Invented Earlier than You’d Think - Pt. 1 - Fax Machines
Here is the first installment in a series I’ll be posting this week that goes by the oh-so-clunky name “Invented Earlier than You’d Think”. In this series I’ll be taking a look at early examples of modern technologies that are not as modern as they seem. In this part we’ll be looking at a some of the early innovations in fax machines.
The earliest fax-like machines actually predate these by quite a bit, but these are all culled from this site, so that’s what you get. There are more fax related articles available available here.
Secret Documents Sent by Radio (Jan, 1932)
Early fax machines all seem to have one thing in common: they weren’t really fax machines in the sense that we use it to day. The early examples are all radio-fax systems. They don’t transmit over a normal telephone line. This machine however, does have the added bonus of apparently encrypting your image.
New Radio Pen Reproduces Pictures Put on the Air (Jul, 1934)
In the 1930’s the idea of the radio-newspaper was everywhere. I have literally dozens of articles about them. This one was obviously way ahead of it’s time since you can clearly see an early print version of a Mac vs. PC ad on the left.
Television Will Carry the Mails (Mar, 1935)
While the device pictured is another radio-fax machine, the linked article does also talk about telephone based faxes as well. As with all new technologies, pictures of scantily clad women lead the way.
Telegraph Kisses Are New Fad (May, 1938)
Now we’re getting somewhere. Long before cybersex, there was the much more low key, though decidedly more stylish telegraphisex.
“Mail Box†for Telegrams Transmits Messages (Jun, 1939)
This actually seems like a really handy machine. You write your message on a form, drop it in the slot, and it automatically gets faxed… somewhere.
Pictures by Radio (Jun, 1939)
Another radio-newspaper system, though this one actually was actually put into production and had available content for a time.
The left picture gives you a good view of the printing mechanism and picture quality. On the right is the rather handsome looking home receiver. Though with a print speed of three feet per hour, you better hope that lady is a very slow reader.
World’s First Color Fax Machine (Nov, 1947)
This article just floored me. You really have to look at the full size images to appreciate it, but this machine is gorgeous. The left image is of the print mechanism which is composed of a rotating set of actuated color pencils. And just to make sure you knew which pencil went where, they made the rollers out of colored velvet. You don’t get style like that in fax machines anymore.
The print quality is actually pretty stunning considering, you know, its a friggin color fax machine from 1946. The output reminds me a lot of a mid 90’s era color inkjet printer.
Desk-Size Facsimile Machine (Jun, 1952)
This is the closest thing to a modern fax machine, although all of your calls have to be routed through a central switchboard.
Back in the 70’s Western Union was scrapping those Desk Fax machines, and I, among many other ham operators, picked up a few to tinker with. They were fairly easy to connect to VHF transmitters and receivers, so you could do a reasonable job faxing pictures back and forth on two meters (144-148 MHz) AM. The synchronization circuit required a DC pulse, so you couldn’t use that, but we figured out ways to count down and say “NOW” just before hitting the “Send” button, so that the ham on the other end could get his machine spinning in time for the first few lines.
The machines used a fine steel wire and current-sensitive paper to literally burn the image onto the receiving form. Setting levels was fairly easy - you adjusted the volume control on the receiver for a small but consistent flow of smoke. Images were received in negative, until some bright soul discovered a way to connect a fiber optic pipe to route a little light around the optical interrupter wheel, changing the reference level from black to white… ah, those were the days.
Comment by Mike Brown — June 16, 2008 @ 6:46 am
But these are all recent machines. Consider…
Scottish inventor Alexander Bain is often credited with the first fax patent in 1843. He used his knowledge of electric clock pendulums to produce a back-and-forth line-by-line scanning mechanism.
Frederick Bakewell made several improvements on Bain’s design and demonstrated the device at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.
In 1861, the first fax machine, the Pantelegraph, was sold by Giovanni Caselli, even before the invention of workable telephones.
As a designer for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), in 1924, Richard H. Ranger invented the wireless photoradiogram, or transoceanic radio facsimile, the forerunner of today’s fax machines. A photograph of President Calvin Coolidge sent from New York to London on November 29, 1924 became the first photo picture reproduced by transoceanic radio facsimile. Commercial use of Ranger’s product began two years later. Radio fax is still in common use today for transmitting weather charts and information. Also in 1924, Herbert E. Ives of AT&T transmitted and reconstructed the first color facsimile, using color separations.
Comment by Eliyahu — June 16, 2008 @ 7:15 am
The Seattle-based band Octothorpe wrote a song entitled “Fax Machine,” extolling the virtues of a fax machine vs. more modern forms of communication. The chorus repeatedly references Alexander Bain.
It doesn’t appear to be on their website anymore but it’s available at Song Fight!.
(Disclaimer: I was a member of Octothorpe at the time, and I certainly played many parts in that song, including the more bizarre-sounding vocals and the guitar. And probably other stuff. We were drunk at the time.)
Comment by fluffy — June 16, 2008 @ 11:14 am
When did the Weather Service start and stop using the big dark blue on light blue weather charts?
I saw some in the late 1970s. Were they 14 to 18 inches wide by 24 to 36 inches?
I think some sort of electrochemical principle was used where an electric current discolored the paper.
(It had a sort of ‘mimeograph’ smell.) (Yes, I’m old.)
Comment by jayessell — June 16, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Sounds like you are talking about cyanotype printing. It is a photocoping process developed by Sir John Henschel that was used to copy charts and plans. It is where we get the term blueprint from.
http://www.ephotozine.com/arti.....e-printing
Comment by JMyint — June 16, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
I love the nearly 60 year old COLOR fax machine! man, it took real engineering to come up with stuff like this without the aid of computers. Much respect to the inventors back then.
Comment by Al Bear — June 16, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
On the color unit, I wonder if people tried hacking the print mechanism to use 5 cent colored pencils from Woolworth’s instead of the surely overpriced official refills.
Comment by George — August 26, 2008 @ 2:54 pm