| Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum The Original Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular global steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam. |
| robertosala |
Gift from a forum member: A 100 years old Telegraph!!!My dear friends.With all the joy and biggest thankfulness from my heart... I am sharing with you a gift I received from one of our forum members. The post office delivery van came and left this box for me: 
Inside I found the most beautiful land line Telegraph sounder I've ever seen: 
This is more than 100 years old and after a small surgical intervention is now working in all respects! The box came from far away. Thank you my friend !!! God bless you and your family. Un abrazo. Rob. This set of Sounder and Key was made by Manhattan Electrical Supply Co. (MESCO). The model was called Eureka Telegraph Instrument. This specific model appears in the 1911 Catalog and this is the description shown in the catalog: "A moderate priced combination set, recommended as a learner's apparatus being low in price, durable and efficient. Copy of Philisophy and Practice of Morse Telegraphy free with each instrumment. List No. 178. Wound 5 Ohms.......$1.30" The price was $1.30 back in 1911. Well, not a too moderate price considering salary was around $12 a month. This Sounder set came as a surprise gift, sent by a friend who is a member of the Unofficial Mamod & Other Steam Forum. This is an internet forum located in the UK but now hold members from all corners of the world. My other hobby is to collect and run miniature steam engines. If you like steam engines then join by looking on your internet searcher for Mamod steam forum. This sounder set has not been externally altered in any way except for the cleaning of electrical contacts. One of the coils had a broken wire and was carefully joined again thus the repair is invisible. This apparatus is sending again messages.... 100 years later. Thank you my friend !!! 73 de Rob. YS1RS |
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| classixs |
Such a beautiful gift for your ham-radio collection Rob 
Nice informative video as always 
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| ozsteamdemon |
Great story and history , and a very nice video , well done Rob .
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| benchmark |
Very nice ,the smile on you face tells it all. | ||
| robertosala |
Since this piece is from 1911... I found this facts from those years...
Remember... Just 100 years ago! Taken from the Internet... THE YEAR IS 1911 This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! ************ ********* *********** The year is 1911 One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some statistics for the Year 1910: ************ ********* ************ The average life expectancy for men was 47 years. Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only. Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower ! The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year .. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. More than 95 % of all births took place at HOME . 90% of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.' Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. The Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke The American flag had only 45 stars .... The population of Las Vegas , Nevada was only 30!!!! Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, Regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health' Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help .... There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. ! There had been no world wars. There was no nuclear energy technology. There was no US Department of Education, or Dept. of Homeland Security. Just think--you can forward this to someone else without typing it yourself. From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD--all in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. IT STAGGERS THE MIND, DOESN'T IT? Last but not least....  the Colt 1911 in .45 ACP, sidearm of the US Armed Forces in 2 World Wars, Korea and Vietnam, is from this year too.
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| MrDuck |
What agreat gift and good you put it to use 
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| fruitfly |
Good things happen to good people, Rob! | ||
| Sandman |
What a great gift Rob.
Another sample of members generosity. Magic stuff. 
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| Jay_Minor |
very nice too
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| St. Paul steam |
Splendid...i am very happy for you, very interesting post, thank you | ||
| IndianaRog |
My thoughts exactly Rob...after 100 years a product made in New York has found a loving home in El Salvador. I bet the makers could never have imagined that! It even pre-dates the Titanic! |
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| Les |
What a great gift.
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| Dean W |
That's fantastic, Rob. What a great piece for a true Morse code aficionado.
Someone out there knows how to give a nice gift! |
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| MooseMan |
Absolutely brilliant! | ||
| ganuganu |
Can anyone explain me how we can send send messages through telegraph. I want to know about its working.
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| mogogear |
Special people here ( on the giving and receiving ends) and special gifts!! | ||
| robertosala |
Hi Ganu. The device you see here, was used 100 years ago for land line telegraphy. it required wires that were ran on posts and masts. Usually this wires were laid besides the rail roads lines. The railroad service was, in fact, who mostly used this telegraph service. Later with the invention of Radio, the telegraph became a wireless service but the use of cables continued in many countries because, somehow was a way to keep message's privacy. At present, the Morse code and the CW mode to send Morse are still in use and alive by the Ham Radio community who preserve it. When all else fails due to a national disaster (call it Hurricane, Earthquake, Tsunami, etc) the radio service is the only one that survives and Ham Radio operators come to the rescue on Emergency Operations while Satellite, Cellular, Telephone and all other communication services are brought back to life. Take a look a this video: Here is a conversation. This guy is an old Navy radio operator and is sending from his motor-home while on travel...(long video but worth watching): Here is part of the conversation I was able to write down: Beach FL in 30? 30 ft brave m/h and back home but still my m/h (motor home I guess). Age here is 64 and been a ham since 1961. Running an Icom 75 and straight key old J-44 WB0SND/M de W5BIBN/M Response: Anybody on the band = FB (FB means very well) Returning home from PC Beach = PC Beach was the first place I was as is NR (near) RHI when I was a kid here at my age is 50 Five Cero Been a ham 36 years basically born in 1961... and continue talking about his equipment combo... Again the device I received and you see here is no longer in use. Kept only as an historical museum piece to be preserved. It is internally wired to be used on your desk as a practice device to learn Morse. Now, wireless Morse is still in used on CW mode by ham radio operators all over the world. Still in use by the ships at sea as emergency (Merchant Navy) and by the military; also as alternate emergency system. Rob |
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| sarfraz |
That is a great gift. You look & sound well very happy indeed. | ||
| robertosala |
I am indeed.
In the Morse conversation... Does anybody knows what/where PC Beach, in Florida is? Rob |
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| Dean W |
Probably Panama City Beach, Rob. |
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| robertosala |
Ahá!
I see. Thank you Dean. Rob. |