ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Telephone receiver

Horseshoe-magnet receiver

Siemens & Halske · 1878

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

Siemens & Halske improved Bell's receiver by replacing its bar magnet with a stronger horseshoe magnet, raising loudness considerably. Presented to German Postmaster General Heinrich von Stephan in October 1877 and produced from 1878, it was nicknamed the 'Hufeisentelephon' or 'Hantel', and one unit served as both transmitter and receiver.

Introduced
1878
Category
Telephone receiver
Intended use
Louder reproduction of telephone signals
Production
Siemens & Halske, Berlin, from 1878

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    The stronger magnet answered the main complaint about early telephones, low volume.

  2. 02

    It was used across the early German telephone network from 1878 to the mid-1880s.

Engineering record

Magnet design
A horseshoe magnet around the receiver coil in place of Bell's bar magnet, substantially increasing output[1]
Dual use
The same 'Hantel' unit was moved between mouth and ear to act as transmitter and receiver[1]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Used in German Reich telephone service from 1878 to about 1886[1]

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

  1. 1Gewöhnlicher Fernsprecher, "Großes Hufeisentelephon" oder "Hantel"Fernmeldemuseum Dresden (museum-digital) · archive · 1878

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