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Private Line covers what has occurred, is occurring, and will ocurr in telecommunications. Since communication technology constantly changes, you can expect new content posted regularly.

Consider this site an authoritative resource. Its moderators have successful careers in the telecommunications industry. Utilize the content and send comments. As a site about communicating, conversation is encouraged.

Writers

Thomas Farely

Tom has produced privateline.com since 1995. He is now a freelance technology writer who contributes regularly to the site.

His knowledge of telecommunications has served, most notably, the American Heritage Invention and Technology Magazine and The History Channel.
His interview on Alexander Graham Bell will air on the History Channel the end of 2006.

Ken Schmidt

Ken is a licensed attorney who has worked in the tower industry for seven years. He has managed the development of broadcast towers nationwide and developed and built cell towers.

He has been quoted in newspapers and magazines on issues regarding cell towers and has spoke at industry and non-industry conferences on cell tower related issues.

He is recognized as an expert on cell tower leases and due diligence processes for tower acquisitions.

« Why is a microphone called a microphone? | | Commercial AMPS service turns 20 years old »

October 12, 2003

Posted by Tom Farley & Mark van der Hoek at 03:17 AM

A better explanation (Maybe.)

I've written that the telephone is an electrical instrument. Electricity powers the phone and it carries or conveys your voice from the telephone to the local switch. Not exactly. Electricity on two wires flows or is conveyed to work the phone itself: to operate the keypad, to make it ring. But electricity does not carry the voice.

Electric current doesn't convey the voice, sound simply varies that current. It's these electrical variations, analogs of the acoustic pressure originally spoken into the microphone, that represent voice. We have two different points here: about the current itself, and, about how that current is altered.

To sum up, electricity is indeed conveyed to the phone, whereupon 1) the current operates the telephone and 2) the current is varied by the voice to communicate. The diagram linked below makes this far more simple than a word description.

The telephone is an electrical instrument. Speaking into the handset's transmitter or microphone makes its diaphragm vibrate. This varies the electric current, causing the receiver's diaphragm to vibrate. This duplicates the original sound. Take a look at this image to make this point much clear.

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