Telecommunications Collections

This section of the museum includes collections featuring artefacts and equipment dating from the 19th century to the present day and document the evolution of the systems and techniques used in telecommunications in Portugal. List of collections below.

Optical/Visual Telegraphy

Equipment for sending coded messages, e.g., primitive sound and visual communication systems, semaphore, signalling lanterns, Chappe telegraph, shutter telegraph, sunshine recorders.

Electrical Telegraphy

Equipment for sending messages, e.g., Morse code, Bréguet, Hughes, Baudot, Fac-Simile, Telex, Videotex, Fax, CORFAC.

Telephony

Manual telephone terminals: early telephone and private-line terminals, local-battery telephone terminals, central-battery telephone terminals.
Automatic telephone terminals: automatic analogue telephone terminals with rotary and push-button dialling.
Digital telephone terminals: automatic digital telephone terminals, mobile terminals, mobile phones, pagers, satellite video-conferencing equipment.

Radio Communications

TWF equipment, such as: signal handlers, transmitters/receivers, antennas, coherers, reels, valves, and signal generators.

Switching

Equipment used to concentrate and forward communications, such as: manual switching centres, Strowger-type and coordinate-selector automatic switching centres, and digital automatic centres.

Transmitting

Equipment used to send telecommunications, broadcasting and TV signals, such as: outdoor equipment and studio equipment.

Power/Electricity Feed/Protection

Generators, feeders, motors, batteries, accumulators, transformers, surge arresters and fuses associated with telecommunications equipment.

Testing and Measuring

Equipment used in testing and measuring electrical and non-electrical quantities.

Computer Equipment

Hardware such as computer terminals, computers, keyboards, printers, modems, scanners and software.

Multimedia

Equipment for transmitting sound and image.

Tools

Specific telecommunications-related tools and commonly-used tools.