"Hi Hi. This is the residence of Mr. John Smith. Your message is automatically recorded. Ready! Please speak now."
Of course, today you will not surprise anyone with such things. Phones have gone so far that even computers cannot keep up with them. But for 1950, a "self-answering" phone seemed like a miracle of wonders. In Mechanix Illustrated Mar, 1950, a rather amusing article was published today. It is also interesting in that it was possible to listen to messages from any phone anywhere in the world, as well as how the function of "encrypting" the recording from listening by random people was implemented in this device. We read the article:
The first encrypted answering machine with the ability to listen to messages from anywhere.
Hi Hi…
Don't be surprised if you hear this while dialing the familiar number of one of your friends. This Ipsophone is a robotic phone device with a brain that has been launched to the market and is taking over the world. These three ingenious Swiss inventions are already installed for the king of Egypt, but their cost ($ 38 per month) will make them practical even for the smallest businessman.
How it works? Well, let's say you need to go out and leave your phone unattended. When he calls, there is no one to answer, so after three rings, the Ipsophone's voice starts to act with the words above.
The Ipsophone was developed in the 1940s by Willy Müller (see Willy Müller & Co. KG), first in Munich and then in Switzerland for mass production. Sold by Ipsophon-Vertriebs GmbH Zurich. The dimensions of the device are 710 x 820 x 420 mm.
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Your caller, if he is not too amazed, leaves his message and hangs up. The message is recorded for listening at your discretion. You can listen to it when you get home or call from your office or from any other part of the world.
As soon as the phone rings, the voice will say again, “Hello, hello. This is the residence of Mr. John Smith. Your message is automatically recorded. Done! . But before the Ipsophone says “Please speak now,” you interrupt it with “Hello, hello.” And, instead of recording a message, the Ipsophone repeats the message you recorded.
Ipsophone (also Ipsophon) An answering machine consisting of a control unit with a handset and a voice recorder. Three wire coils, including one ad and two recording coils (5 and 25 minutes). Coded remote inquiry (three numbers, acoustically controlled).
If you want to keep your message private and make sure no one else gets it, you can activate the Acoustic Code Key. This is a secret combination of numbers that you can set on your Ipsophone, making your message as secure as if you put it in a tamper-proof vault. You can get it yourself only if you remember the secret code.
Here's how to do it. If you call your Ipsophone after entering the passkey, the voice will start repeating a series of numbers starting with zero. After each number, the voice stops for four seconds. To use your code key to unlock the secrets of your brain, you repeat the word “hello” twice after each number you choose.
Article by Harry Kersh in Mechanix Illustrated Mar, 1950.
The most difficult (albeit easily solvable) problem Ipsophone manufacturers have faced is caused … by people leaving their keys under the rug and then forgetting where they hid them. They also forget their secret code!
