A needle telegraph is an electrical telegraph that uses indicating needles moved electromagnetically as its means of displaying messages. It is one of the two main types of electromagnetic telegraph, the other being the armature system, [ 1 ] as exemplified by the telegraph of Samuel Morse in the United States.

First are the needle telegraphs, in which electric current sent down the telegraph line produces electromagnetic force to move a needle-shaped pointer into position over a printed list. Early needle telegraph models used multiple needles, thus requiring multiple wires to be installed between stations.

In the single-needle model the needle deflects right and/or left, giving the equivalent of the familar dots and dashes in the American Morse coad. Under each letter on the face of the instrument can be seen the deflections indicating each letter.

Illustration depicting a man using a needle telegraph. One of the two main types of electromagnetic telegraphs, needle telegraphs use indicating needles moved electromagnetically as a means of displaying messages.

Cooke and Wheatstone's two-needle telegraph as used on the Great Western Railway. The Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph was an early electrical telegraph system dating from the 1830s invented by English inventor William Fothergill Cooke and English scientist Charles Wheatstone.

A far cry from today’s world of instant messaging and increasingly sophisticated communication technologies – all at the touch of a button. The invention of the electric telegraph transformed world communications. It also marked the first practical use of electricity.

THE SINGLE NEEDLE TELEGRAPH 1841 – 1976 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Introduction 1. The Single Needle System in perspective 1.1 Early history of five and two needle systems 1.2 Introduction of the single needle and Bright's Bell 1.3 Use of the single needle on the railways

Telegraph sounders convert electrical pulses into audible sounds and are used to receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. Short pulses make a dot, slightly longer pulses make a dash.

This demonstration shows how a 4 needle telegraph - a slightly later model of the July 1837 original - operates and how letters could be communicated. The needle telegraph started a...

A needle telegraph is an electrical telegraph that uses indicating needles moved electromagnetically as its means of displaying messages. It is one of the two main types of electromagnetic telegraph, the other being the armature system, as exemplified by the telegraph of Samuel Morse in the United States.