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Radio Stations _______________________________________________________ |
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As the 20th century began, people in rural areas such as Iowa were quite isolated. Automobiles were still uncommon, and travel from the farm to the nearest town—or even the nearest neighbor—meant hitching a horse to a wagon. In most areas, even electricity was still a far-off notion. The only form of "mass media" that existed was newspapers, and the most common form of entertainment was an evening with friends at home by the light of a kerosene lamp. The notion of far-off sounds flying through the air and into homes was hard to comprehend. For those of us who treat such occurrences as a necessary part of everyday life, it is hard to imagine a time without radio or television. Once the concept actually began to show signs of becoming reality, citizens in Iowa and across the country were understandably excited. Most early transmitters were homemade by amateurs who were experimenting with the new technology as a hobby. Many entities that started as code stations built by teenagers evolved into the earliest licensed radio stations. The listening devices were homemade, as well. Many members of "the Greatest Generation" remember hearing their first radio broadcasts on a crystal set, which was quite easy to make; diagrams were included in many magazines of the time. An insulated copper wire would be wrapped around an empty Quaker Oats box. One end of the wire would serve as an antenna, leading out an open window to a tree or post. The other end, called a "cat’s whisker," would touch a piece of mineral rock called a crystal that could bring in different signals, depending upon where on the crystal the "cats whisker" would probe. A battery would be attached for power, and listeners could then pick up the sound of dots and dashes—and later voices—through earphones. Quickly, however, the novelty of simply hearing an occasional sound from an experimental code station wore off, and the audience was ready for the miracle of broadcasting to become part of their daily lives. A number of early entrepreneurs were ready to provide the service to Iowans. The first generation of true radio microphones were thick, round dinner plate-sized devices, filled with carbon particles. After several hours on the air, the particles would become compacted, so the announcer would have to turn off the power and hit the side of the microphone with a ruler to shake the particles loose so sounds would come from the microphone again.
--from "Making Waves: The People & Places of Iowa Broadcasting" by Dr. Jeff Stein
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