Line Slot
This level represents experiments Bell continued after the harp that still fit into his Helmholtz mental model. Earlier, he had focused on getting a tone clearly across a wire; he continues to make these sorts of improvements in his transmitter and receiver slots, but is spending an increasing amount of time simulating the kinds of circuits that would be involved in transmission of multiple messages over the same wire. We refer to this complex circuit work as having to do with the 'line slot' because Bell is thinking about what it will take to make this into a practical device for use over long-distance telegraph lines.
"It became evident to me, that with my own rude workmanship, and with the limited time and means at my disposal, I could not hope tp construct any better models. I therefore from this time (November, 1873) devoted less time to practical experiment than to the theoretical development of the details of the invention." (Bell, The Multiple Telegraph, p.8)
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Date last modified: November 13, 1994