CREED TELEPRINTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23859, 13 July 1939, Page 9

CREED TELEPRINTER

AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPHY NINETY MACHINES IN USE Thirty Post Offices in New Zealand are now equipped with the Creed teleprinter, and 90 of these modern instruments for the quick handling of telegrams are being used. The introduction of this system has brought to many of the smaller centres the advantages of high-speed telegraphy. It has replaced the Morse key, and has increased the rate of transmission to almost treble that of the Morse, while the ratio of error has been reduced.

The Creed teleprinter is a British instrument embodying some modifications suggested by New Zealand telegraph men to suit the requirements of Dominion - conditions Both send, ig and receiving are automatic and simultaneous transmission in both directions is possible. The message is typed in the ordinary wav on a standard keyboard, but instead of printed characters, this machine produces at the sending end groups of perforated holes in a narrow paper tape, which, when run through an automatic transmittesends different combinations of electrical impulses to the receiving station where the receiving machine prints the message in Roman characters. In the receiving machine numerals and the letters of the alphabet, as well as other characters used in writing, are grouped around a cylinder and the impulses from the sending machine swing this cylinder instantly to a printing point, when a lever presses the type-face upon ,he paper tape, -nd prints the various characters. It is then only necessary to gum the tape on the received message form and deliver it to the recipient. While this process is swiftly proceeding, the operator in a small office where there are many duties, may be attending to public requirements at the counter, secure in the knowledge that neither the sending nor the receiving of the telegraphic traffic is being held up, as the Creed teleprinter is automatic in its operation. In planning the teleprinter installations for country towns, the Post Office has provided circuits leading to the nearest large centre, as the bulk of telegraphic business is foi distant points, short distance communication being mostly done by the telephone. After considerable experience of the new system, it has been found that interruptions due to mechanical faults in this cleverly designed instrument are extremely rare.