THE TELEWRITER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3127, 2 March 1909, Page 3

THE TELEWRITER.

The "Telewriter" is an instrument . for the electrical transmission of handwriting, and it was orieti.v no- I ticedin "The Times" (Lond-uii or December sth last year. This instrument is of much scientific interest and practical utility, while its commercial importance is emphasised by the granting by the Postmaster General of a2l years' license to establish exchanges for the use of the telewriter throughout the country, and to allow telephonic communication as an auxiliary to the use ot the naw instrument. It is the invention of Mr Foster Ritchie, a Scottish electrician, who made his first model about twenty years ago. Ten years ago, a syndicate was formed to finance the invention, with the result that the device has been already installed, in various West-end stores, and in a few banks and stockbrokers' offices. It is daily proving its utility for the instantaneous transmission of written messages from place to place, and expariments have been made for the transmission, not merely of writing, but of sketches between London and Manchester. For practical purposes it has been found possible to transmit written messages over a telephone circuit up to a distance of fiftymiles, but the telewriter can be designed for use in connection with any well-in-sulated land wire, and an apparatus is actually being projected to trans- . mit messages between London and Paris for the service of a daily newspaper. —a A combined telewriter, transmitter and receiver, takes the form of a cabinet about 21 inches high, and 15 inches broad. The message is written with a leadpencil upon a portion of a paper roll, and the writing is reproduced in purple ink by means of a pen at the distant receiver. The point of the transmitting pencil is at the intersection of two jointed rods, and as the pencil is moved the end of each rod communicates a semi-rotary motion to each of two shafts. Taking the case, of the simplest possible written stroke, the purpose of the rod and shaft mechanism is to resolve the pencil movement into two components, inverting in effect the problem ' uf the parallelogram of forces. The • pencil point is free to move over a space five inches wide and three inches deep. Whea the rods cause; the rotation of the shafts, two trical contact rollers beneath the ' writing desk make connections with a pair of potentiometers which vary the voltages in two electrical circuits. The resistance of the cir-, cuits being kept constant to 500 ohms, the currents transmitted over | the lines are proportioned to the volt-1 ages. At the telewriter receiver each line current operates a moving coil, working in the manner of a galvanometer, which transmits motion through shafts and rods to the recording pen. Necessary springs and other fittings are introduced and so calibrated that the rotation of the shafts of the moving coils synchronize and correspond in extant with those of the potentiometers. Thus every movement of the pencil is reproduced with faithful accuracy by the distant pen. ! When the available writing space has been filled, the paper is fed forward at the transmitter mechanicj ally on pulling a lever somewhat similar to that of a typewriter. This : lever at the same time closes a cir- f i cuit and sends a current through both ! lines with an earth return, a»d when 1 the earth return is thus used, the I current operates a relay at the '■ other end and so actuates the paper i feed on the receiver. ! In practice the telewriter is fitted | with telephone attachments, and corn- ' munication can be obtained both ■ orally and in writing, but not simul- ! taneously. The writer of the mes- ! sages has the exclusive ute of the I lines for the time being, and if there i happens to be an observer at the re- ' ceiver who wishes to interrupt tne i written message, he presses a but- | ton which lights a rerl warning lamp jon the transmitting desk. Jt is net | necessary that there should be an ; observer at the receiver, for the re- ! ceiving mechanism is controlled from | the transmitter, and once in oper- ! ation the written message can be conj tinued until the paper roll is exi hausted. In practice, the user of j the telewriter "rings up" on his j telephone circuit in the ordinary I way, and if he receives no answer Jhe hangs up the telephone, pulls l over the pencil letter to "send" and writes his message. | Under tbe license granted to the Telewriter Syndicate Limited, by ' the Postmaster-General, ic is proposed to establish telewriter exchanges in London and other places. , These will not be connected with the existing telephone services, but with , independent lines leased from the i Post office; so that after the year ! 1911, when the National Telephone Company's license expires, the TelejJ writer Syndicate will operate their own system of communication und-r j suitable safeguards and on payment ot loyalties. At present, any person owning or leasing a private telephone wire can instal the telewriter in connection therewith, but it is not thjught desirable, owing to differences of voltage, to authorire the connection of te'ewriters with exist ing exchange telephone circuits, though this has been permitted tor experimental purposes. It may be possible, however, to transmit "telewritten" messages to a post office for transmission as telegrams.

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