Carbon microphone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_microphone

Carbon microphone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The carbon microphone, also known as carbon button microphone,

button microphone, or carbon transmitter, is a transducer that
converts sound to an electrical audio signal. It consists of two metal
plates separated by granules of carbon. One plate is very thin and faces
outward, acting as a diaphragm. When sound waves strike this plate, the
pressure on the granules changes, which in turn changes the electrical
resistance between the plates. Higher pressure lowers the resistance as
the granules are pushed closer together. As a steady direct current is
passed between the plates, the varying resistance results in a modulation
of the current at the same frequency of the impinging sound waves. In
telephony, this signal is directly passed through a telephone system to the
central office, or it is electronically amplified in other sound systems,
such as a public address system or a recording device. The frequency
response of the carbon microphone, however, is limited to a narrow
range, and the device produces significant electrical noise.

Carbon microphone from Western

Electric telephone

Before the proliferation of vacuum tube amplifiers in the 1920s, carbon

microphones were the only practical means of obtaining high-level audio
signals, and were widely used in telephone systems. Their low cost,
inherently high output and peaked frequency response characteristic
were well suited for this application. Their use in new telephone
installations continued into the 1980s, long after they had been replaced
An opened Ericsson carbon
by other types of microphones in other applications. In most plain old
microphone with carbon particles
telephone service (POTS) networks, carbon-microphone based
visible
telephones can still be used without modification. Carbon microphones,
usually modified telephone transmitters, were widely used in early AM
radio broadcasting systems, but their limited frequency response, as well as a fairly high noise level, led to their
abandonment in those applications by the late 1920s. They continued to be widely used for low-end public
address, and military and amateur radio applications for some decades afterward.[1]

Contents
1 History
2 Use as amplifier
3 Early radio applications
4 Current usage
5 References
6 Bibliography
7 External links

History

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The invention of the carbon transmitter, or carbon microphone, was

claimed both by Thomas Alva Edison in March 1877[2] and separately
by Emile Berliner who filed related patent applications in June 1877 and
August 1879.[3] The two sides fought a long legal battle over the patent
rights. Ultimately a federal court awarded Edison full rights to the
invention, stating "Edison preceded Berliner in the transmission of
speech...The use of carbon in a transmitter is, beyond controversy, the
invention of Edison" and the Berliner patent was ruled invalid. British
courts also ruled in favor of Edison over Berliner. Having settled the
Dowd suit (after Peter A. Dowd, agent of Western Union) out of court in
1881, Western Union left the telephone business, and sold Edison's
patent rights and related assets to the Bell company in exchange for 20%
of telephone rental receipts. Subsequently Bell telephones used the Bell
receiver and the Edison transmitter.[4] Later, carbon granules were used
between carbon buttons. Carbon microphones were widely used in
telephones in the United States from 1890 until the 1980s.[2]

Use as amplifier

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_microphone

Operation of carbon microphone.

When a sound wave presses on the
conducting diaphragm, the granules of
carbon are pressed together and
decrease their electrical resistance.

Carbon microphones can be used as amplifiers.[5] This capability was

used in early telephone repeaters, making long distance phone calls possible in the era before vacuum tube
amplifiers. In these repeaters, a magnetic telephone receiver (an electrical-to-mechanical transducer) was
mechanically coupled to a carbon microphone. Because a carbon microphone works by varying a current passed
through it, instead of generating a signal voltage as with most other microphone types, this arrangement could be
used to boost weak signals and send them down the line. These amplifiers were mostly abandoned with the
development of vacuum tubes, which offered higher gain and better sound quality. Even after vacuum tubes
were in common use, carbon amplifiers continued to be used during the 1930s in portable audio equipment such
as hearing aids. The Western Electric 65A carbon amplifier was 1.2" in diameter and 0.4" high and weighed less
than 1.4 ounces.[6] Such carbon amplifiers did not require the heavy bulky batteries and power supplies used by
vacuum tube amplifiers. By the 1950s, carbon amplifiers for hearing aids had been replaced by miniature
vacuum tubes (only to be shortly replaced by transistors).[citation needed] However, carbon amplifiers are still
being produced and sold.[7]
An illustration of the amplification provided by carbon microphones was the oscillation caused by feedback,
that resulted in an audible squeal from the old "candlestick telephone" if its earphone was placed near the
carbon microphone.

Early radio applications

Early AM radio transmitters relied on carbon microphones for voice modulation of the radio signal. In the first
long-distance audio transmissions by Reginald Fessenden in 1906, a continuous wave from an Alexanderson
alternator was fed directly to the transmitting antenna through a water-cooled carbon microphone. Later
systems using vacuum tube oscillators often used the output from a carbon microphone to modulate the grid bias
of the oscillator or output tube to achieve modulation.

Current usage

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Apart from legacy telephone installations in Third World countries, carbon microphones are still used today in
certain niche applications in the developed world. An example is the Shure 104c,[8] which is still in demand
because of its wide compatibility with existing equipment.
The principal advantage of carbon microphones over other microphone designs is that they can produce
high-level audio signals from very low DC voltages, without needing any form of additional amplification or
batteries. This is particularly useful in remote locations served by very long telephone lines, where the electrical
resistance of the wires can lead to severe DC voltage drop. Most all-electronic telephones need at least three
volts DC to work, and so will often become useless in such situations, whereas carbon transmitter telephones
will continue to work down to a fraction of a volt. Even where they do work, electronic telephones also suffer
from the so-called "cliff effect", whereby they abruptly stop working when the line voltage falls below the
critical level. In particular, this means that one telephone on a "party line" may tend to "hog" all the line current,
cutting the others off. With carbon microphones, all receivers on the same line will still operate, albeit with
reduced output).
Carbon microphones are also widely used in safety-critical applications such as mining and chemical
manufacturing, where higher line voltages cannot be used, due to the risk of sparking and consequent explosions
. Carbon-based telephone systems are also resistant to damage from high-voltage transients, such as those
produced by lightning strikes, and electromagnetic pulses of the type generated by nuclear explosions, and so
are still maintained as backup communication systems in critical military installations.

References
1. ^ Heil, B. The Microphone: A Short Illustrated History. QST, 90(6), 50
2. ^ a b IEEE Global History Network: Carbon Transmitter. New Brunswick, NJ: IEEE History Center [1]
(http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Carbon_Transmitter)
3. ^ Inventors Hall of Fame (http://www.invent.org/Hall_Of_Fame/13.html), E. Berliner, U.S. Patent 0,463,569
(http://www.google.com/patents/US463569) filed June 1877, issued November 1891
4. ^ Josephson, pp. 147-151
5. ^ Examples of amplifiers that were based on carbon microphones:
By 1904 Herbert E. Shreeve had developed a carbon amplifier for relaying telephone signals over long
distances. Also, the (U.S.) Western Electric company used a carbon amplifier in its No. 66B hearing aid.
See: Electro-mechanical amplifiers (http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/mechamp
/mechamp.htm).
A mechanical telephone relay, which was invented by Herbert E. Shreeve, an engineer with the Western
Electric Co., was patented in 1905. See: Herbert E. Shreeve, "Telephone-current reinforcer or relay,"
(http://www.google.com/patents/US791655) U.S. patent no. 791,655 (filed: July 8, 1904 ; issued: June 6,
1905). See also: Herbert E. Shreeve, "Telephone-current reinforcer or relay," (http://www.google.com/patents
/US791656) U.S. patent no. 791,656 (filed: Feb. 28, 1904 ; issued: June 6, 1905).
The Acousticon hearing aid employed a carbon amplifier. See: The Hearing Aid Museum
(http://www.hearingaidmuseum.com/gallery/General_Info/GenInfoCarbon/info/generalinfo-carbon.htm).
Other early hearing aids that were based on carbon amplifiers are mentioned here: Washington University
School of Medicine: Timeline of hearing devices and early deaf education (http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu
/did/timeline/index.htm)
In 1924, the Siemens Corp. of Germany patented a carbon-amplifier hearing aid. See: Siemens Hearing
Instruments: 1924 carbon amplifier (http://hearing.siemens.com/Resources/PressDatabase/_Global/mediadatabase/business/PR_pic_Hist_BTE.html).
6. ^ Douglas Self. "Electro-Mechanical amplifiers (Western Electric 65A carbon amplifier in 66B hearing aid)"
(http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/mechamp/mechamp.htm).
7. ^ "GN 0686 Netcom In-Line Carbon Amplifier" (http://www.headset-plus.com/0686-netcom-0686-inline-carbonamplifier-p-588.html). Headset-Plus.com.
8. ^ "Model 104C Guide" (http://www.shure.com/uploads/user_guide/upload/349/us_pro_104c_ug.pdf) (PDF). Shure

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Incorporated.

Bibliography
Josephson, Matthew, Edison: A Biography, Wiley, 1992, ISBN 0-471-54806-5

External links
Edison's invention of the carbon (graphite) microphone (http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books
/hst/biography/Edison/chap36.html) by Frank Dyer
T A Edison, U.S. Patent 0,474,230 (http://www.google.com/patents/US474230) Speaking Telegraph
(graphite microphone), filed April 1877, issued May 1892
T A Edison, U.S. Patent 0,203,016 (http://www.google.com/patents/US203016) Improvement in Speaking
Telephones (compressed lamp black button insulated from diaphragm), filed March 1878, issued April,
1878
T A Edison, U.S. Patent 0,222,390 (http://www.google.com/patents/US222390) Carbon Telephone
(carbon granules microphone), filed Nov 1878, issued Dec 1879
E. Berliner, U.S. Patent 0,222,652 (http://www.google.com/patents/US222652) Improvement in Electrical
Contact Telephones (carbon diaphragm with carbon contact pin), filed August 1879, issued December 16,
1879
A C White, U.S. Patent 0,485,311 (http://www.google.com/patents/US485311) Telephone (solid back
carbon microphone), filed March 24, 1892, issued November 1, 1892 (Bell engineer)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carbon_microphone&oldid=569159868"
Categories: American inventions Audio amplifiers History of the telephone Microphones Thomas Edison
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