THE TELEGRAPHIC PRINTER

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 266, 4 August 1921, Page 5

THE TELEGRAPHIC PRINTER

EIGHT BORDEAUX RECEIVERS TO HAND NEW SYSTEM TO BE READY BY END OF YEAR k Whilst the days of the ordinary telegraph operator may not be numbered, the introduction into New Zealand of Tio telegraphic printer in the four centres and certain of the more important provincial towns is going to make his services less supremely necessary than they havo been in the past. New Zealand his not been up to date in the matter of this form of telegraphic dispatch. On his recent trip to the Uld Country the Chief Electrical Engineer (Mr. E. A. Shrimpton) called at Ceylon, and was rather surprised to find that Hi ay had been using the printer for the last fifteen year's, and .Ceylon is quite a Tbng way from London or New York. New Zealand would havo had these machines six or seven years ago, but the war, which held up so much progress in the woruT, prevented New Zealand gaining the benefit of an invention, which a New JTealander (Mr. H. Murray) did so much to perfect. Some six months ago Mr. FTfirimpton returned from a trip to the Old Country, and not long after his re- ‘ turn certain parts of the new telegraphic printer came to hand. These were tho keyboards and distributors of some eight sets, which have been set up in the operating room in the General Post Office, an-ff certain members of tho staff have been undergoing instruction in the techni* cal intricacies of the delicate machinery and how to operate the plant, it has been explained before in these columns ffint all the operator of the future using this plant will havo to do is to manipulate the keyboard, precisely as in the case of a typewriter, and the message will issue printed on paper tape at tb" destination of the message. The printed strips -are gummed, and after being wiped on a sponge are attached to a shoot and sent out to the addressee. Thai is tfie process in simple. Tho actual operation, however, is highly complicated, and has called for the keenest brains In tho service to perfect. For instance, tho pressure of tho keys (an even lighter touch than is used on a typewriter is all that is called for) actuates certain magnets, which ,in turn, bring little punches into action, which stamp a certain design, according to the letter required, on a paper tape. The design of each letter, outlined in Any holes, with the aid of tho "distributor,” liberates certain impulses over tho wire, and these, conveyed bv electric telegraph to the receiver at the other end of the wire record bo accurately that they operate a machine, which prints in ordinary capital type the message which has been sent over the wire. The process is so simple that providing a set were established in ’TUB Dominion office in Wellington and the Press office in Christchurch, a reporter oould sit down at the keyboard and type his message, which would come out clearly printed at the other end, only a few seconds elapsing between the time the sender commences and the time the receiver begins to "deliver tho goods at 1 the other end. As stated above, certain parts of the new plant havo been here for some months, but any definite progress has been held up by the non-arrival of the "receivers" or printers. Now eight Bordeaux (not Murray) receivers have corns to hantf, and have 'been set up in the operating Toom of tho General Post Office. A representative of Tun Dominion was invited yesterday to try the machine, and spent an interesting ten minutes sending messages to himself, with entirely successful results. Mr. Shrimpton explained that If tUrTiruT waited for Murray page printers (which fill up a whole page as a typewriter does, instead of printing on tape) he would probably have had to wait for another year at least, ns there was such a demand for these printers, On tho other hand, he said there wore experts in America who preferred tho Bordeaux printers, ns errors were more easily corrected, and they saved a lot of "line time.” These receivers or printers are extremely compact and delicately adjusted instruments, each one having a little motor (exerting one-tenth of an ampere) for its work. The instruments are expensive. A receiver alone costs over .£lOO. and a complete set (a keyboard, distributor, and receiver at each end of a lino) would run into about £4OOO. The four centres will benefit in tho first instance, and some of the more Important provincial towns will have a printer connection in due course. If Th’ not anticipated that the telegraphic printer will be in practical working order nvueb before tho end of the year.