This Day In 1910: The First Public Radio Broadcast was Transmitted #PublicRadioBroadcastingDay

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On this day in 1910 the first public radio broadcast was transmitted. Via Wikipedia

The first public radio broadcast consisted of performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Riccardo Martin performed as Turridu, Emmy Destinn as Santuzza, and Enrico Caruso as Canio. The conductor was Egisto Tango. This wireless radio transmission event of the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso of a concert from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City is regarded as the birth of public radio broadcasting.

The New York Times reported on January 14th, 2010

Opera broadcast in part from the stage of the New York City Metropolitan Opera Company was heard on January 13, 1910, when Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn sang arias from Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, which were “trapped and magnified by the dictograph directly from the stage and borne by wireless Hertzian waves over the turbulent waters of the sea to transcontinental and coastwise ships and over the mountainous peaks and undulating valleys of the country.”

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Before television, radio was the public’s main source of entertainment. Public radio broadcasts are still extremely popular today. There are broadcasts 24 hours a day, on thousands of American radio stations.


Earlier this year, middle schoolers took part in the Broadcom MASTERS International program, covering varied topics, including a radio build! Via Student society for science

860 header broadcom radio ©DoaneIMG 3393

Two-dozen international MASTERS delegates built radios during a visit to Carnegie Mellon University. Tom Sullivan is an electrical and computer engineering professor at the Pittsburgh school. Working in his lab, each young researcher received a kit with a circuit board, wires, electronic components and instructions. Graduate student Alexei Colin explained how to use the kit. Then the budding engineers got to work.

A radio does three basic things. First, it harvests radio waves. Those waves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is all around us. Second, the radio changes the signal from a selected station into an electric current. The force of that current, or its voltage, varies based on the sound information coded in the electrical signal. Finally, the radio converts that varying voltage into sound waves that we can hear. To make all that happen, the Broadcom MASTERS students each built their very own radio.

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If you are inspired to get in on the action, we found a great detailed tutorial that will help you build a classic bottle radio. Its cheap (batteryless!) and you can complete the project in a weekend! Via Make

Find the full tutorial here!


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