Long Distance Telephone Event, Chicago 1896 Novel use of the telephone. Probably no event was ever before so widely distributed by means of the telephone. On the occasion of the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Chicago fire in Chicago, on October 9, the telephone transmitter was brought into use in rather a novel way.Telephone Transmitter Chicago Celebration 1896 Telephone Transmitter Chicago Celebration 1896 At the telephone building, 203 Washington Street, by which the procession passed, were fixed four long distance transmitters behind large sound collecting funnels, similar to those used on phonographs, two or three being attached to the balcony of the building and one suspended by wires over the center of the street, as shown in our illustration, said to be nine feet long and four feet in diameter at the large end. Above this was suspended the banner on which were the words, Your cheers here will be heard throughout the Union. All of the transmitters were operated by storage batteries, and were connected to long distance wires leading to New York and the most distant points west. For five hours and a quarter the procession passed under this transmitter, and a continual stream of music from the different bands, combined with the cheers of the processionists and spectators, was sent over the wires, going to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, to Canton, Ohio, the home of one of the presidential candidates, and to many other places. On seeing the banner over the transmitter, the approaching drum major of each band would change the rattle of drums to some pleasing patriotic air, to be heard by the many listeners in distant cities. In this city and other eastern points it is said the words of the cheers as well as the music of the band was plainly heard. Probably no event was ever before so widely distributed by means of the telephone. This event recalls to our attention the difficulty experienced in the early days of the telephone, before the time of metallic circuits, when a successful effort was made to transmit the sermon of Henry Ward Beecher from the platform of Plymouth Church as far as Elizabeth, New Jersey, by means of two Blake transmitters affixed to the pulpit, a distance of but fifteen miles, over an ordinary telegraph wire. The transmission of the Chicago celebration so readily as has been stated is a striking example of the remarkable progress that has been made in the art of telephony within a decade. We are indebted to the Western Electrician, of Chicago, for the use of the illustration. The small picture in the corner is of the press review stand, at which a transmitter was also located. The arrangements for transmitting the sounds were made by S. G. McMeen, engineer of the Central Union Telephone Company, and the Chicago Telephone Company. (From machinehistory)
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 01:38:13 +0000
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