Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary
When I was a boy, I remember getting a crystal set. If you tightened the screw on the crystal in just the right was and put on the headphones, you could hear a radio station over the static. The advances in signal amplification and improvements in the signal strength (signal-to-noise ratio), we were able to abandon the crystals and complicated tuning and hear radio through speakers. FM technology furthered this process and eventually enabled stereo receptions.
Early advances were made by Tesla (alternating current) and De Forest (Audion triod tube), but the real advances would be made by Edwin Armstrong. During the 1920s he made significant advances in the technology that resulted in FM Radio in 1933 and seemingly endless legal battles between Armstrong an De Forest, As these technologies were sold to Westinghouse/RCA (by Armstrong) and AT&T (by De Forest). This continual conflict and lack of profits from his inventions, Armstrong committed suicide in 1953.
Let’s get our exploration of this technology saga now… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2010 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 4125 Words ]
Quotations Related to RADIO
“The radio makes hideous sounds.”
— Bob Dylan
“Gossip is the Devil’s radio.”
— George Harrison
“Men substitute words for reality and then argue about the words.”
— Edwin Armstrong