Chapter 2: Background The history of radio broadcasting is short, but rich. Over the last century, radio broadcasting techniques have been constantly shifting, with a variety of methods introduced, implemented, and revised as necessary to maintain reliable transmission quality for a broadcast coverage area. This chapter provides an overview of some of these methods, their strengths and weaknesses, and emerging trends in radio broadcasting. 2.1 History of Radio Technology The first step in radio technology came from James Clerk Maxwell who showed mathematically in 1873 that electromagnetic waves could propagate in the air, and Heinrich Hertz first confirmed this theory in 1888. In 1894 Guglielmo Marconi was credited as the first to successfully build a wireless telegraphy system, although the patents were debated by Nikola Tesla who claimed that they were identical to his patents. Marconi did however make the first transatlantic experimental radio transmission in 1901. At this point, all communications were using which meant that a single broadcast covered the entire spectrum. In “spark gap” technology, 1906 the first Amplitude Modulation (AM) radio was invented by Reginald Fessenden allowing more than one station to broadcast in an area. The first radio broadcast as we recognize it, complete with a human voice and music, occurred in San Jose in 1909. This radio station, Jose called “San was using spark gap technology, however daily radio broadcasting to occur Calling” didn’t begin until 1916 when Harold Power began to broadcast out of Tufts University. At this point receivers were built as crystal sets, however by the mid-1920s vacuum tube radios revolutionized receivers and transmitters allowing for much higher amplification of the signal. The invention of frequency modulation (FM) as well as single sideband (SSB) were invented by amateur radio operators during the 1930s and were established as commercial modes
Chapter 2: Background The history of radio broadcasting is short, but rich. Over the last century, radio broadcasting techniques have been constantly shifting, with a variety of methods introduced, implemented, and revised as necessary to maintain reliable transmission quality for a broadcast coverage area. This chapter provides an overview of some of these methods, their strengths and weaknesses, and emerging trends in radio broadcasting. 2.1 History of Radio Technology The first step in radio technology came from James Clerk Maxwell who showed mathematically in 1873 that electromagnetic waves could propagate in the air, and Heinrich Hertz first confirmed this theory in 1888. In 1894 Guglielmo Marconi was credited as the first to successfully build a wireless telegraphy system, although the patents were debated by Nikola Tesla who claimed that they were identical to his patents. Marconi did however make the first transatlantic experimental radio transmission in 1901. At this point, all communications were using “spark gap” technology, which meant that a single broadcast covered the entire spectrum. In 1906 the first Amplitude Modulation (AM) radio was invented by Reginald Fessenden allowing more than one station to broadcast in an area. The first radio broadcast as we recognize it, complete with a human voice and music, occurred in San Jose in 1909. This radio station, called “San Jose Calling” was using spark gap technology, however daily radio broadcasting didn’t begin to occur until 1916 when Harold Power began to broadcast out of Tufts University. At this point receivers were built as crystal sets, however by the mid-1920s vacuum tube radios revolutionized receivers and transmitters allowing for much higher amplification of the signal. The invention of frequency modulation (FM) as well as single sideband (SSB) were invented by amateur radio operators during the 1930s and were established as commercial modes
WICN_Tower_Expansion_Final_Draft.docx