Spark-gap transmitter

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A spark-gap transmitter is a device for generating radio frequency electromagnetic waves using a spark gap.

These devices served as the transmitters for most wireless telegraphy systems for the first three decades of radio (1887–1916) and the first demonstrations of practical radio were carried out using them. In later years somewhat more efficient transmitters were developed based on rotary machines like the high-speed Alexanderson alternators and the static Poulsen Arc generators, but spark transmitters were still preferred by most operators. This was because of their uncomplicated design and because the carrier stopped when the telegraph key was released, which allowed the operator to "listen through" for a reply. With other types of transmitter, the carrier could not be controlled so easily, and they required elaborate measures to modulate the carrier and to prevent transmitter leakage from de-sensitizing the receiver. After WWI, greatly improved transmitters based on vacuum tubes became available, which overcame these problems, and by the late 1920s the only spark transmitters still in regular operation were "legacy" installations on naval vessels. Even when vacuum tube based transmitters had been installed, many vessels retained their crude but reliable spark transmitters as an emergency backup. However, by 1940, the technology was no longer used for communication. Use of the spark-gap transmitter led to many radio operators being nicknamed "Sparks" long after spark transmitters ceased to be used. Even today, the German verb "funken", literally, "to spark", also means "to send a radio message/signal".

The history of radio shows that the spark gap transmitter was the product of many people, often working in competition. In 1862 James Clerk Maxwell predicted the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a vacuum.

In 1878, David E. Hughes used a spark gap to generate radio signals, achieving a detectable range of approximately 500 metres.

In 1888 physicist Heinrich Hertz set out to scientifically verify Maxwell's predictions. Hertz used a tuned spark gap transmitter and a tuned spark gap detector (consisting of a loop of wire connected to a small spark gap) located a few meters away. In a series of UHF experiments, Hertz verified that electromagnetic waves were being produced by the transmitter. When the transmitter sparked, small sparks also appeared across the receiver's spark gap, which could be seen under a microscope.

Nikola Tesla introduced his radio system in 1893 and later developed the so-called "loose coupler" system which was a major technological breakthrough. It produced a far more coherent carrier wave, generated far less interference, worked with much greater efficiency, required much lower operating voltages and could be operated in any weather conditions.

Tesla pursued the application of his high voltage high frequency technology to radio. By tuning a receiving coil to the specific frequency used in the transmitting coil, he showed that the radio receiver's output could be greatly magnified through resonant action. Tesla was one of the first to patent a means to reliably produce radio frequencies (e.g., U.S. patent 447,920, "Method of Operating Arc-Lamps" (March 10, 1891). Tesla also invented a variety of rotary, cooled, and quenched spark gaps capable of handling high power.

Marconi began experimenting with wireless telegraphy in the early 1890s. In 1895 he succeeded in transmitting over a distance of 1 1/4 miles. His first transmitter consisted of an induction coil connected between a wire antenna and ground, with a spark gap across it. Every time the induction coil pulsed, the antenna would be momentarily charged up to tens (sometimes hundreds) of thousands of volts until the spark gap started to arc over. This acted as a switch, essentially connecting the charged antenna to ground, producing a very brief burst of electromagnetic radiation.

While the various early systems of spark transmitters worked well enough to prove the concept of wireless telegraphy, the primitive spark gap assemblies used had some severe shortcomings. The biggest problem was that the maximum power that could be transmitted was directly determined by how much electrical charge the antenna could hold. Because the capacitance of practical antennas is quite small, the only way to get a reasonable power output was to charge it up to very high voltages. However, this made transmission impossible in rainy or even damp conditions. Also, it necessitated a quite wide spark gap, with a very high electrical resistance, with the result that most of the electrical energy was used simply to heat up the air in the spark gap.^[1]

Another problem with the spark transmitter was a result of the shape of the waveform produced by each burst of electromagnetic radiation. These transmitters radiated an extremely "dirty" wide band signal which could greatly interfere with the reception of other transmissions on nearby frequencies. Receiving sets located relatively close to such a transmitter would have entire sections of a band masked by this wide band noise.

Despite these flaws, Marconi was able to generate sufficient interest from the British Admiralty in these originally crude systems to eventually finance the development of a commercial wireless telegraph service between United States and Europe using vastly improved equipment.

Reginald Fessenden's first attempts to transmit voice employed a spark transmitter operating at approximately 10,000 sparks/second. To modulate this transmitter he inserted a carbon microphone in series with the supply lead. He experienced great difficulty in achieving intelligible sound. At least one high-powered audio transmitter used water cooling for the microphone.

In 1905 a "state of the art" spark gap transmitter generated a signal having a wavelength between 250 meters (1.2 MHz) and 550 meters (545 kHz). 600 meters (500 kHz) became the International distress frequency. The receivers were simple unamplified Magnetic Detectors or electrolytic detectors. This later gave way to the famous and more sensitive galena crystal sets. Tuners were primitive or nonexistent. Early amateur radio operators built low power spark gap transmitters using the spark coil from Ford Model T automobiles. But a typical commercial station in 1916 might include a 1/2 kW transformer that supplied 14,000 volts, an eight section capacitor, and a rotary gap capable of handling a peak current of several hundred amperes.^{[citation needed]}

Shipboard installations usually used a DC motor (usually run off the ship's DC lighting supply) to drive an alternator whose AC output was then stepped up to 10,000–14,000 volts by a transformer. This was a very convenient arrangement, since the signal could be easily modulated by simply connecting a relay between the relatively low voltage alternator output and the transformer's primary winding, and activating it with the morse key key. (Lower-powered units sometimes used the morse key to directly switch the AC, but this required a heavier key making it more difficult to operate).

Spark gap transmitters generate fairly broad-band signals. As the more efficient transmission mode of continuous waves (CW) became easier to produce and band crowding and interference worsened, spark-gap transmitters and damped waves were legislated off the new shorter wavelengths by international treaty, and replaced by Poulsen arc converters and high frequency alternators which developed a sharply defined transmitter frequency. These approaches later yielded to vacuum tube technology and the 'electric age' of radio would end. Long after they stopped being used for communications, spark gap transmitters were employed for radio jamming. As late as 1955, a Japanese radio-controlled toy bus used a spark transmitter and coherer receiver; the spark was visible behind a sheet of blue transparent plastic. Spark gap oscillators are still used to generate high frequency high voltage to initiate welding arcs in gas tungsten arc welding[1]. Powerful spark gap pulse generators are still used to simulate EMPs. Most high power gas-discharge street lamps (mercury and sodium vapor) still use modified spark transmitters as switch-on ignitors.^{[citation needed]}

The function of the spark gap is to present a high resistance to the circuit initially to allow the C1 capacitor to charge. When the breakdown voltage of the gap is reached, it then presents a low resistance to the circuit causing the C1 capacitor to discharge. The discharge through the conducting spark takes the form of a damped oscillation, at a frequency determined by the resonant frequency of the C2 and L tank LC circuit.

The spark transmitter is very simple in operation, but it presented significant technical problems mostly due to very large induced EMF when the spark struck, which caused breakdown of the insulation in the primary transformer. To overcome this the construction of even low-power sets was very solid. The damped wave output was very wasteful of bandwidth, and this limited the number of stations that could communicate effectively without interfering with each other.

A simple spark gap consists of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap immersed within a gas (typically air). When a sufficiently high voltage is applied, a spark will bridge the gap, ionizing the gas and drastically reducing its electrical resistance. An electric current then flows until the path of ionized gas is broken or the current is reduced below a minimum value called the 'holding current'. This usually occurs when the voltage across the gap drops sufficiently, but the process may also be assisted by cooling the spark channel or by physically separating the electrodes. This breaks the conductive filament of ionized gas, allowing the capacitor to recharge, and permitting the recharging/discharging cycle to repeat. The action of ionizing the gas is quite sudden and violent (disruptive), and it creates a sharp sound (ranging from a snap for a spark plug, to a loud bang for a wider gap). The spark gap also liberates light and heat.

Quenching refers to the act of extinguishing the previously established arc within the spark gap. This is considerably more difficult than initiating spark breakdown in the gap. As transmitter power was increased, the problem of quenching arose.

A cold, non-firing spark gap contains no ionized gases. Once the voltage across the gap reaches its breakdown voltage, gas molecules in the gap are very quickly ionized along a path, creating a hot electric arc, or plasma, that consists of large numbers of ions and free electrons between the electrodes. The arc also heats part of the electrodes to incandescence. The incandescent regions contribute free electrons via thermionic emission, and (easily ionized) metal vapor. The mixture of ions and free electrons in the plasma is highly conductive, resulting in a sharp drop in the gap's electrical resistance. This highly conductive arc supports efficient tank circuit oscillations. However, the oscillating current also sustains the arc and, until it can be extinguished, the tank capacitor cannot be recharged for the next pulse.

Several methods were applied to quench the arc.

• Jets of air that cool, stretch, and literally 'blow out' the plasma,
• multi-plate discharger of Max Wien to cool the arcs in medium power spark sets, known as the "whistling spark" for its distinctive signal,
• using a different gas, such as hydrogen, that quenches more efficiently by providing more effective electrode cooling,
• a magnetic field (from a pair of permanent magnets or poles of an electromagnets) oriented at right angles to the gap to stretch and cool the arc.

Spark gaps used in early radio transmitters varied in construction, depending on the power to be handled. Some were fairly simple, consisting of one or more fixed (static) gaps connected in series, while others were significantly more complex. Because sparks were quite hot and erosive, electrode wear and cooling were constant problems.

The need to extinguish arcs in increasingly higher power transmitters led to the development of the rotating spark gap. These devices were used with an alternating current power supply, produced a more regular spark, and could handle more power than conventional static spark gaps. The inner rotating metal disc typically had a number of studs on its outer edge. A discharge would take place when two of the studs lined up with the two outer contacts which carried the high voltage. The resulting arcs were rapidly stretched, cooled, and broken as the disk rotated.

Rotary gaps were operated in two modes, synchronous and asynchronous. A synchronous gap was driven by a synchronous AC motor so that it ran at a fixed speed, and the gap fired in direct relation to the waveform of the A.C. supply that recharged the tank capacitor. The point in the waveform where the gaps were closest was changed by adjusting the rotor position on the motor shaft relative to the stator's studs. By properly adjusting the synchronous gap, it was possible to have the gap fire only at the voltage peaks of the input current. This technique allowed the tank circuit to fire only at successive voltage peaks, thereby delivering maximum energy from the fully charged tank capacitor each time the gap fired. The break rate was thus fixed at twice the incoming power frequency (typically, 100 or 120 breaks/second, corresponding to 50 Hz or 60 Hz power frequency; 50 Hz is common in Europe, while 60 Hz is common in North America). When properly engineered and adjusted, synchronous spark gap systems delivered the largest amount of power to the antenna. However, electrode wear would progressively change the gap's firing point, so synchronous gaps were somewhat temperamental and difficult to maintain.

Asynchronous gaps were considerably more common. In an asynchronous gap, the rotation of the motor had no fixed relationship relative to the incoming AC waveform. Asynchronous gaps worked quite well and were much easier to maintain. By using a larger number of rotating studs or a higher rotational speed, many asynchronous gaps operated at break rates in excess of 400 breaks/second. Since the gap could be fired more often than the input waveform switched polarity, the tank capacitor was charged and discharged more rapidly than a synchronous gap. However, each discharge would occur at a varying voltage that was almost always lower than the consistent peak voltage obtained from a synchronous gap.

Rotary gaps also served to alter the tone of the transmitter, since changing either the number of studs or the rotational speed changed the spark discharge frequency which was audible in receivers with detectors that could detect the modulation on the spark signal. This enabled listeners to distinguish between different transmitters that were nominally tuned to the same frequency. A typical high-power multiple spark system (as it was also called) used a 9-to-24-inch-diameter (230 to 610 mm) rotating commutator with six to twelve studs per wheel, typically switching several thousand volts.

The output of a rotary spark gap transmitter was turned on and off by the operator using a special kind of telegraph key that switched power going to the high voltage power supply. The key was designed with large contacts to carry the heavy current that flowed into the low voltage (primary) side of the high voltage transformer (often in excess of 20 amps). Alternatively a relay was used to do the actual switching.

• Coherer
• Crystal Radio
• Radio receiver
• Antique radio
• Television interference (electrical interference)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spark-gap transmitters.

• Alternator, Arc and Spark
• Fessenden and the Early History of Radio Science
• Brief history of spark
• Massie Spark Transmitter The new England Wireless and Steam Museum
• "The Sounds of a Spark Transmitter with audio". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.
• The Sparks Telegraph Key Review