History has defined the way we listen to radio
In 1934 an important breakthrough in radio transmission technology occurred when Columbia University engineering professor Edwin Armstrong invented Frequency Modulation radio (FM Radio). He filed and received a patent for this new technology, which eliminated the static that was apparent on Amplitude Modulation radio (AM radio). The radio signals on AM had a wide reach, but lost sound quality. Armstrong improved the sound quality by varying the radio waves’ frequency. Armstrong completed his first test on June 9, 1934 by sending an organ recital via both FM and AM signals. The organ came through very clearly when using FM, however when using AM, the sound came through with much more static. Armstrong tested his FM radio from an RCA tower on top of the Empire state building to the home of one of his friends who lived on Long Island. His field tests proved the improvements in sound quality and listeners embraced the better sound.Bad relations threaten FM radio
Armstong
started off as a good friend of David Sarnoff, the head of RCA, however when
Sarnoff realized FM radio could threaten his profits, he blocked Armstrong by
ordering more tests, lobbying federal regulators to deny Armstrong a license,
and even trying to obtain Armstrong’s patent. FM radio threatened RCA because RCA
made the majority of their money from using AM radio. After trying to fight
Sarnoff in legal battles, Armstrong was left penniless and distressed.
Armstrong never reaped the benefits of his invention and committed suicide
after being mentally beaten from the countless legal battles with RCA. He died
thinking that FM radio would never be accepted.
By
the late 1970’s FM listenership exceeded AM listenership, and remains this way
today. FM radio became popular in the 1970s for several reasons. An FM dial was
put into most automobile radio receivers, changes in programming occurred,
regulatory changes were made, and FM radio had less static than AM.
FM radio slowly reaches the masses and becomes popular
FM radio slowly reaches the masses and becomes popular
It took
decades following Armstrong's death for FM broadcasting to meet and surpass the
use of AM radio, and longer still for FM radio to become profitable for
broadcasters. However, two developments made a difference in the 1960s;
stereophonic broadcasting and rules passed by the FCC. The development of stereophonic
broadcasting by General Electric, resulted in the approval of an FM stereo
broadcast standard by the FCC in 1961, and the conversion of hundreds of
stations to stereo within a few years. The second development was an FCC rule
enacted in 1966 that required broadcasters who owned both AM and FM stations in
the same city to program each of them with separate programming during a
majority of the day. This meant FM not only had better sound then AM, but also
offered unique program choices and expanded what listeners could hear.
Programmers took advantage by turning their FM stations into venues for formats
from country to progressive rock to jazz and classical music, all with the
enhanced quality that stereo sound could bring.
Armstrong’s
work, as important as it was, was a part of a continuum of progress in
communications and electronics that since his time has brought forward color
television, the personal computer, the Internet, cable TV, and personal mobile phones.
I think the most interesting part of your blog post is the idea of society taking a while to embrace new technology in media. The fact that it took decades for FM listenership to surpass that of AM is baffling to me. It would seem like people would embrace the clearer sound reception immediately. This is not unlike the invention of HDTV. The better picture was obvious to everyone, but it still took a while for it to be common to see HD TVs in every household. Now of course in this case HD TVs were cost prohibitive in the early days, but receiving FM signals was not. Even if FM was not in car stereos for several years, people listened to radio at home much more back then than now, so it would it make sense that FM would be embraced quicker than it was. People throughout history have always seemed to take a while to warm up to new technologies, especially in the media realm. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter were around for years before they gained the popularity that they have today. It could be that people like to wait to see if something is going to be a success before they partake in it, but if it were that, then nothing would become too widely popular. People really just don’t like change, and reading this blog post definitely made me believe that more.
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating that AM was ever better than FM. I just don't see why people would ever want to listen to static radio over something more clear. I think it could have been beneficial to have given a brief explanation as to why the AM radio was so much more popular to start out with other than the fact that it had a wider range. I think a good bit of information you included was how certain businessmen did not like the idea of FM radio because it was affect their profit. It's a funny thing how some people would be selfish enough to turn down so something that would be beneficial and revolutionary for all people. Not to mention the fact that giving an entrepreneur too much trouble over a great invention could lead them to commit suicide. It's very disappointing that Armstrong was not able to live long enough to see FM thrive like it does today. If only this so called "friend" of Armstrong could have been a little bit selfless and the general public could have been a little faster to adapt to this new change maybe Armstrong would have died a little happier. I think it's funny how nowadays if something new comes out and it even slightly improves what we already have we will jump on it. I think it just may be dude to the fact that technology plays such a bigger role in society today than it did back in the early 90's.
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