Telegraph relay, ca. 1900
Item 74468 info
Maine Historical Society
The earliest form of applied electricity was the telegraph, which arrived in Maine in 1848, connecting Portland to Boston.
Using Morse code, a series of long and short electrical pulses unique for each letter, telegraphy sped up inter-city communication.
This relay was used to amplify the signal on long-distance telegraph lines. These relays were usually called "pony relays," though the term "goose-neck relay" was also used, describing the curved shape of the upper contact arbor.
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