Telephone receiver

A telephone handset is the part of a telephone that is used for listening and speaking. In the narrower sense, the term "telephone receiver" is incorrect, the term commonly used in telecommunications is therefore also handset , in Switzerland also Mikrotel because of the two components microphone and the earpiece known as a telephone. In technical jargon , the handset is also called a bone because of its typical shape . By lifting the handset, the hook switch is operated in the telephone , the loop current of a few mA flows , then a connection to the telephone network is established in the exchange .

history

"Microtelephon" by Mix & Genest, 1889

A handset with microphone and remote receiver ( loudspeaker ) in one unit was introduced by Mix & Genest in 1887 . This invention was initially referred to as the "double telephone" and later as the "microtelephone". From 1892, Ericsson also began offering microtelephones and quickly enjoyed great success.

Before this time, the microphone was mostly permanently installed on the wall-mounted device with the speakerphone. In many telephones, this funnel was also arranged to be adjustable in height, the telephone receiver (loudspeaker) was equipped with a cord and was held to the ear.

construction

The handset is a technical unit consisting of the mouthpiece (holder for the microphone), the earpiece (holder for the earpiece) and a handle in between. As a rule, it is connected to the telephone set by a spiral telephone cord .

Magenta handset on a pay phone of Deutsche Telekom
Test handset for suppressors
Main components of a handset from the 1970s: earpiece and ...
... carbon microphone

Further developments

Up until the 1970s, carbon microphones were used as sound pick-ups ; these were then replaced by transducers with integrated electronic amplifiers due to the better speech quality. Since carbon microphones require an operating voltage, this was used to supply the amplifier and the microphones could be exchanged 1: 1.

Due to the advancing miniaturization, it is possible to outsource parts of the telephone technology to the handset. Cordless telephones already contain essential parts of the telephone, especially the keyboard, but still require a base station to establish the connection to the telephone network.

A mobile phone is in the form of a handset, but it is a fully-fledged telephone that can connect to appropriate telephone networks. An alternative to the handset is the headset , in which the user has both hands free.

literature

Handheld electrical telecommunications dictionary . 2nd edition, 2nd volume, pp. 766-767 (handset).

Web links

Commons : Handsets - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Telephone receiver - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

↑ Christel Jörges, Helmut Gold (Ed.): Telephones 1863 until today. From the collections of the Museums for Communication (= catalogs of the Museum Foundation Post and Telecommunications, Vol. 9). Edition Braus, Heidelberg 2001, ISBN 3-926318-89-9 , pp. 46-48.
↑ Newer telephone equipment from Mix and Genest. In: Dingler's Polytechnisches Journal. Vol. 273, Cotta, Stuttgart 1889, pp. 363-368 ( digitized version ).

[1] Christel Jörges, Helmut Gold (Ed.): Telephones 1863 until today. From the collections of the Museums for Communication (= catalogs of the Museum Foundation Post and Telecommunications, Vol. 9). Edition Braus, Heidelberg 2001, ISBN 3-926318-89-9 , pp. 46-48.

[2] Newer telephone equipment from Mix and Genest. In: Dingler's Polytechnisches Journal. Vol. 273, Cotta, Stuttgart 1889, pp. 363-368 ( digitized version ).