What was the kdka in the 1920s

A-Z Topics Ad of the Day. Ad spend. Ad tech. Agency culture. Agency models. Agency performance. Awards case studies. Brand purpose. Brand safety. Brand strategy. The voice was that of Reginald Fessenden , an inventor and engineer who had been working on producing voice radio since Marconi's first wireless broadcast across the Atlantic.

After his Christmas experiment, Fessenden continued working to make voice radio practical. In , Lee de Forest invented a new radio tube called the Audion. It soon made transmitting sound modulations much more effective and became standard radio equipment. The radio tube was gradually improved upon by other inventors, to increased clarity and power. For 15 years or so, voice radio was the purview of engineers and hobbyists called hams.

To most people it seemed amusing, but a novelty that would have no practical application. Although it was this election night broadcast which first riveted national attention to KDKA, the station finds its antecedent several years earlier in as amateur experimental station 8XK, licensed to Westinghouse engineer Dr.

Frank Conrad. The station was not an ordinary amateur station-the 'X' indicated a special experimental license-any more than Conrad was an ordinary amateur.

He was assistant chief engineer of the Westinghouse Company. This outgrowth of a friendly challenge which centered on timepieces and their accuracy and thus required the ability to receive the Naval Observatory radio station, soon became a major activity of Dr. Conrad's professional engineering career. This station's first official listing appears in the July 1, edition of the Department of Commerce's Radio Stations of the United States.

While most of the nation's amateurs were forced to cease operations for the duration of World War I, Westinghouse was issued special licenses 2WM and 2WE and continued experimental radiotelephone work for the military throughout the War. One was located near its plant at East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the other at the home of Dr.

Frank Conrad in the Pittsburgh residential district, a distance of four or five miles separating the two stations," Almost as soon as he was permitted to do so after the war, Conrad went back on the air. Amateur stations, as a class, were not allowed to resume operations until 1 October On 17 October , Conrad delighted "hams" all over the country by substituting a phonograph record for their usual conversation about wireless equipment.

The first live sporting event was the Johnny Ray vs. Sports broadcasting became a staple of radio stations, and cemented the industry in America. Educators used radio as means of fund-raising and for improving transmitter and receiver technologies. Some institutes even began to offer courses over the radio. Besides broadcasting sports and politics, KDKA also offered public services to its audience, including: church services, market reports, weather forecasts and crop information.

Radio offered a means to reach a larger community including those who were isolated from much of the nation in rural areas. Radio broadcasts allowed news to instantly reach across the nation. The Department of Commerce set up a separate frequency, meters, for stations to broadcast public service announcements. KDKA became the first station to broadcast government market reports on May 19, By providing vital information on weather and crop and market conditions, these services became an important part of rural life.

Similar services are maintained today by the National Weather Service, which broadcasts weather conditions and advisories.