Syphon recorder

The syphon or siphon recorder is an obsolete electromechanical device used as a receiver for submarine telegraph cables invented by William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin in 1867.

[2] Later a trained telegrapher would read the tape, translating the pulses representing the "dots" and "dashes" of the Morse code to characters of the text message.

The disadvantage of the mirror galvanometer was that it required two operators, one with a steady eye to read and call off the signal, the other to write down the characters received.

An operator knowing Morse code later translates the line on the tape to characters of the text message, and types them onto a telegram form.

Power to pull the roll of paper tape through the syphon recorder was usually supplied by one Froment's mouse mill motors.

[5] The recording pen was suspended on a thin wire, vibrated by an electromagnet mechanism similar to that of an electric bell, to break contact with the paper.