Name: _______________________
Date: ___________________
Communication Studies
Block: _________________
Introduction to Radio
Student Notes
The Radio would not be possible without the inventions of the telegraph and the
telephone.
TELEGRAPH:
Voltaic Pile
 The success of the telegraph depended on having a reliable source of
electric current.
 Alessandro Volta (1745 – 1827) invented the electric cell (battery) needed
for the telegraph.
 Using the electricity on the wire, messages could be sent as pulses of
electric current.







Morse Code
In the United States in the 1830s, Samuel Morse (1791 – 1872) invented a
code of dots and dashes
The first telegraph message was sent using Morse Code.
The first message ran 40 miles from Washington, D.C, to Baltimore and
said, “What hath God wrought!”
Thousands of miles of telegraph wire were strung to poles linking towns and
cities.
By 1854, the worlds “telegraph network” contained 22,990 miles of wire.
Of that wire, 15,535 miles were laid in the United States
In 1866, the telegraph networks of Britain and the US were connected by
laying cables at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Telegraph Messages
 In 1845 people started using telegraph lines to send telegrams.
 Telegrams are printed messages
 Message carriers would deliver telegrams as fast as possible!
 Western Union, the best-known telegraph company, sent its last message
in 2006
TELEPHONE:








Interesting Fact: Who Dun’it?
In 1849, Italian-born Antonio Meucci discovered that sound could travel
through copper wire.
Around 1860, he developed a working model of a telephone.
HOWEVER, Alexander Graham Bell developed a similar idea and filed a
patent protecting it in 1876
Alexander Graham Bell
Born in Scotland (1847 – 1922)
Family experience in speech training
Father was an educator of the deaf
Bell originally moved to the US to follow his fathers work
His knowledge of sound production and interest in the telegraph led to his
experiment in sending sound through telegraph.
RADIO:









Radio is Born
1860s: James Maxwell (Scottish) discovered that electric impulses could
travel through space at the speed of light – RADIO WAVES!
Heinrich Hertz – first person to broadcast and receive radio waves.
1895: Guglielmo Marconi is successful in communicating with radio waves.
Signals are still limited to Morse Code
1901: Marconi improves invention – sends first radio message across the
Atlantic from England to Canada
First use of the term “wireless” – Morse Code no longer needed wire!
U.S. Navy loads radios on to each of its warships
1906: Reginald Fessenden sends first broadcast of words and music in radio
waves.
1920: Radio Stations begin to appear across the US


Dr. Frank Conrad builds first radio station in his garage in Pittsburgh, PA.
1926: RCA starts the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
AM ~ amplitude modulation
FM ~ frequency modulation
Digital ~ radio technology that carries info as a digital signal by means of a digital
modulation method
Satellite ~ a digital radio signal that is broadcast by a communications satellite
Amplitude ~ the height or depth of a sound wave
Frequency ~ a set wavelength on which radio stations regularly broadcast
Modulation ~ to vary a sound wave or signal
Notes:
AM
AM stations were the earliest broadcasting stations to be developed. AM refers to
amplitude modulation, and works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal
in relation to the information being sent. One of the advantages of AM is that its
signal can be turned into sound with simple equipment. If a signal is strong enough,
not even a power source is needed. Building an unpowered crystal radio receiver
was a common childhood project in the early years of radio.
Flaws: Signal fading at night, interference in severe weather
FM
FM refers to frequency modulation, conveys information over a carrier wave by
varying its frequency. FM radio was invented by Edwin H. Armstrong in the 1930’s
for the specific purpose of overcoming the static problem of AM radio. By the
1980s, FM became the dominant medium in cities. But because of its greater
range, AM remained more common in rural environments.
Satellite
Satellite radio is the only type of radio that allow listeners to roam across an
entire continent, listening to the same audio programming anywhere they go. Two
kinds available in the US: XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Name: _______________________
Date: ___________________
Communication Studies
Block: _________________
Introduction to Radio
Student Notes
The Radio would not be possible without the inventions of the telegraph and the
telephone.
TELEGRAPH:
Voltaic Pile

The success of the __________ depended on having a reliable source of
__________ ______________.

Alessandro ________ (______ – _______) invented the electric cell
(__________) needed for the telegraph.

Using the electricity on the wire, messages could be sent as __________
of electric current.
Morse Code

In the United States in the 1830s, Samuel __________ (_____ –
_______) invented a code of _______ and ________

The first _________ _________ was sent using Morse Code.

The first message ran ____ ________ from _____________ ____ to
____________ and said, “_____ _____ ____ ________!”

Thousands of miles of telegraph wire were strung to poles linking towns and
cities.

By _______, the worlds “__________ __________” contained
__________ miles of wire.

Of that wire, _____________ miles were laid in the United States

In 1866, the telegraph networks of Britain and the US were connected by
laying cables at the bottom of ____ ________ __________.
Telegraph Messages

In ______ people started using telegraph lines to send
_____________.

Telegrams are _________ __________

Message ________ would deliver telegrams as fast as possible!

_________ ________, the best-known telegraph company, sent its last
message in 2006
TELEPHONE:
Interesting Fact: Who Dun’it?

In ________, Italian-born Antonio _________ discovered that sound could
travel through _______ _______.

Around _______, he developed a working model of a telephone.

HOWEVER, Alexander Graham Bell developed a similar idea and filed a
_________ protecting it in __________
Alexander Graham Bell

Born in _________ (1847 – 1922)

Family experienced in ________ __________

Father was an _________ of the _____

Bell originally moved to the US to follow his father’s work

His knowledge of sound production and interest in the telegraph led to his
experiment in sending sound through telegraph.
RADIO:
Radio is Born

___________: James _______ (Scottish) discovered that electric
___________ could travel through space at the _______ ___ _____ –
_________ ________!

Heinrich ________ – first person to _______ and _________ radio
waves.

________: Guglielmo Marconi is successful in communicating with radio
waves.

Signals are still limited to Morse Code

1901: Marconi improves invention – sends first radio message across the
________ from ________ to __________

First use of the term “____________” – Morse Code no longer needed wire!

U.S. Navy loads radios on to each of its warships

________: Reginald Fessenden sends first broadcast of _______ and
______ in radio waves.

_______: Radio Stations begin to appear across the US

Dr. Frank Conrad builds first radio station in his garage in Pittsburgh, PA.

_______: RCA starts the National Broadcasting Company (____)
AM ~
FM ~
Digital Radio~
Satellite Radio~
Amplitude ~
Frequency ~
Modulation ~
Notes:
____________________ were the earliest broadcasting stations to be
developed. AM refers to ______________________________, and works by
varying the strength of the transmitted _______________ in relation to the
_______________ being sent. One of the advantages of AM is that its signal can
be turned into _______________ with simple equipment. If a
_______________ is strong enough, not even a ____________________ is
needed. Building an unpowered ____________________ was a common childhood
project in the early years of radio.
***Flaws of AM:
FM refers to ______________________________, conveys information over a
carrier wave by _______________ its _______________. FM radio was
invented by ______________________________ in the 1930’s for the specific
purpose of overcoming the __________ problem of AM radio. By the
__________, FM became the dominant medium in cities. But because of its
____________________, AM remained more common in __________
environments.
_______________ radio is the only type of radio that allow _______________
to __________ across an entire continent, listening to the __________ audio
programming anywhere they go. Two kinds of satellite radio available in the US:
__________ and __________.
Name: _____________________
Date: _______________
Communication Studies
Block: ______________
Introduction to Radio Quiz
Matching: Match the definitions in the right hand column to the corresponding
words or phrases in the left hand column.
___ 1. Samuel Morse
a. the best-known telegraph company
___2. Alessandro Volta
b. discovered that sound could travel
through copper wire in 1849.
___ 3. Western Union
___ 4. Antonio Meucci
c. frequency modulation
___ 5. AM
d. discovered that electric impulses could
travel through space at the speed of light
___ 6. FM
e. invented the electric cell
___ 7. Digital Radio
f. invented Morse Code
___ 8. Satellite Radio
g. filed a patent for a working model of the
telephone in 1876.
___ 9. Amplitude
h. amplitude modulation
i. digital radio signal broadcast by satellite
___10. Frequency
j. the height or depth of a sound wave
___11. Modulation
k. a set wavelength on which a station
regularly broadcasts
___ 12. Alexander Graham Bell
l. to vary a sound wave or signal
___13. James Maxwell
m. radio technology that carries info by
means of a digital modulation method
Fill in the Blank: Using pencil, please fill in the blank with the appropriate words or
phrases from your notes and radio information packet.
14. Morse code is a series of ______ and _________ that can be translated into
the English alphabet.
15. The first telegraph message ran ____ miles from _________________ to
____________ and said, “What hath God wrought!”
16. Telegrams are __________ ____________.
17. Western Union sent its last telegram in the year _________.
18. __________ __________ is the first person to broadcast and receive radio
waves.
19. Dr. ________ _________ builds first radio station in his garage in
___________, PA.
20. What are the two main flaws to AM radio?
a. _______________________________________
b. _______________________________________
21. “The radio craze … will die out in time,” is a famous quote from this individual ______________ ______________
Extra Credit: (5 pts)
These two radio stations teamed together to air (broadcast) the 1922 World
Series.
___________ in New York City and ________ in Schenectady, New York.