Tag Archives: communications

The Victorians were Rocked to their Socks

Methods of communicating over long distances advanced surprisingly little from the days of the Roman Empire to the start of the nineteenth century. Although beacons and semaphores were occasionally used, the speed at which information could be transmitted was typically … Continue reading

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Concerns about Copper

The high price of copper on world markets has led to a spate of cable thefts, and this has provided telephone companies with a strong incentive to find cost-effective ways of replacing copper telephone wire with optical fibre. However, this is … Continue reading

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The Strange Story of Phone Phreaking

During the 1960’s, the use of analogue signalling tones between telephone exchanges gave rise to a new phenomenon called “Phone Phreaking”. The word “phreak” is apparently a combination of “phone”, “free” and “freak”, so it’s rather a good name. Phone … Continue reading

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Are Radio Waves Bad for Your Health?

The health risks associated with radioactivity have been recognized for many years. Alpha, beta and gamma emissions from radioactive sources can ionize atoms or molecules that they encounter by detaching electrons from them. People exposed to high levels of ionizing … Continue reading

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Let’s Hear It for the Bad Boys of Physics!

Surprising as it may seem, there are still some major barriers that are holding back the march of telecommunications. One of these barriers is Einstein’s universal speed limit – the speed of light – which applies to electrical currents in … Continue reading

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Portrait Gallery

As soon as a decision is made to include pictures in a book, difficult choices have to be made about which pictures to include and which to leave out. In some cases, the decision was taken out of my hands. … Continue reading

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Synopsis

Here’s a brief summary of each chapter. Chapter 1:  The Birth of an Industry This chapter chronicles the early years of the electric telegraph. It starts with the chaotic scenes in the US congress when – after many setbacks – Samuel … Continue reading

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Interview

    What are your favourite sports and hobbies? My work involves spending far too much time sitting in meetings or working on a computer, so I like leisure pursuits that involve fresh air and exercise. I’m keen on backpacking … Continue reading

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Biography

I can’t really believe that many people will be interested in this, but I’m told that an author’s website needs a biography – so here goes. I can’t tell you about all the books I’ve written, because I’ve only written … Continue reading

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Welcome!

Hello. Welcome to my website. I’m Andrew Wheen, and I’ve recently published a book on the history of telecoms. If you use a mobile phone or surf the Internet, then this book should be of interest to you. If telecoms … Continue reading

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