BY BOB BURNHAM...This was originally published in RADIO GUIDE in 2006. The intent was not to ignore the work of DeForrest or Tesla, but to put a different twist to what Thomas Edison did before them.
Thomas Edison is not a name most people associate with radio or broadcasting in general. We immediately think of the phonograph and electric light as the Edison inventions that made him famous and (rightfully so) wealthy as well. But this hardly tells the story of the thousands of patents, his relentless pursuit of success and how his very nature affects everyone alive today -- whether they work in broadcasting or not.
I've always had a curiousity about Edison's work and its products. A recent renewal of this interest led to further research. Although some historians may dispute this, it was soon realized that had Edison lived an extra 10 years, as far as radio was concerned, DeForrest, Faraday and Marconi may actually have been completely in the shadows of Thomas Alva Edison.
Dearborn, Michigan is the home of "The Edison Institute," also known as "Greenfield Village." This is a large collection of historical buildings and artifacts assembled originally by Edison's good friend, Henry Ford, hence the Museum and "village" today are simply referred to as The Henry Ford.
In the past, the Museum area had a fine collection of old radios and early transmitting apparatus. Today,
the most interesting part, however, is the "village" area.
Here, Edison's original Menlo Park laboratory buildings stand fully restored and maintained. Henry Ford painstakingly moved the Edison buildings to the site in 1929. Also included is Edison's early generating plant, among many other buildings.
The restored buildings contain most of the original equipment also moved from the original New Jersey site. Today, employees or "Presenters" at The Henry Ford provide a wealth of knowledge on Edison or other topics applicable to the buildings in which they are stationed. Here, my interest in Edison was re-ignited, and led to reading Paul Israel's extensive 560 page biography on the man, "Edison: A Life of Invention." The front cover of Israel's book shows Edison clutching his patented "Edison Effect" tube. Lee DeForrest, in fact, based his development of the vacuum tube on this device.
A few radios were actually later manufactured with Edison's name prior to his passing in 1931. Edison himself, however, felt the latest perfections to his PHONOGRAPH would become the leading home entertainment source. He thought radio would never catch on, but reluctantly agreed to produce an Edison combination radio-phonograph in 1928. It was not, however, a successful product. Competition from other manufacturers forced production to be discontinued a year or so later, but apparently not before he gave one away! In 1929, he held a national contest in which the prize was the scholarship to the University of ones own choosing, AND an Edison console radio (and toaster!). If that radio still exists somewhere, you can be assured it is worth more than most of us who work in radio today -- could afford. The study of the technology and tube types used in the late 1920's that may have been used by "Edison Industries" is another subject altogether, as the technology at that time was so very new. The DeForrest patent for the electronic tube in fact, had just been issued on January 29, 1929, a month AFTER the Columbia Broadcasting System was already incorporated!
Regardless, it is evident that Edison knew long before his death that his early work was, in fact, leading to the development of an industry, then in its infancy. He just didn't expect it to be radio! Much of his work, in fact, actually led to several industries IN ADDITION TO radio. One of the many spin-offs of Edison's original company, General Electric, is of course, legendary for its development of commercial radio.
It is fairly common knowledge that the vacuum tube and other concepts all crucial to practical broadcasting were all developed based on Edison's earlier work.
There are however, some notable though less obvious comparisons to Edison's work and ethics as well as his approaches to inventions that are identical to a typical broadcast engineer of today.
In order to understand, design, build or troubleshoot a complex studio or a complex piece of equipment, one must first understand each individual component. There must be a practical reason for each stage to exist and a functional or USER need for the device of combination of devices (as in a single piece of equipment) to exist as a whole.
Edison also thought about his individual inventions or devices as part of larger systems. He invented the first practical electric light, but realized it was of no value if it was not practical for everyone to use. He spent years developing methods to generate and distribute electricity. His company, in fact, was the first to construct power generating plants in the U.S. and other parts of the world. In southeastern Michigan, to this day, we are still writing checks every month payable to Detroit EDISON for our energy needs.
He developed a reputation in his youth as a master telegrapher (a form of broadcasting prior to radio). Many of us in broadcast engineering today began our careers as On-Air "jocks" before becoming Chief Engineers.
Edison would soon develop devices that would allow multiple transmissions to be conveyed over fewer wires, a means of printing telegraphy, and various repeaters that allowed transmissions over very long distances.
Think about how many satellite transponders exist in a single channel off a "bird." Or how many channels can be carried in a single fiber optic, or in an ISDN or T1 connection from a remote broadcast or to a transmitter site… on a single carrier or single pair of copper wires? For that matter, think about how many channels are available on your television through a single piece of coaxial cable.
For telegraphy (the communication method of the era with which Edison, as mentioned, was already an expert) Edison patented methods of doing this type of thing (conceptually) over copper long before radio or television. He was no slouch in business or self-promotion either. He gained respect and a powerful reputation early in his career. This meant major businesses of the era FINANCED his work.
One of his more interesting efforts was a means to transmit wireless from a moving railroad car.
A reed vibrating at 500 Hertz (or cycles per second as it was known then) was turned off and on with a telegraph key at the appropriate dot and dash interval. The "antenna" was the metal roof of the railroad car. Existing telegraph wires about 30 feet away served as a receiving "antenna." While this could probably best be described as a form of capacitive / inductive coupling, it was probably one of the very first successful wireless transmissions prior to DeForrest's work.
A broadcast engineer by necessity must know a little about EVERYTHING in the plant as well as the broadcast business itself. Of course, we can specialize in various areas, but among them had better be how to keep the station on the air.
Anyone who worked for Edison in later years had to pass an extensive test. It was comprised of many questions about the United States government and other seemingly unrelated issues to the job itself. It is said that Edison's own son could not pass the test. A website (which sadly no longer seems to exist) offered excerpts from the test. I couldn't answer even half the questions correctly, but if you wanted to work for Edison in the early 1900s, you had better be the absolute best in your field and know a little of everything about everything.
As to work ethics, Edison was known as a scrappy, competitive individual. He would work around the clock when certain projects were in a critical developmental stage. Who among us, has not pulled many "overnighters" building a studio, or working on a particular installation with absolutely no regard to time. Sometimes we forget to eat! The reward is seeing everything WORK just as designed, and seeing others benefit from that work. Hearing a morning show on the air the next day in a studio you just labored in for a dozen hours or more is a cool thing.
Thomas Edison was no different.
He was a workaholic, but he did have a soft side. He was deeply saddened by the death of his first wife. Having spent so little time at home, he actually felt guilty of his passion for his work. Perhaps arising out of this guilt, his daughter, then only 12 years old, became his laboratory assistant.
Even Edison's own health was a scientific experiment. He would eat only foods that completely agreed with his digestive system. Having lived to the ripe age of 84 in 1931, he must've been on the right track.
One favorite Edison quote…paraphrased and modernized:
"None of my inventions were accidents… they were the result of hard work" could probably also serve as a motto for broadcast technical personnel -- just replace the word "inventions" with "projects."
Think of someone (or a group of someones) who designed, licensed, built then successfully operated a complex directional AM array… when others thought it was not possible in that area.
An audience was served, people were delighted, the owner made profit… eventually. But it took a lot of steps and investment of blood, sweat and an especially large quantity of money.
But mostly it was hard work. VERY hard work.
Have you ever seen a AM ground system installed, towers erected, and done the footwork necessary to prove to the FCC that your equipment was operating as designed and not interfering with co-channels?
Or when someone delights in a shiny new digital studio, but perhaps takes it for granted, only a broadcast engineer KNOWS what it took to make it work as it does: hour upon hour if tedious wire stripping, drilling, crimping, soldering, pulling wires, etc.
Our personal technical successes in radio are NEVER EVER by accident!
They are ALWAYS the result of our HARD WORK.
Yet while there are plenty of us who know the meaning of hard work and some people in our industry who even approach the "genius" status, none can ever hope to have the profound effect Thomas Edison had on communications and the world.
(C) 2005 ROBERT BURNHAM
I've always had a curiousity about Edison's work and its products. A recent renewal of this interest led to further research. Although some historians may dispute this, it was soon realized that had Edison lived an extra 10 years, as far as radio was concerned, DeForrest, Faraday and Marconi may actually have been completely in the shadows of Thomas Alva Edison.
Dearborn, Michigan is the home of "The Edison Institute," also known as "Greenfield Village." This is a large collection of historical buildings and artifacts assembled originally by Edison's good friend, Henry Ford, hence the Museum and "village" today are simply referred to as The Henry Ford.
In the past, the Museum area had a fine collection of old radios and early transmitting apparatus. Today,
the most interesting part, however, is the "village" area.
Here, Edison's original Menlo Park laboratory buildings stand fully restored and maintained. Henry Ford painstakingly moved the Edison buildings to the site in 1929. Also included is Edison's early generating plant, among many other buildings.
The restored buildings contain most of the original equipment also moved from the original New Jersey site. Today, employees or "Presenters" at The Henry Ford provide a wealth of knowledge on Edison or other topics applicable to the buildings in which they are stationed. Here, my interest in Edison was re-ignited, and led to reading Paul Israel's extensive 560 page biography on the man, "Edison: A Life of Invention." The front cover of Israel's book shows Edison clutching his patented "Edison Effect" tube. Lee DeForrest, in fact, based his development of the vacuum tube on this device.
A few radios were actually later manufactured with Edison's name prior to his passing in 1931. Edison himself, however, felt the latest perfections to his PHONOGRAPH would become the leading home entertainment source. He thought radio would never catch on, but reluctantly agreed to produce an Edison combination radio-phonograph in 1928. It was not, however, a successful product. Competition from other manufacturers forced production to be discontinued a year or so later, but apparently not before he gave one away! In 1929, he held a national contest in which the prize was the scholarship to the University of ones own choosing, AND an Edison console radio (and toaster!). If that radio still exists somewhere, you can be assured it is worth more than most of us who work in radio today -- could afford. The study of the technology and tube types used in the late 1920's that may have been used by "Edison Industries" is another subject altogether, as the technology at that time was so very new. The DeForrest patent for the electronic tube in fact, had just been issued on January 29, 1929, a month AFTER the Columbia Broadcasting System was already incorporated!
Regardless, it is evident that Edison knew long before his death that his early work was, in fact, leading to the development of an industry, then in its infancy. He just didn't expect it to be radio! Much of his work, in fact, actually led to several industries IN ADDITION TO radio. One of the many spin-offs of Edison's original company, General Electric, is of course, legendary for its development of commercial radio.
It is fairly common knowledge that the vacuum tube and other concepts all crucial to practical broadcasting were all developed based on Edison's earlier work.
There are however, some notable though less obvious comparisons to Edison's work and ethics as well as his approaches to inventions that are identical to a typical broadcast engineer of today.
In order to understand, design, build or troubleshoot a complex studio or a complex piece of equipment, one must first understand each individual component. There must be a practical reason for each stage to exist and a functional or USER need for the device of combination of devices (as in a single piece of equipment) to exist as a whole.
Edison also thought about his individual inventions or devices as part of larger systems. He invented the first practical electric light, but realized it was of no value if it was not practical for everyone to use. He spent years developing methods to generate and distribute electricity. His company, in fact, was the first to construct power generating plants in the U.S. and other parts of the world. In southeastern Michigan, to this day, we are still writing checks every month payable to Detroit EDISON for our energy needs.
He developed a reputation in his youth as a master telegrapher (a form of broadcasting prior to radio). Many of us in broadcast engineering today began our careers as On-Air "jocks" before becoming Chief Engineers.
Edison would soon develop devices that would allow multiple transmissions to be conveyed over fewer wires, a means of printing telegraphy, and various repeaters that allowed transmissions over very long distances.
Think about how many satellite transponders exist in a single channel off a "bird." Or how many channels can be carried in a single fiber optic, or in an ISDN or T1 connection from a remote broadcast or to a transmitter site… on a single carrier or single pair of copper wires? For that matter, think about how many channels are available on your television through a single piece of coaxial cable.
For telegraphy (the communication method of the era with which Edison, as mentioned, was already an expert) Edison patented methods of doing this type of thing (conceptually) over copper long before radio or television. He was no slouch in business or self-promotion either. He gained respect and a powerful reputation early in his career. This meant major businesses of the era FINANCED his work.
One of his more interesting efforts was a means to transmit wireless from a moving railroad car.
A reed vibrating at 500 Hertz (or cycles per second as it was known then) was turned off and on with a telegraph key at the appropriate dot and dash interval. The "antenna" was the metal roof of the railroad car. Existing telegraph wires about 30 feet away served as a receiving "antenna." While this could probably best be described as a form of capacitive / inductive coupling, it was probably one of the very first successful wireless transmissions prior to DeForrest's work.
A broadcast engineer by necessity must know a little about EVERYTHING in the plant as well as the broadcast business itself. Of course, we can specialize in various areas, but among them had better be how to keep the station on the air.
Anyone who worked for Edison in later years had to pass an extensive test. It was comprised of many questions about the United States government and other seemingly unrelated issues to the job itself. It is said that Edison's own son could not pass the test. A website (which sadly no longer seems to exist) offered excerpts from the test. I couldn't answer even half the questions correctly, but if you wanted to work for Edison in the early 1900s, you had better be the absolute best in your field and know a little of everything about everything.
As to work ethics, Edison was known as a scrappy, competitive individual. He would work around the clock when certain projects were in a critical developmental stage. Who among us, has not pulled many "overnighters" building a studio, or working on a particular installation with absolutely no regard to time. Sometimes we forget to eat! The reward is seeing everything WORK just as designed, and seeing others benefit from that work. Hearing a morning show on the air the next day in a studio you just labored in for a dozen hours or more is a cool thing.
Thomas Edison was no different.
He was a workaholic, but he did have a soft side. He was deeply saddened by the death of his first wife. Having spent so little time at home, he actually felt guilty of his passion for his work. Perhaps arising out of this guilt, his daughter, then only 12 years old, became his laboratory assistant.
Even Edison's own health was a scientific experiment. He would eat only foods that completely agreed with his digestive system. Having lived to the ripe age of 84 in 1931, he must've been on the right track.
One favorite Edison quote…paraphrased and modernized:
"None of my inventions were accidents… they were the result of hard work" could probably also serve as a motto for broadcast technical personnel -- just replace the word "inventions" with "projects."
Think of someone (or a group of someones) who designed, licensed, built then successfully operated a complex directional AM array… when others thought it was not possible in that area.
An audience was served, people were delighted, the owner made profit… eventually. But it took a lot of steps and investment of blood, sweat and an especially large quantity of money.
But mostly it was hard work. VERY hard work.
Have you ever seen a AM ground system installed, towers erected, and done the footwork necessary to prove to the FCC that your equipment was operating as designed and not interfering with co-channels?
Or when someone delights in a shiny new digital studio, but perhaps takes it for granted, only a broadcast engineer KNOWS what it took to make it work as it does: hour upon hour if tedious wire stripping, drilling, crimping, soldering, pulling wires, etc.
Our personal technical successes in radio are NEVER EVER by accident!
They are ALWAYS the result of our HARD WORK.
Yet while there are plenty of us who know the meaning of hard work and some people in our industry who even approach the "genius" status, none can ever hope to have the profound effect Thomas Edison had on communications and the world.
(C) 2005 ROBERT BURNHAM
