ET-5 “Edge Relay”

PRINTABLE SPEC SHEET

Origin Story

Long before the modern network grids, analog signal stations dotted the American rail lines, transmitting coded messages via copper wire and vacuum relay. One such relay operator was powered by components salvaged from tobacco shop display equipment and mechanical counters — a design that would later inspire the prototype now known as ET-5 “Edge Relay.”

Decades later, R3BOTS engineers unearthed this relic inside a collapsed storage room beneath a Richmond warehouse once owned by the Larus & Bro. Co., the makers of Edgeworth Pipe Tobacco. The tin, remarkably preserved, showed signs of prior modification: interior mounts for analog resistors and brass contact terminals, suggesting experimental use as a communications housing.

The team rebuilt it using cobalt-blue compression fittings, spring-mounted shock stabilizers, and reinforced couplers for durability. Once reactivated, ET-5 emitted faint pulses — rhythmic patterns identical to old Morse identifiers used by railway field posts in the 1940s.

Today, ET-5 serves in the Field Ops Communication Corps, acting as a bridge between analog and digital transmission units. Its vintage circuitry remains a marvel of transitional engineering — a living artifact of pre-digital intelligence.

Construction & Components

  • Torso: 1930s Edgeworth Pipe Tobacco tin

  • Arms: Blue compression fittings with spring dampers and hex coupling joints

  • Legs: Threaded steel rods with dual nut stabilizers and blue alloy base fittings

  • Core: Restored analog relay assembly from 1940s signal station

  • Base: R3BOTS etched topographic field pad (standard issue)

Capabilities & Function

  • Signal transmission and frequency bridging

  • Data relay across analog-digital systems

  • Shock absorption for unstable field equipment

  • Adaptive grounding and micro-transistor calibration

R3BOTS Recovery Report

Recovered: May 2025 — Richmond, Virginia

Condition: 81% structurally intact

Restored: Volt Division – Field Communications Lab

Operational Status: Active

Designation: ET-5 “Edge Relay”

Technical Specifications 

Height: 5.75 inches

Torso: Pipe Tobacco Tin

Power Unit: Analog Relay Assembly

Serial Number: ET5-VLT-403R

Core Function: Signal Bridging / Analog Comms Transmission

Role: Signal Relay / Field Ops Comms

Personality Profile

Steady – Methodical – Loyal

ET-5 rarely wavers. When network traffic surges, its relays click in rhythm — calm, measured, unwavering.

Repurpose. Rebuild. Reinvent.