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First Transmission
Guglielmo Marconi sends and receives the first signal to be transmitted by radio. (Italy, 1895) -
Going Wireless
From 1899 to 1902, Guglielmo send a flash across the English Channel, making this the first wireless signal transmitted. It took 2 years to receive a message after sending one. -
Going Farther
After sending the message across the English Channel, Marconi decided to go farther than that, the way he achieved this was by setting up multiple stations at various locations such as: Polhu in Cornwall England, and Cape Cod Massachusetts. (which was later relocated to Newfoundland) -
President to King
In 1903, a station located in Massachusetts carried an exchange between President Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII. -
Upgrade
Professor Ambrose Fleming, of University College London, was a big help for Marconi. He noted that detectors used in the receivers were weak in the receiving equipment of the time. Fleming, having seen the Edison effect (an effect Edison discovered while trying to extend the lives of lightbulbs) Fleming wondered if this would effect the receivers, so he set up an experiment with his assistant, and the Diode Valve was born. -
The Next Level
Lee de Forest, an american inventor, and commonly asserted as the "Father of the Radio", replicated Fleming's diode valve, taking it to the next level by adding an additional element, which then made the diode the "triode". Initially the diode was used as a detector, which wasn't understood well, which limited it from reaching its potential. -
Problem Solved
The problem with not understanding the triodes full potential was solved 4 years after the triode was implemented, by Lee de Forest himself. It took a long time, but it was all well worth it, for the triode became an amplifier, and made receiving messages even better. -
More Inventions
Edwin Armstrong, an american electrical engineer, tied another loose end, and invented the "superhet". There were tubes in radios that improved performance, but they were still poor and at that time suffered from multiple problems. During World War I, these problems were looked into, so much that they were becoming devoted to solving them. It wasn't until the 1920's that these "superhets" were more cheap and able to be produced faster. (due to the ending of the first world war) -
Compacting
Usually, radios used long wavelengths, but several amateur stations tested the capabilities of short wavelengths. A school in North London made contact with one in New Zealand using these shorter wavelengths, that's making contact from across the globe! -
British Broadcasting Company
The Marconi Company was finally allowed to set up a broadcasting company in London, which eventually became what is now known as the "British Broadcasting Corporation". (in the past it was "company") -
Going International
The Westinghouse Company set up a short wave station in Pittsburgh, which transmitted on a wavelength of approximately 62.7 meters. This was successfully received and then broadcasted in Britain, another international feat! -
Hard Work
Edwin Armstrong, again making a major impact on the development of radio performance. Everyone today uses wideband FM, but back then, it took a long time for it to be created and used. Edwin Armstrong was the one who was trying to convince everyone about FM's superiority and potential. Later, he brought this idea to the RCA, and a year after that he set up a demonstration. Later in 1939 he used his own money to set up a station that used FM. Later in 1940, FM became a norm. -
To Space
Arthur C Clarke, a science writer, proposed the idea of putting satellites into orbit of the Earth. Short wave wasn't reliable for this and would have too much interference if used, so Arthur wrote a historic article in "Wireless World" describing a system that used satellites around the globe. Using this system, signals would be transmitted up to the satellites and back down to Earth. This idea would eventually make things a lot easier, and open many different paths into the future. -
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The Final Frontier
After the amazing idea of satellite transmission, from Arthur C Clarke, several satellites were launched into space years later, such as the Sputnik 1, which was a Russian satellite, the first of its kind to be launched into space, and the Telstar. On the 23rd of July 1962, the Telstar satellite was used to make the first ever live transatlantic television transmission. Signals from the USA were seen in many homes in Europe, making communication history. -
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Present
Today, we don't use radios as much as we used to, but of course they're still around, they used to be for all kinds of important things, and even held a very big place in our hearts and minds. Thanks to the great minds behind the radio, we have more developed technologies such as phones, better speakers, even apps that stream music, podcasts, etc. Radios play a big part in history, and will always be a huge mark in the timeline of our world.
