BLACKMAIL CHECK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17527, 2 May 1925, Page 1

BLACKMAIL CHECK.

SECRETS REVEALED BY MECHANICAL EAR. “ THE MOVING LONDON, March 14. An instrument "which can make a permanent record of a telephone or wireless message, unknown to the sender, was shown yesterday to representatives of ■the Services. A ‘‘Daily Chronicle 5 ’ representative listened to conversations between city offices, then moved a lover and heard the words repeated quite clearly by the “ J elegraphoue.” Ihe instrument is a combination of dictaphone and telephone, and permls«ion has been granted by British and Continental Gov»*un‘im>its for its attachment to the. LafraLt n cs#nies into general useyffi/-j Blackmaikk#'will have anew dl£j*3eulty to Broome. Brokers can take verbal orders' safely. Stenographers will be unnecessary at law courts. Enemy messages can be tapped without detection. All that ia necessary is to attach the instrument to an ordinary telephone ith a two-wire cable. The box containing the telegraphone can be concealed, in another room if desired. When the recording lever is pushed down the moving wax cylinder inside the box is inscribed by a sapphir pointed needle, a special device amplifying the conversation which passes over the telephone. Each cylinder will lake half an hour’s conversation—approximately 5000 words. By the telegraphone a telephone conversation might be reproduced in a law court where otherwise the conversation might be debarred as evidence. Already one Court has accepted a telegraphone record as evidence—the Berlin Court of Appeals. The usefulness of the device is further extended by its application to radio communication, which can be recorded in the same way. whether on A pilot 2000 ft up or a submarine in the ocean receiving secret messages could he “tapped” by the radio-tele-graphone. When used for this purpose the receiver has a special switch set to receive n. particular wave length. The moment the meesage is sent out. unknown to the senders the words are.! recorded on the cylinder even in the absence of the operator.