Spark Gap Telegraphy and the WWI Telefunken D4 spark gap transmitter
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- Dieter Beikirch presents the Telefunken D4 spark gap radio transmitter and crystal receiver, built in 1917 and restored to complete working order. The D4 transceiver is over 100 years old and was used in some of Germany's earliest military aircraft and airships, dating from when only telegraphy or Morse code wireless communications were possible. The video begins with an introduction to spark gap telegraphy presented to Robert J Dalby. And Robert explores some of the history of spark gap telegraphy and some surprising aspects that might help to make the technology a little less unfamiliar. Later Dieter explains the function and operation of the Telefunken D4 by demonstrating a perfectly restored and fully functioning specimen. The video explores aspects of the technology from the early years of wireless communication. Although the equipment was crude by today's standards, the success of spark gap wireless communications was the 'magic bean' that led to the astonishing growth of the radio and electronics industries in the 1930s.
Much of this video was recorded on location at one of Europe's finest private collections of German avionics equipment, covering the early days of military radio communication and radar to the end of the vacuum tube era.
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Hello
00:15 What we have for you
00:23 Telefunken D4 spark gap radio transmitter and receiver or transceiver
00:43 An introduction to spark gap technology
01:00 How does a spark gap transmitter work?
01:07 Marconi
01:15 The Titanic disaster
02:10 Spark gap transmitters in your home!
03:34 Branly / Marconi coherer (radio wave detector)
16:12 The Telefunken D4 spark gap radio transceiver
21:25 End credits
Presented by Dieter Beikirch and Robert J Dalby
Additional narration: Robert J Dalby
Video produced by Astronomy and Nature TV - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
I've been reading about spark transmitters (and building them from Model T Ford coils) for well over 60 years. I was stunned - and dazzled - to see the demo with a simple lighter and a homebuilt coherer. Bravo! Thank you both!
Wonderful video! I am amazed the lighter was enough to trigger the coherer. About 25 years ago I taught a university course on comms electronics. The students had a project to do and one group built a coherer. We used my vintage Model-T Ford type spark coil to trigger it. Some time I will have to try and making and triggering a coherer like you did.
I have never seen a demo of a vintage radio set like the transceiver your friend demod. How wonderful he preserved it. And when you think that was from only 100 years ago, how far technology has come since then.
Just subscribed! Please keep the videos coming!
many costal radio stations were driven crazy becuse of electric fences . that is why we in the usa have part 15 of the fedral rules . nice demo. thanks .
Hi there, and thanks. Maybe you could subscribe? It would help our channel in our efforts to reach 1000 subs! Thanks again. KR RJD
Excellent dear
Hi there, and thanks. Maybe you could subscribe? It would help our channel in our efforts to reach 1000 subs! Thanks again. KR RJD
@@deutscheavionik7211 subscribed...👍👍
Dont worry if the lighter is out of gas. So wonderful explanation, it brings me back to Faraday time
Very well put together and superbly logically and practically explained. Thanks for sharing on this interesting topic. Makes we wonder whether there is not a new use for all the empty bandwidth on LW, MW and part of SW
I enjoyed the video. I get the click from my electric fence also. It’s helpful because it tells me when I am approaching the broadcast band as I tune in. I probably get a stronger click because my antenna is parallel to it and within 50-60 feet.
This video is really satisfying for me, guess what just few days back I was telling these basics to a friend how the very elementary form of radio signal is a simple spark, but I was never sure, never read or heard it anywhere, Just in my childhood I would be listening to radio and then suddenly a person living few houses away would start his scooter then a disturbance in speaker so synchronised just as if the sound of scooter is being played on radio, also someone pressing a electric switch, also electric motor used for crude form of machine or cutter that would be used to shredding the green fodder for cows and buffaloes nearby would have few minutes of signature disturbances on my radio or even tv daily and would be annoyed till they finish their work, then also I would try same thing with small motors i could find at home,
Hence I formed this idea that playing with spark in well defined complex rules voice or sound is transmitted by stations,
Also I discovered myself that binary system used in computers has also its very base in an electric switch cause data can be defined physically or electrically in 1 and 0 only, an electric switch is simplest computer having a value of 1 or 0 at any instance both in digital realm in its wires and physical thats the front of switch which is toggle a switch, switch is in both fields I guess.
Thanks for making your marvellous videos that just came up in recommendations today and finally I am sure that I guessed it almost perfectly right for radios. Learned beautiful concepts ahead of what I knew.
The 1936 vintage Junkers JU-52 that appears at 20:37 in the presentation has quite a history. It was owned for a time by the American aviation writer - Martin Caidin. Here's a link to "Iron Annie" (as she was called then): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52_WkNr_130714
Thank you :)
The speed of the generator decreases when the morse transmission is made, that is, when it is under load. Doesn't this make a difference in the transmission tone? Would a scenario where the transmission tone is determined by the rotary discharger but the discharge occurs at the quenched gap be efficient? Is such a thing possible? It sounds like this way the tone can be kept constant.
What was the range of this unit?
What ever you like
Probably around 200 kilometers.
forgive my, no doubt, daft question. but i have recently started learning about this sort of thing. I thought the winding had to be insulated and tapped every so many turns. so how does the armature here at 13.50 contact anything? is the wire not insulated? great video. cheers. (i am sure i see this bloke everywhere. in vids about astronomy, V2 rockets, and now radios!. remarkably busy chap)
Hi Dorian, no problem, it's a good question. The coil is tapped - you can see where i pulled loops out on to board if you freeze the image. The copper wire is insulated with a thin coat of clear enamel or lacquer. Once the coil was made I carefully scraped the lacquer away on the track followed by the wiper (I just marked a broad enough strip with pencil and ruler - about 1cm wide and the length of the coil). I used a small file to remove the lacquer. I hope this helps - thanks for posting. KR RJD
@@deutscheavionik7211 Thank you , all has been made clear. I really appreciate your replying. DA
@@deutscheavionik7211 hi chief. if you are still reading replies could you please help me? i am a little unsure about making a coherer. there is a dearth of info online i have found. particularly, how small does the gap between the brass rods have to be at the bottom of the v shape? is that design essential? would 2 copper discs with a few mil gap between work? does the size of the iron filings matter? i enjoy making model rockets with flight computers(that is why i have seen you previously on rocket vids) and i have decided i want to launch a rocket using a spark gap radio to send the launch signal. you may be interested to learn that every time i look at a road on a map I think of you measuring the road outside your house in a vid from yonks ago. keep up the good work DA
What happened to the telescopes and Gyroscopes?, but I'm more interested in this as I used to work for Marconi, the company, not the man!
Is there any type of watch or clock that could be making a repetitive noise
Hi Dapinderjit, some years ago a friend told me about an electric clock on a cooker (50Hz 220VAC)
that had became faulty and generated a sharp RF tick every 15 minutes and could be heard at various times on a number of recievers local to the house where it was located. After some weeks of living with the mysterious RF click, the interference was finally corelated with an audible click comeing from the cooker. It seems a relay was trying repeatedly to energise a heating element and failing. I have also heard of the running gear of microwave cookers creating repetative pattern radio interference - though I have never heard this myself.Just a thought. KR RJD
@@deutscheavionik7211 at young age i used to hear a scooter on radio whenever it would start, a guy living few houses away owned it, its rf interference was completely in sync with the sound of engine as if sound was playing on radio
@@deutscheavionik7211 i wonder how much wide these disturbances from sparks are on radio spectrum, how it depends on various characteristics of that spark, can it be used in any jamming equipment also?
I cut my teeth with that technology in my telecommunications career.
wow. i guess you must be around 130 years old.
Now add a lyden jar
Hopefully Ofcom are watching this video they might learn something