On the night of 10 August 1876, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted human voices by means of electrified wires from Brantford, Ontario, Canada, to Paris, Ontario, Canada, a distance of 13 km, firmly establishing the electric speaking telephone as an effective method of communication. Musical notes, the human voice, and songs spoken and sung were plainly audible at the other end. This was a one-way communication, sounds from Brantford were audible to Bell in Paris. This was the climax of several "distance tests" Bell had conducted in Ontario.
Bell made use of the telegraph wires of the Dominion Telegraph Company between its office in Brantford and its office in Paris. Because the battery power available at Brantford was to low for Bell's membrane telephones, the Dominion Telegraph Company provided power from Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario. Bell connected his membrane telephone and triple mouthpiece to the wires at the Brantford office, then, at the Paris office, he connected his iron box receiver. Through bubbling and crackling sounds, Bell could hear the voices from Brantford. By using high resistance electro-magnetic coils at each end of the line, the sounds were transmitted and received so distinctly that Bell could recognize the voices of the speakers.
(source: www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:First_Distant_Speech_
Transmission_in_Canada,_1876
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There are two plaques located at the provided coordinates. The upper plaque has a depiction of Alexander Graham Bell and reads:
ON THIS SITE
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
INVENTOR OF THE TELEPHONE,
RECEIVED FROM BRANTFORD, ONTARIO
ON AUGUST 10. 1876
THE WORLD'S FIRST SUCCESSFUL
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE CALL
ERECTED BY THE
CHARLES FLEETWOOD SISE CHAPTER
TELEPHONE PIONEERS OF AMERICA
10TH AUGUST 1946 |
The lower plaque reads:
IEEE MILESTONE IN
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
AND COMPUTING
FIRST DISTANCE SPEECH
TRANSMISSION IN CANADA, 1876
On 10 August 1876, Alexander Graham Bell
demonstrated on this site that the human
voice could be transmitted electrically over
distance. While family members spoke into a
transmitter in Brantford, 13 km away, Bell
was able to hear them at a receiver located
here. This test convinced Bell that the
invention could be used for communication
between towns and could compete
successfully with the telegraph.
May 2008
INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND
ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS
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