, and two holes are made at each end, as shown in the drawing. The first winding or primary coil is made up of two layers of No. 20 double-insulated copper wire, one end projecting from a hole at one end of the spool, the other from a hole at the other end. This coil is given two or three thin coats of shellac to bind the strands of wire and thoroughly insulate them, and over the layer a piece of paper is to be wrapped and shellacked. The secondary coil is made up of twelve layers of No. 34 silk-insulated copper wire, and between each layer a sheet of paper should be wound so that it will make two complete wraps. Each paper separator should be given a coat of shellac or hot paraffine; then the turns of wire should be continued just as thread is wound upon a spool, smoothly, closely, and evenly, until the last wrap is on. Three or four wraps of paper should be fastened on the coil to protect it, and it may then be screwed fast inside a box. The core-hole within the coil should be packed with lengths of No. 24 soft Swedes iron wire three inches and a half long. In [Fig. 19] the wires are shown projecting from the end of a spool, and [Fig. 20] depicts a completed telephone induction-coil. The installation of the induction-coils is shown in [Fig. 21].