[time-nuts] Worlds first time code generator and ultimate decoder

[Bob Burchett]

This is just for fun guys; so don't take it over seriously however that
said; this is indeed the first recorded use of timing for synchronization so
far as I can find.and it ties in with my other hobby; vintage/ antique
phonographs. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.so read on:

 

Most everyone knows about Edison in 1877 patenting the recording of audio
but fully 17 years prior to that Scott in Paris France patented the
Phonautogram which was finally proven in 2008 to be the oldest recorded
sound ever when it was finally decoded.  It was done by speaking into the
Phonautogram device Scott & Koenig built to put voice squiggles of audio
lines onto paper coated with lampblack which he did as far back as 1853 but
those can't be decoded for multiple reasons; like the fact Scott wasn't
really interested in playing them back so some of the recordings actually
backtracked on paper in time which violates the rules a bit so only the
later ones can be reverse-engineered. 

 

So what made the one of 1860 work? This is the good part!

 

It took the researchers quite some time to figure out that in parallel with
the voice squiggle was a perfect sine wave that was ultimately determined to
be a musical tuning fork on "then standard" A of 435 Hz. Yes we all know 440
became the standard later but at that time an A was at 435 before you hit
REPLY and toss things at me..

 

Anyway; Scott vibrated a fork squiggle along with the voice pattern and the
first time code for synchronization was created in 1860 which can be seen
here:
http://nesssoftware.com/home/asn/homepage/teaching/exp-lectureNotes/110127-p
honautograph/phonautograph_rev.html note you have to scroll about halfway
down the page to get to the image of the voice paper but it is sure worth it
now that you know what to look for.

 

Note that you can actually HEAR the end results of this squiggle-on-paper
which Scott was only able to encode but never decode and I got to hear it at
the Antique Phonograph Society back then..relived today and well documented
in this large PDF that is really cool to view:
http://www.firstsounds.org/publications/facsimiles/FirstSounds_Facsimile_05.
pdf 

 

For those that really want to hear MP3 renditions of this miracle go here:
http://firstsounds.org/sounds/scott.php and step back 154 years in time to
the first recorded and frequency/ time-synchronized recordings made..enjoy
as it is intended or just hit <Delete> if you think there are faults in
this!

 

Robert L. (Bob) Burchett

Certified Communications Engineer

Enterprise Electronics

Contractors License 522372

22826 Mariposa Ave. 

Torrance CA 90502

310.534.4456

Bob.Burchett at EEonTheWeb.com