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Marconi
Marconi was an Italian inventor, best known for sending the first radio signal. This signal was not exactly what you would think of being on the radio, like voice or music, but rather tapping like Morse Code. This is unknown whether or not he was the first to invent this. -
Audion Tube
A audion tube is an vacuum tube that was able to amplify signals. It is unknown whether Lee De Forest invented this or borrowed the idea from Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden. This invention was extremely important due to the fact that it extended signals further out allowing others to receive them from a larger distance. -
Marine Radio
Marconi decided to sell his idea to the Marines. The reason radios were important to ships is that once they were on sea, they could not be heard of until they reached shore again. An example of how important it is is they Titanic. If they did not have radio, everyone on the ship would have died. -
Radio Station
The first radio station was KDKA (originally named 8XK), run by Frank Conrad. The way they played music was simply to put a phonograph in front of the microphone and play it. It was mainly used for news. The station itself is still around today, running in Pittsburg. -
Uncle Charlie
A term used for personal radio stations. If you had enough money you could broadcast your own station. The problem was that signal could get mixed up very easily. -
The Dawn of Advertising
An important part of media, such as radio and tv, is advertising. Advertising started in New York and was a large amount of money. For every time the commercial (or toll boardcast) aired, the company would pay $50 for their 10 minutes of fame. WEAF was the first to do this. -
FRC
Due to Uncle Charlies having the same space as other radios, people would often hear them instead rather than official radio stations. This caused a problem when commercials started to come around due to the fact people were paying for them but they weren't being heard. This caused the Federal Radio Commission to be established. They made it so you had to have a license to transmit, and they also made assigned radio frequencies. -
Golden Era
Radio was at its peak of popularity. This was due to two major events, the Great Depression and the World War. Radio let the people escape from the hardships in life. This lasted from about 1930s to 1940s.
