A Pre-History of Radio (Part One)

Multimedia

A Pre-History of Radio (Part One)

Radio Inquiry Unit

Join historian Alex Magoun on a journey through the history of radio technology from James Clark Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism to Guglielmo Marconi's use of that theory in long-distance radio…

Learn more
A Pre-History of Radio (Part Two)

Multimedia

A Pre-History of Radio (Part Two)

Radio Inquiry Unit

Continue on the historical journey of the radio industry with historian Alex Magoun as he goes back in time and shares how engineers and scientists improved wireless telegraphy from Morse code to the …

Learn more
Commercialization of Broadcast Radio in the Home

Multimedia

Commercialization of Broadcast Radio in the Home

Radio Inquiry Unit

This video explores the beginnings of broadcast radio in the home, thanks to Pittsburgh’s KDKA radio station and Westinghouse, which made radio receivers. The electromagnetic “magic” found in sm…

Learn more
Crystal Radio

Multimedia

Crystal Radio

Radio Inquiry Unit

Like game consoles and smartphones today, radios in the 1920s were expensive. Fortunately for teens back then, they could build radio receivers using cheap parts found at home and hardware stores. Wat…

Learn more
Drones from the Civil War to Today

Multimedia

Drones from the Civil War to Today

UAV (Drones) Inquiry Unit

Historic insights into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), from the Civil War through to today. See how aerial balloons were an integral part of early UAV or drone history and follow the technological p…

Learn more
UAV (Drones)

Inquiry Unit

UAV (Drones)

Almost since the dawn of warfare, armies have sought ways to inflict the most damage on their enemies at the lowest cost to their own troops. Technologies from catapults to cannons have been developed…

Learn more
“Denny’s Radio Model Tested”

Primary Source

“Denny’s Radio Model Tested”

UAV (Drones) Inquiry Unit

UAV (Drones) Inquiry Unit In the late 1930s, the Radioplane Company developed a series of radio controlled model airplanes as aerial targets for antiaircraft gunnery training by the Army Air Corps.…

Learn more
Early Flying Robots: From Models to Target UAVs

Primary Source

Early Flying Robots: From Models to Target UAVs

UAV (Drones) Inquiry Unit

UAV (Drones) Inquiry Unit Los Angeles Times. January 28, 1938, morning edition. Before the U.S. entered World War II, research had begun on remote, radio-controlled airplanes. At first a result …

Learn more