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Feb 10, 2022 at 19:42 history edited rclocher3 CC BY-SA 4.0
copied @hobbs-KC2G's explanation about the "I" component in the spark-gap transmitter schematics
Feb 10, 2022 at 18:26 comment added elgroovy Thanks for your input. "I" on the diagrams seems be to an interrupter tied to T which is an Induction (Ruhmkorff) coil that was quite popular back in the spark-gap radio era. Since pre-1897 spark-gap transmitter is basically a HV source directly connected to the antenna, It happens to be only a transmitting part and the receiving end (like in Hertz's apparatus from 1887) is missing.
Feb 10, 2022 at 18:23 comment added hobbs - KC2G I is an "interrupter", it's a mechanical device that turns the DC from the battery into AC that the transformer can use. Similar in spirit to the circuit that rings an old-style alarm bell — a spring-loaded contact closes the circuit, which energizes a coil, which magnetically pulls the contact back open, so it oscillates (or something like that, there were many variations on interrupters over the years).
Feb 10, 2022 at 18:08 vote accept elgroovy
Feb 10, 2022 at 17:04 history answered rclocher3 CC BY-SA 4.0