[SFDXA] Mistakes of 150 Years Ago - ARRL Radio Club News

[Bill]

_*Mistakes of 150 Years Ago

*_This year the Reading Radio Club will celebrate 100 years in existence 
and affiliation with ARRL. However, the work of individuals who were not 
afraid of trying something new 150 years ago paved the way for the 
technology we have today. "A person who never made a mistake, never 
tried anything new." Albert Einstein .

Names such as David Hughes, Heinrich Hertz, Nikola Tesla, and Alexander 
Popov all contributed in their own way to the development of components 
and theory involved in present day ham radio. I am sure they made their 
share of mistakes and experienced countless failures.
But they all persevered to try a new thing. Are you still using a Spark 
gap to send? How about a crystal set for your receiver? Do you even know 
what they are? You have been to a hamfest and maybe you even saw things 
people call "Boat Anchors." Have you ever had to replace an Acorn Tube 
in one? The early radios did not have any capacitors, tubes, transistors 
or integrated circuits to go bad. But you did need hammers, 
screwdrivers, wrenches, and skills such as those of a mechanic, pipe 
fitter, electrician, sheet metal worker and tower installer (to name 
some) to build or maintain those radios.

This was due to a major improvement over the spark gap transmitter for 
High Frequency (HF) transmission. That improvement in 1904 was the 
Alexanderson Alternator. Of the 20 that were constructed, number 16 is 
still operational in Grimeton, Sweden. Improvements continued and in the 
1920's, Sir John Ambrose Fleming and Lee de Forest developed the vacuum 
tube diode and triode, ushering in the advent of the 60-pound "Boat 
Anchors."

 From November 17, 1947, to December 23, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter 
Houser Brattain at AT&T's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, 
performed experiments and observed that when two gold point contacts 
were applied to a crystal of germanium, a signal was produced with the 
output power greater than the input. The transistor was born. The radio 
transceiver followed with units that can be carried by one person and 
fit in one hand. Most possess the capabilities of several racks of units.

Radios are no longer pieces of hardware, but are a combination of both 
hardware and software. They can be controlled via a computer program and 
allow users to communicate with signals that the human ear cannot even 
detect. Mistakes went into all this development, but that is what allows 
improvement and innovative ideas.
Have fun making mistakes and see what you can accomplish!
Joe, AC3DI
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