File:EB1911 Telegraph - Wheatstone Punching Apparatus.jpg

English: In the Wheatstone automatic apparatus three levers are placed side by side, each acting on a set of small punches and on mechanism for feeding the paper forward a step after each operation of the levers. The punches are arranged as shown, and the levers are adjusted so that the left-hand one moves a, b, c and punches a row of holes across the paper (group 1 in the figure), the middle one moves b only and punches a centre hole (2 in the figure), while the right-hand one moves a, b, d, e and punches four holes (3 and 4 in the figure). The whole of this operation represents a dot and a dash or the letter “a.” The side rows of holes only are used for transmitting the message, the centre row being required for feeding forward the paper in the transmitter. The perforation of the paper when done by hand is usually performed by means of small mallets, but at the central telegraph office in London, and at other large offices, the keys are only used for opening air-valves, the actual punching being done by pneumatic pressure.