On Oct 19, 2022, at 2:09 PM, Alan Perry via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
On Oct 19, 2022, at 08:14, Fritz Mueller via
cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
On Oct 19, 2022, at 6:16 AM, Paul Koning via
cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
...a couple of years ago I wrote an article about the invention of FM radio, in Holland
in 1919 (no, not by Armstrong in the USA in the late 1920s).
That sounds interesting, Paul — I’m only familiar with the usual USA-centric Armstrong
lore. Is your article available to read online anywhere?
—FritzM.
I’d be interested in the article as well.
There are reasons for the story of FM radio to be US- and Armstrong-centric, even if
someone or some institution in Europe did it first.
Yes, but suppression of the story, which is what I experienced when I tried to update
Wikipedia, is not the right answer.
The correct answer is to recognize that (a) Armstrong was NOT first with FM transmission,
(b) Armstrong was first with FM-specific receivers (discriminator), and (c) the technology
direction started by Armstrong is the one that got traction and evolved into what we have
now.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of the article, Idzerda's FM transmitter is
like Leif Eriksson's discovery of America -- he did it first, but it didn't lead
to anything. Still, he made a living off a commercial broadcast venture using his
technology for 5 years or so, until the creation of the BBC made his business
uncompetitive.
paul