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Comments mention multiplexing and that’s not wrong but the real reason for the vast number of wires is amplifiers, or rather the lack of practical ones at the t
by Isamu 1y ago
Comments mention multiplexing and that’s not wrong but the real reason for the vast number of wires is amplifiers, or rather the lack of practical ones at the time. You had to transmit at high enough power to overcome losses and still be able to hear at the destination.
Each wire carries just one signal at a power that would easily interfere with others, they needed relatively thick wires separated from each other. You see pictures of poles with lots of cross bars carrying lots of wires in this period.
Once amplification was practical they could use the thin telephone wires bundled together in a cable, each wire carrying a much fainter signal that can be easily amplified as needed.
Amplification existed but it took the vacuum tube to get it affordable and reliable for each circuit to have its own amplification.
- Waraqa 1y agoDoes that mean the quality of the voice calls in that era was better than later systems? Since it's logical to have loss of quality when a weak signal is amplified.
- munchlax 1y agoI suspect the quality was poor in the 19th century due to not yet knowing how to make good receivers and mouthpieces.
- Isamu 1y agoRight, quality was poor and the transmitter and receiver were part of the problem. They experimented with different methods, but part of the problem was that without amplification they needed a transmitter that worked at the full voltage necessary to travel the full distance.