HISTORY of RADIO

WGRL
Kiya & Odetta
10/2014
 What is Sound? Vibrations !

Sound is produced from vibrating objects going through a

medium. The vibrations, or WAVES, travel in all directions
and reach your eardrums causing them to vibrate and the
brain perceives that as SOUND.
Sound waves travel at different rates of
speed and intensities. The frequency of a
sound wave, measured in units of Hertz, is
determined by the number of times it
vibrates in one second. If a sound wave is
vibrating at a very fast rate it produces a
higher pitch and conversely, if it vibrates
slowly, it will result in a low pitch. Hence,
the vibrational frequency of sound
determines the pitch of that sound.
Humans can hear frequencies between 20
and 20,000 vibrations per second – dogs
can hear sounds even higher!!
 PRINCIPLES of SOUND
INTENSITY:
the amount of energy
flowing in the sound waves
depend on:
LOUDNESS:
volume is based on the
strength of the sensation
received by the eardrum
and sent to the brain
MEDIUM:
The substance (solid, water, gas) in which sound waves
move is called the medium because it is the means
through which sound is transmitted. In air, the forward
movement of vibrating objects pushes molecules
together, causing compression. The opposite effect,
known as rarefaction, is the reduction of a wave’s
density.
AMPLITUDE:
The size or “height” of the sound wave, which we call the amplitude,
indicates the strength of the signal and determines how loud a
sound will be. Greater amplitude means that more energy
accompanies the movement of the wave, thereby making it louder.
DISTANCE:
As the distance between a person and the source of the
sound increases, the I & L decreases. Because sound
waves move out from their source in all directions, the
energy flowing in the sound waves spreads over a greater
area and decreases the farther away the sound travels.
M T
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What is a radio wave?
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation that travel faster than the speed of light, and
occur in nature when made by lightning or astronomical objects. Humans have harnessed their
power in order to communicate sounds over long distances.

Depending on the length of the wave, different frequencies of radio can travel across the earth:
LONG waves tend to cover a part of the earth consistently, while SHORT waves can reflect off
the ionosphere and travel around the world.
|| Lightning Radio || Sun Radio || Jupiter Radio ||
 AM vs FM
To transmit audio over the radio, the initial sound vibration is first picked up by a microphone, which then generates a weak
electrical signal called a black wave. It then passes through an amplifier, where the amplitude (or power) is increased.
Meanwhile, an electronic circuit called an oscillator supplies a carrier wave (a high frequency electromagnetic wave that
conveys the signal over the air), which is then combined with the black wave into a modulated carrier pulse of alternating
current. The radio signal travels to the antenna, creating an electromagnetic field, or radio wave, that moves out in all
directions, until it is picked up by a receiving antenna. In the last steps, the weak signal is amplified, cut in half (to remove the
carrier wave) and finally, the audio signal is broadcast through the speakers.

Both AM & FM are analog transmission systems that process sounds into continuously varying patterns of
electrical signals which resemble sound waves.
With AM radio, the amplitude (overall strength) of the signal is varied to incorporate sound information.
With FM, the frequency (number of times/second the current changes direction) of the carrier signal is
varied, resulting in minimal noise from static. It has a longer range, and doesn’t get blocked by buildings.
 Nikola Tesla
1856 - 1943
BIRTH of RADIO Guglielmo
Marconi
In the early 1890s, Tesla’s In 1895, Marconi builds 1874 - 1937
experiments exhibit transmission a wireless telegraph system enabling ships
of high frequency electricity. to communicate with the shore while they
He proposes that this could be a were out of visible range. In 1901, he
means of telecommunication. conducted the first successful transatlantic
radio communication.
In 1905, Lee De Forest’s invention of
In 1902, the Poulsen - Arc
the vacuum tube diode leads to the
radio transmitter is invention of the Audion oscillator
invented. It is one of the (1912), which made inexpensive
first technologies used to sound radio transmission possible and
transmit AM radio. was responsible for the advent of
radio broadcasting in 1920.
On Christmas Eve in 1906, Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio audio broadcast: a violin playing Silent Night.
By 1912, every US ship is equipped with wireless radio. Just as radio became available to the public, America went to
War and the government assumed control of all the airwaves to bolster the war effort, thereby censoring it from public
use. The advent of wireless communication technology drastically affected the army and navy and forever changed the
way battles were fought.
In 1919, the government releases control of radio patents and the Radio Corporation of America
is established. RCA brought about innovations in high power radio technology
and formed the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC)
On November 2, 1920, station KDKA made the nations first commercial broadcast,
reporting the results of election day before the newspapers were printed!
 Golden Age
of Radio
Throughout the 1920s, public radio stations begin popping up around the country - and by 1930, amateur
radio operators begin experimenting with FM radio, making better quality broadcasts more accessible to
the general population.

During the Great Depression, radio

provided a necessary public service:
free entertainment for the masses.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
recognized the power of the medium
and began broadcasting his signature
Fireside Chats in order to clearly
convey the policies he put into effect
throughout his tenure in office.. The
series of 30 radio addresses given by
FDR were the first modern media
development that facilitated intimate
After the advent of Television, interest in radio decreases and
and direct communication between
stations primarily focus on music. However, with the invention of
the head of state and his citizens.
the transistor pocket radio, in 1954, people have the power to
tune in anywhere!
 INTERNET AGE: DIGITAL RADIO
In 1990, amateur radio experimenters began to use computers
with audio cards to process radio signals, and the first digital
transmissions began to be broadcast.

UNC - Chapel Hill station is the first to

broadcast over the internet in 1994.

Sirius Satellite Radio is founded in 1999.

In 2000,
Pandora Radio
is launched.
By 2003,
online
internet radio
By 2004, is valued at
Podcasts $49 million!
become popular, In the fall of 2014,
forever changing WGRL launches!!!
the game.