Fax

Fax (short for facsimile - from Latin "fac simile", "make similar", i.e. "make a copy" - or telefacsimile) is a telecommunications technology used to transfer copies of documents, especially using affordable devices operating over the telephone network. The words telecopy and telefax are also used as synonyms.

History

Scottish inventor Alexander Bain is often credited with the first fax patent in 1843. He used his knowledge of electric clock pendulums to produce a back-and-forth line-by-line scanning mechanism.

Related Topics:
Alexander Bain - 1843 - Clock - Pendulum

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In 1861 the first fax machine, Pantelegraph, was sold by Giovanni Casselli - before even the invention of workable telephones.

Related Topics:
1861 - Pantelegraph - Giovanni Casselli

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As a designer for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), in 1924, Richard H. Ranger invented the wireless photoradiogram, or transoceanic radio facsimile, the forerunner of today?s "Fax" machines. A photograph of President Calvin Coolidge sent from New York to London in November 1924 became the first photo picture reproduced by transoceanic radio facsimile. Commercial use of Ranger?s product began two years later. Radio fax is still in common use today for transmitting weather charts and information.

Related Topics:
Radio Corporation of America - Richard H. Ranger - Radio facsimile - Calvin Coolidge

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An early method for facsimile transmission, the Hellschreiber, was invented in 1929 by Rudolf Hell, a pioneer in mechanical image scanning and transmission.

Related Topics:
Hellschreiber - 1929 - Rudolf Hell

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In 1985 Dr Hank Magnuski, founder of GammaLink, produced the first computer fax board, called GammaFax.

Related Topics:
1985 - Hank Magnuski - GammaLink - GammaFax

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