Digital Innovations of the Radio in the Military - Research Paper Example

?The Radio In 1933, E.B White de d the radio and its influence on his rural community as "godlike presence"(Lewis 26). Radio, first modern mass medium of communication has influenced twentieth century as much as did the automobile. It transformed America into a land of entertainment, education, information exchange, and a common culture. Golden age of radio captured the imaginations of scientists, artists, and common people alike. It brought the world to their doorsteps. It changed the way they think and perceive information. It made people want more of everything, more drama, more entertainment, more information, more music, and more new products. It came with immense power because only a single speaker had the ability to sow the seeds of entertainment, information, propaganda, political and religious fervor, culture, and even negativity everywhere (Lewis 26).This paper briefly studies the formation, evolution, and impact of radio on human life and concludes that radio is not doomed by its fleshier competitors, but it has evolved. Radio refers to the signaling or audio communication by using electromagnetic radiations. In its early days, it was developed as a "wireless telegraph", for one point to the other point links. The wireless telegraph made it possible to send messages to multiple locations at the same time, by using dots-and-dashes of telegraphic code in early days, while in full audio during later periods (White). The historical Background James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish physicist was influenced by Michael Faraday's ideas and work on electromagnetism. Faraday's work described that electric and magnetic effects arise from the lines of force around conductors and magnets. Maxwell developed an analogy about the way lines of force behave and the liquid flow; he derived equations that represented the electric and magnetic field. Based on Faraday's ideas, Maxwell produced a paper in 1855. Moreover, he developed the model for a hypothetical medium with some fluid that could carry electric and magnetic effects. He considered hypothetical situations when fluid becomes elastic and charge is applied to it. He concluded that it would initiate disturbance in the fluid and the resulting waves would travel through the medium (Parker). Two Germans Friedrich Kohlrausch and Wilhelm Weber identified that these have the capability to travel at the speed of light. In 1873, Maxwell made these findings public in his "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" (qtd. in Parker). Heinrich Hertz confirmed Maxwell's ideas by discovering radio waves, a form of electromagnetic radiation which has too long wavelength for human eyes to see. He came up with a transmitting oscillator that radiated radio waves and detected them by using a metal loop with a gap at one side. Sparks are generated across this gap when the loop was positioned within transmitter's electromagnetic field. It implied that electromagnetic waves could be sent in the space and could be detected remotely. These waves are named after Hertz as 'Hertzian Waves' he detected them across the length of his laboratory (Parker). Hertz's discovery inspired Guglielmo Marconi, he realized that the if radio waves could be transmitted and detected over long distances, then wireless telegraphy can be developed. He started experimenting in 1894 by placing rough antennas in his family garden. Initially, he managed to received singles from 100 meters, by the end of 1895; he managed to extend the distance to over a mile. He shared his experimentation with Italian Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. Knowing that Ministry was not interested in his work, he gave a demonstration in London at General Post Office in 1896.His transmission was detected from1.5 miles which was extended to 8 miles in few months. In 1897, Marconi got the patent for wireless telegraphy, and established the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company at Chelmsford. There, they established the world's first radio factory in 1898. In May 1897, they successfully tested that the contacts were possible over the water. A transmitter fixed at the Lavernock Point sent transmission on the other side of the Bristol Channel covering a distance of 3.5 miles. The Daily Express was the first ever newspaper that received news by using wireless telegraphy in August 1898. In December 1898, wireless communication system was set up between Queen Victoria's Royal yacht, offCowes and Osborne House. The Queen used to receive continuous updates about the health of Prince of Wales, from his yacht. In December, wireless communication system was set up between the East Goodwin light ship and the lighthouse in South Foreland. During March 1899, Marconi gained a lot of publicity when wireless telegraphy was sued to save a ship in distress in the North Sea. Very soon, cross channel communication as established and first ocean newspaper published the bulletin transmitted by wireless. At the same time, Marconi was developing the tuned circuits for wireless communication. The objective behind it was to gain the ability to tune into a particular frequency of interest while removing all others. He patented this on 26th April 1900 by the name of 'Tuned Syntonic Telegraphy'(Parker). Marconi and his associated successfully transmitted wireless signal (the More code letter "S) across Atlantic Ocean on 12th December 1901.The transmission was received by using a kite aerial at Signal Hill. The British administration and Navy was great impressed with the development and they invested in its further development. With more awareness, the demand grew and ships carried new wireless apparatus in order to save as many lives as possible. One of the most famous incidents was when titanic sank, wireless communication made it possible to save many lives. At that time, the receivers were very insensitive and random; they were required to be connected to a pair of headphones and a long aerial (Parker). Early Transmitters and Receivers In its early times, the wireless was in strict control of the Post Office. It was easy to obtain a receiving license; however, getting permission to use a transmitter was much more difficult. I order to use the transmitter; the Post Office needed assurance that the user had some engineering qualifications and suitable knowledge to operate the transmitter. The output power was limited to ten watts; moreover, the use was restricted either for scientific research or for public use. A few radio amateurs were transmitting before the World War II (Parker). In 1900, Reginald Fessenden contributed to the development of wireless. He devised a detector that could work continuously in order to be used for voice transmissions. The electrolytic detector that he developed was much better than the coherer method since it was faster and more reliable. Moreover, the detected signal could be heard through a set of headphones (Steele 5). Wireless was considered to be a new source of point-to-point communication. The other competing technology was telegraph which was used to send messages from point A to point B. Investors were either interested in providing service or sell hardware. On the other hand, Marconi came up with the idea of selling and installing the whole system. With trained operators, he packaged a system and ensured the compatibility of all the components within the system and interoperability at the receiving end, therefore, creating a network. Marconi's plan was progressive, but it didn't stand for long time. One of the major breakthroughs of this era was the invention of three-element vacuum tube. Subsequently, the amplification concept opened new horizons for further development. With the expansion of AT &T's telephone networks from coast-to-coast, they purchased rights to the Audion in order to enable longer cable runs. G.W. Pickard came up with the first crystal detector. The simple method of separating audio signals from modulated carrier wave was called a "cat's whisker". The crystal detector became the foundation of today's solid state devices. Fessenden's continuous wave ideas to transmission and de Forest's invention of the Audion (to improve reception) gave a whole new direction to radio (Steele 6-7). Process In radio, transfer of information is done my modulated signal. The sound is transformed into electrical signals through microphone. Low Frequency voltage in microphone is transferred to the transmitter where the process of amplitude modulation starts and the output high frequency (HF) voltage is produced. The amplitude changes with respect to the LF signal value. High Frequency voltage creates the HF current and an electromagnetic field is created around the antenna. The field scatters around in the ambient space, it scatters in space with the speed of light and reach the reception place and induce the voltage in the antenna at reception. The receiver carries out the process of amplification and detection and generates LF voltage on output. The voltage is changed into sound through loudspeakers which is the same as spoken through microphone. However, due to equipment malfunction and other interferences, voice may differ from the microphone voice (Filipovic). Use of Radio Uses of radio are widespread. Radio waves are fundamental to most of the 21st century's technological inventions. They work silently and transmit data throughout the world in the form of music, conversation, pictures, and other data. Radio waves provide foundation for most of the non-written and wireless communication. Without radio waves, our daily lives may seem entirely different. Several daily use products are based on the invention of radio waves, such as, AM and FM radios, cordless, mobile phones, wireless networks, radio-controlled toys, GPS receivers, television programming, and even garage door openers(Discovery Communications, LLC). Radio has been serving the basic purpose of communication and information sharing with people at large right from the beginning. It brought the news and updates from the whole world without any distinction and people started feeling that the whole world is actually shrinking. Unlike print, it was far more interesting and engaging as listeners are given spicy feedbacks, discussions, and gossips on every aspect of life. Radio continuously expanded its outlook over societies by gathering more expert opinion and feedback from different areas of social life. A very effective use of radio is educating and spreading awareness among listeners from every age group. It also created jobs which were never existed before. Radio broadcaster's job was most prestigious and influential in the early days of radio. Other jobs include, copy writers, musicians, playwright for radio, recording engineers, and musician. The need for skilled people inspired universities to start degree programs in order to meet the needs to radio industry ("Effects of Radio on Society"). The corporate sector realized the potential of radio as a huge advertising medium with great influence. The advertising appeared to me much more organized and effective on radio. New techniques and methods are invented to cater the needs of radio listeners. Music jingles, script writing, and presentation were introduced. Film industry also got promotion through radio. Repeating songs, gossips, and scandals of film stars kept the listeners glued to radio for long time. In the war times, people stayed glued to radio in order to get latest war updates, news, commentary, analysis, and war music ("Effects of Radio on Society"). Beyond using it for safety and communication purposes, wireless was also used for other purposes in early days. The United Fruit Company identified the great benefits of wireless in order to facilitate fruit shipping logistics for the company. With shore and ship stations, the company coordinated the loading and unloading of cargo and reduced the waiting time (Steele 8).Today, there are hundreds of uses of radio spectrum and technology. From baby monitors to radars, we are surrounded by different applications of radio. Very first and historical use of radio was mobile radio ("Effects of Radio on Society"). Radio technologies were used for naval communication which relied on carrier pigeons and flags before 1980s.In 1910, Frederick Baldwin and John McCurdy demonstrated the use of radio for aviation. In 1921, William Rutledge used radio in public safety vehicles. Even today, maritime, aviation, and land-based mobile radio systems are major uses of non-broadcast radio spectrum. Mobile radio is not limited to safety uses anymore; taxi drivers, dispatchers, and package delivery services are making innovative uses of mobile radio (FCC 2). Cellular phones and other personal communication service devices are the most recent and widespread use of mobile radio. However, the idea of radio mobile telephone had been in practice for quite long. In 1920s, Marconi Company and Bell Laboratories experimented with car-based telephone system. They believed that their 1924 system was the first two-way, voice-based radio telephone. Military used other predecessors of modern telephone during both World Wars. Bell started America's very first mobile radio telephone without any cellular system in 1946.Bell, Nokia, Motorola, and Ericson initiated the development of cell phone technologies in 1950s and 1960s.Ameritech Mobile Communication and CellularOne were America's very first commercial cellular providers. Personal communication and on-the-go communication are still evolving (FCC 3). Radio is the one media that has huge impact on sports and its audience. Most probably, there is no other media that covers games at such a diverse level. Ranging from high school basketball to professional auto racing, America's 13,000 radios and satellite radio stations covers it all. No other media has the ability to form a connection between broadcaster and its audience. It can be consumed anywhere and everywhere. Since 1950s, radio has divided into many formats and sports-only content has been the major format for radios today (Covil). Advantages of Radio Major advantages of radio are that it is everywhere, for instance, our car, bathroom, kitchens, bedrooms, and workplace. There is no other medium of communication that has reached. One of the major uses of radio is advertising for commercial purposes in order to reach target audience at large scale. Radio has many advantages when it comes to advertising, for instance, efficiency, flexibility, low production costs, listeners' loyalty, and accessibility (egelhoff 161).Other advantages of radio are: universal medium of communication that can be listened anywhere and everywhere, offers best use of money for the sake of advertising, brand projection with the use of voice alone, least inflated medium of advertising, inexpensive, and highly result oriented. Other than advertising, it is a great source of entertainment, education, information, and public safety both in the time of war and peace. Disadvantages of Radio One of the major disadvantages of radio communication is the limited range of radio signals. Very powerful radio signals are also capable to cover only a limited region because large-scale coverage needs a vast network of radio stations. Moreover, radio signals get interfered by weather conditions and other radio broadcasts. It is not possible to get clear transmission from hilly areas. Moreover, a structure's insulation or electrical interference also effects with the radio receiver (Hartman). Radio needs electricity at the point of transmission and reception. A regional broadcast station requires great quantity of electricity in order to send out signals. In addition, radio communication depends on limited spectrum of bandwidth frequencies. Therefore, many channels seem to overlap and FCC regulated the public airwaves. It also needs more bandwidth which leads to more space allocated to internet wireless and cell phone networks (Hartmen). Political Relationships KDKA of Pittsburgh was the first ever radio station started in 1920s.The immense potential of radio was recognized immediately when KDKA announced the defeat of James Cox in the presidential election. Very soon, KDKA replicas grew like mushrooms. Radio that started as a fad took the whole nation by storm. The National Broadcasting Company became the first radio network in 1926. This evolution proved to be a huge shift from print to electronic medium. Print was a local medium because subscriber stressed the need to cover home stories. Network programming made it a matter of seconds to broadcast same story. Radio proved to be a breakthrough that removed regional differences and created a homogenous national culture. Within a decade, more than half of America households owned a radio (Apex Learning Inc). Franklin Roosevelt was the first president who used radio in order to address the nation. After he became president in 1933, America was under the spell of Great Depression. Through a series of "Fireside Chats" on radio, FDR kept Americans informed about Roosevelt's economic plans and successes. President's soothing and firm voice kept the morale high and Americans believed that they got all the resources and character to survive the battle. Roosevelt's critics also used radio in order to counter him. The Anti-Semitic Father Coughlin attacked New Deal initiative and endorsed his neo-fascist agenda through his popular radio program. The poet, Ezra Pound screamed fascist and anti-Semitic slogans over the radio to the American forces in Italy during WWII. Throughout the WWII period, radio was the most important way of staying updated about the events and conflicts. Edward R. Murrow, the famous WWII broadcaster aired war news from London as German raid the city. The radio London broadcasts with air raid sirens and bomb blasts in the background influenced American public opinion to take serious action against Nazi Germany (Apex Learning Inc). Even after the advent and television and its replacement of radio as a popular medium, radio remained important in politics. The United States of America used radio as a propaganda tool during Cold War and broadcasted anti-communist information across Soviet Bloc and Third World through its Radio Free Europe and Voice of America Programming. Radio was used on the Cold War domestic front. The very famous, Senator McCarthy's communist witch-hunt hearings were propagated over the radio and television alike. Radio became a source of staying politically informed no matter where you are. With evolving technologies, radio waves are the most widespread source of staying updated about the political situation anywhere in the world. A renaissance was observed in the political radio programming when a series of conservative talk-radio programs were hosted by the liked of Rush Limbaugh, Oliver North, and Gordon Liddy. With continuous variation and widespread availability, radio competed with its fleshier competitor very well even today (Apex Learning Inc). Development of Radio-Economics The radio, as industry may appear to be a stalwart part of economy today, however, it has been one of the most high-tech industries of early 20th century. Its foundation technology was the cutting-edge technologies of telephone, telegraph, and electrical equipment industries. Marconi demonstrated that a ship at sea has the ability to transmit and receive Morse code (Telegraph) from land. He established the company, Marconi Wireless in London in order to exploit all the commercial possibilities this invention has. However, Marconi's other competitors were far more effective and ahead in the game. German electrical equipment manufacturers, Siemens and AEG (Allfemeine Electricitat Gesellschaft), initiated a joint venture with the name of Telefunken in order to develop the wireless communication technology. Basically, German invented the chemical and electrical equipment manufacturing industries. Even in the late 19th and early 20th century, American industry was not a leader in the technology. U.S. industry relied on either Edison's inventions or agricultural machinery. The situation changed in the 1920s when American companies including, General Electric (GE), American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) Westinghouse, and the Radio Company of America (RCA), initiated a joint-venture analogous to Telefunken. The base of RCA was Marconi's Wireless of America; the American subsidiary of Marconi's British company was sold to GE for $3.5 million. Marconi Wireless brought David Sarnoff who led RCA to the technical dominance afterwards (Watkins). Wireless technology was implemented to the naval communication. Evolution of this field is now called shortwave radio communications. These applications were very important, especially due to their use in World Wars; however, they proved miniscule in comparison to the later developments in the field of radio technology. The initial commercial development of wireless technologies was reserved for the Westinghouse Cooperation. Its leadership was an expert in acquiring patents and developing products on its basis. He acquired the patents for alternating current (AC) from Nicola Telsa, and circuitry of the early radio from Edwin Armstrong. Armstrong, the technical genius had invented three types of early radio receivers. Armstrong circuitry became the basis of radio transmitters. Westinghouse started manufacturing radios on the basis of Armstrong's AM patents and established first commercial radio broadcasting station, KDKA in 1920.The first non-commercial broadcasting station was FN voice which was later named as KCBS(Watkins). In the late 1922, there were 26 licensed radio stations and the number rose to 556 within one year. The structure of radio industry changed rapidly during that period. Very soon the tussle between the major competitors triggered the establishment of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and emergence of three major broadcasting networks. The abundance of broadcasting stations and presence of three national networks generated the need for radio broadcast receivers (radios). GE and Westinghouse were called for the manufacturing of receivers and RCA marketed them. The sales of radios rose from $50 million in 1923 to $366 million in 1929. The 1921 agreement proved to be effective only in suppressing the competition between GE, Westinghouse, RCA, and AT&T. It didn't work to suppress overall competition because numerous firms entered the markets for radio receiver assembling. More than 600 companies entered the market only in three years period from 1923 to 1926; however, most of these companies were start ups which died quickly (Watkins). Conclusion Over the period of a century, technological advancements have changed the technology used in radio, programming, the signal format, and the frequency bandwidth for reception. Solid state technology has developed complex electronic equipment in order to apply new modes. Digital formatting, digital processing, satellite, and internet has provided us with innumerable opportunities to improve audio quality, increase range of broadcast coverage, service providers, and programming options. Military is experimenting with digital innovations in the radio. They have different communication systems with various frequency bands, with specific encrypted digital voice and data transmitting capabilities. Radio required a unique receiver and transmitter; however, this problem is solved with the Software Defined Radios (SDR).By using different software, a single hardware can assume different radio features. This approach is applicable to from AM to FM and complex military waveforms as well. The major objective is to develop it into an antenna at one end and the user on other. Future destination is the "cognitive radio" in which radio adapts to the requirements of communication as advised by the system. It is not applicable to personal radio use, but SDR and other products are introduced in Ham Radio market. It is difficult to predict the future of radio, however, it has to be digital for sure. Survival of traditional on-the-air radio broadcasting seems difficult. Online distribution has become common which may lead to the extinction of transmitter and broadcast antenna towers (Steele 18). References Apex Learning,Inc. Radio in Politics.PoliticalFest2000,n.d.Web. 27 Oct. 2012 Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review 30.4 (1968): 509-22. JSTOR. PDF file. Covil,C.Eric. Radio and its Impact on the Sports World.American Sportscaster Association,n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. Egelhoff,Tom. The Small Town Advertising Handbook.Bozeman,MT: Eagle Marketing,2003.Print "Effects of Radio on Society."zainbooks. n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. Filipovic,Miomir. Chapter II: Principles of Radio Transmission.MikroElektronika,2003. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. FCC. "A Short History of Radio: With an Inside Focus on Mobile Radio."Federal Communication Commission.PDF file. Hartman,Dennis. The Disadvantages of Radio Communication.ehow, n.d.Web. 27 Oct. 2012. Lewis,Tom. ""A Godlike Presence" The Impact of Radio on 1920s and 1930s."OAH Magazine of History 6.4(1992):26-33.JSTOR.PDF file. Parker, Bev. The History of Radio. Wolverhamption History & Heritage,n.d.Web. 27 Oct. 2012. Steele,J. William. "A Brief Summary of Radio History."NCRTV Museum.PDF file. White,H. Thomas. "United States Early Radio History: period overview (1896-1927)"earlyhistory.us.,n.d.Web. 27 Oct. 2012. Watkins,Thayer. The Economic History of the Radio Industry. San Jose State University, n.d.Web. 27 Oct. 2012. Read More