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Author Topic: The Spirit Telegraph  (Read 6423 times)
Group: Guest
   If you ever find yourself with nothing to do this may be fun to build. Found this machine while surfing and I gotta say it's kinda cool. Here are some lines from the website.
Here is the link to the original site: http://www.mortlakemagic.com/spirit.htm

We know that Edison had many men that were geniuses working for him including for a time the great Nikola Tesla. Edison built an idea factory where through hard work, thinking and experimentation new inventions could roll out the door. One of the most mysterious devices ever worked on by Thomas A. Edison was a machine that had the ability to communicate with the dead. It is commonly believed that the pursuit to build such a machine was a complete waste of time and utter folly, no machine was ever sold by Edison and no patent was applied for such a machine, however we do have a letter of correspondence between Mr Edison and a man named William B. Lamont who had his own ideas for communication with the dead. What was exchanged between Mr Edison and Mr Lamont has been lost to the ages and all we have is this letter with very limited details.

The workings of the device are quite simple, two batteries supply the power. The battery power travels to a coil of wire wrapped around a tube of paper that sits over an iron rod. From the coil of wire the power travels to an air gap made of small copper plates and then back to the battery. Normally nothing happens the air gap prevents electric from completing the circuit. When the circuit is completed using a key, nail or any metal object to bridge the air gap by simply touching both plates at the same time electric flows through the coil causing it to become an electromagnet and make the sounder move and tap on the iron rod. The theory that Edison and "Lamont" had was that spirits could manifest themselves in a form commonly know to mediums as ectoplasm and that perhaps this ectoplasm could conduct electric in the same way that metal could. If a spirit could manifest even a small amount of ectoplasm the circuit could be completed and cause the telegraph sounder to click. The effect on the part of the spirit would be much less than the energy required to do a visible ectoplasm manifestation.

Here are some pictures of the device.


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The most interesting part is the 'Original Shop Manual' that is posted. Here is a small excerpt from the manual.

What you see in the box before you is the product of countless years of experiments. It is a device that allows the departed and perhaps non-human earth bound spirits communication with the world of the living. The device is by no means perfect or reliable. Even if careful preparation is done and the machine is in prefect working order there is no guarantee that a spirit will be present to operate the machine. Most clients report that the telegraph works best at night, as it is much harder for spirits to manifest when the sun is in the sky. The telegraph works best if the two copper plates are aligned with the east and west directions.

Mr. Nikola Tesla discovered that the earth pulses with electrical energy 7 times per second with the third pulse in the series being 1.27 times transverse to the pulses which fall in between. 

When one of these pulses passes a ground location the earth ground potential is at its peek, during this time lightening has the highest likelihood of discharging from the sky to ground. The spirit telegraph uses this scientific principle in its operation. When the earth energy pulses past the plates from east to west and the plates are correctly tuned (diameter and gap are of the proper ratio) there is a time window that an unseen spirit may cause the flow of energy from one plate to the other. 

The flow of electric from plate A to plate B happens during a peek moment when some sort of ionizing elergy energy bridges the gap reducing the resistance point to near zero. 

A spirit being need only manifest a small stand of ectoplasm the thickness of a single strand of spider silk to cause the flow of electric across the plates. A strong spirit may be able to hold this connection for several seconds while lesser spirits may be able to hold the connection during the peek moment in the earth energy flow. 

The electric energy will flow (once the plate gap is bridged) through a coil of wire wrapped around an iron core which forms an electric magnet. The electric magnet pulls down on the iron slug in the sounding arm cause the tell-tell click. 

You may have to adjust the sounder arm so that you get the proper movement. The sounder arm must be close enough to the iron rod that the magnetic field can pull the sounder arm. About 1/16” seems to be the correct distance. The sounder arm has an adjustment screw that can be used to raise or lower the sounder arm to the correct height. 

The current flow (grows?) exponentially in strength as the expanding magnetic field of the coil crosses the air gap at the time segment of matching earth resonance. Any ionizing seeding the flow is reinforced, leading to an energy cascade. 

Spirit telegraph needs to be placed so that the resonate earth pulses pass through the air gap at a 90 degree angle.


If anyone builds this please let us know. Good luck.

Respectfully,

Core


Shop Manual:
 

   
Group: Guest
I GOOGLized this below:

edison spirit radio circuit diagram

and...

edison  wiring diagram

I tried to find a reference to Edison's "spirit radio."   The story goes that he visited a psychic in which he and she communicated with the dead.  After the seance, he decided to build a radio to do his communicating as a psychic go-between without the need of a living person next to him.   He succeeded, but after his death, someone broke into his research lab, stole all the "radio" notes he wrote, and destroyed all the associated equipment.

Nobody has had much success in duplicating Edison's work since then, but some have tried.  Information is rather vague, but I also once came across a diagram of a radio---without component values---that looked something like this schematic, at the bottom of the following 'Web page:

http://www.audion.co.uk/html/kits.html

Edison appeared to like amplifying stages in series to achieve his goals.  That's what I got from the schematic I saw about 25 yrs ago.

--Lee
   
Group: Guest
While looking at the PDF I noticed the 'antique' looking photograph appears to have taken on the same card table shown in the modern photos.

The supplier must have bought that table, along with the telegraphs, as a package deal  :)
   
Group: Guest
While looking at the PDF I noticed the 'antique' looking photograph appears to have taken on the same card table shown in the modern photos.

The supplier must have bought that table, along with the telegraphs, as a package deal  :)

Well, I'd say you're right.  It's the same table.  ;)    I think he may have *doctored* the notes to look older than they really are?!?!   ::)    Kinda obvious isn't it?    :P    :D

--Lee


   
Group: Guest
  Yea that's kinda lame isn't it. May have to call him out. BTW good eyes. O0

Respectfully,

Core
   
Group: Guest
 Yea that's kinda lame isn't it. May have to call him out. BTW good eyes. O0
Respectfully,
Core
Something else to think about?  In the bottom photo, he's replaced the original batteries (high current, multi-cell electrolytes?  I'm not sure) with modern "copper tops".  Will they work as well?  If so, it'll take high voltage to ionize gas to make a spark to begin with.  Does he claim that?  Those two batteries aren't enough.  More obvious fishiness?  And, does he have an accurately complete circuit schematic?  Someone might try to replicate his work.

--Lee

(Edited with additional questions.)

« Last Edit: 2011-01-07, 03:47:50 by the_big_m_in_ok »
   
Group: Guest
   If you ever find yourself with nothing to do this may be fun to build. Found this machine while surfing and I gotta say it's kinda cool. Here are some lines from the website.
Here is the link to the original site: http://www.mortlakemagic.com/spirit.htm
Take a look at what I stumbled onto:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Spooky-Tesla-Spirit-Radio/

I imagine there are other versions of "spirit radios" out there.

--Lee
   
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