Exhibition
Introduction
The first radio receivers were only able to receive Morse code and - even though the first radio broadcasts took place in 1906 - during the 1920s most radio sets were homemade, so the use by the public was restricted to a minority of enthusiasts and DIYers.
In the 1930s radio had developed into an important mass medium. Though not everyone could afford a receiver (in France, one family out of five), a large range of radio receivers existed, from homemade radio kits to the most expensive luxury models. Thanks to the improvement of transmitters at the beginning of World War II, the public could listen to long distance radio programs from Germany and even Russia.
With the invention of the transistor in 1947 by the Bell Laboratories, it then became possible to produce small portable radios.
Radio Receiver from the Nederlandse Radio Industrie (NRI)
This radio receiver detects modulated radio waves using a vacuum tube, three honeycomb coils, and two tuning knobs controlling two variable capacitors. The vacuum tubes were made by Philips in the Netherlands from 1918. Due to its ability to apply feedback, the tube receiver is some 50 to 80 times more sensitive than a crystal set. This made it possible for people in cities to receive radio programs with a relatively modest antenna. This radio receiver is made by the company which was founded by Hans Idzerda, who was one of the first people in the world to broadcast radio shows regularly (the first of this series was broadcast on the 6 November 1919). His company, the Nederlandse Radio Industrie (Dutch Radio Industry), was founded in 1914 and was based in The Hague. At the end of 1924 the company went bankrupt and the Nederlandsche Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF) took over the role as public broadcaster for the Netherlands. Hans Idzerda was killed by Axis occupiers during World War II.
NSF radio receiver (type: 041)
This radio receiver detects modulated radio waves using a vacuum tube, two honeycomb coils, and a tuning knob controlling two variable capacitors. The vacuum tubes were made by Philips in the Netherlands from 1918. Due to its ability to apply feedback, the tube receiver is some 50 to 80 times more sensitive than a crystal set. This made it possible for people in cities to receive radio programs with a relatively modest antenna. This radio receiver was made by the Nederlandsche Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF, the Dutch Broadcast Devices Factory) in 1922 in Hilversum. Their first regular radio broadcast was on 21 July 1923 and soon the NSF took over from the Nederlandse Radio Industrie (Dutch Radio Industry) as the main public broadcaster in the Netherlands.
NSF radio receiver (type: 1261/08)
This radio receiver detects modulated radio waves using a vacuum tube, three honeycomb coils, and two tuning knobs controlling two variable capacitors. The vacuum tubes were made by Philips in the Netherlands from 1918. Due to its ability to apply feedback, the tube receiver is some 50 to 80 times more sensitive than a crystal set. This made it possible for people in cities to receive radio programs with a relatively modest antenna. This radio receiver was made by the Nederlandsche Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF, the Dutch Broadcast Devices Factory) in 1922 in Hilversum. Their first regular radio broadcast was on 21 July 1923 and soon the NSF took over from the Nederlandse Radio Industrie (Dutch Radio Industry) as the main public broadcaster in the Netherlands. . This is the first factory-produced radio receiver to be sold in the Netherlands. Only two original devices are still known to exist and both are currently held in the archive of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.
NSF radio receiver (type: W6)
This radio receiver detects modulated radio waves using four vacuum tubes, two honeycomb coils, and a tuning knob controlling two variable capacitors. The vacuum tubes were made by Philips in the Netherlands from 1918. Due to its ability to apply feedback, the tube receiver is some 50 to 80 times more sensitive than a crystal set. This made it possible for people in cities to receive radio programs with a relatively modest antenna. This radio receiver was made by the Nederlandsche Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF, the Dutch Broadcast Devices Factory) in 1924 in Hilversum. Their first regular radio broadcast was on 21 July 1923 and soon the NSF took over from the Nederlandse Radio Industrie (Dutch Radio Industry) as the main public broadcaster in the Netherlands.
NSF radio receiver (type: 021-1)
This radio receiver detects modulated radio waves using three vacuum tubes, three honeycomb coils, and two tuning knobs controlling two variable capacitors. The vacuum tubes were made by Philips in the Netherlands from 1918. Due to its ability to apply feedback, the tube receiver is some 50 to 80 times more sensitive than a crystal set. This made it possible for people in cities to receive radio programs with a relatively modest antenna. This radio receiver was made by the Nederlandsche Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF, the Dutch Broadcast Devices Factory) in 1923 in Hilversum. Their first regular radio broadcast was on 21 July 1923 and soon the NSF took over from the Nederlandse Radio Industrie (Dutch Radio Industry) as the main public broadcaster in the Netherlands.
Eumigette 382U radio set
The Eumigette radio set was produced by the Austrian company EUMIG from 1955 until 1962. It was one of the company‘s most successful products and was mostly sold on the Austrian market. The model in the photograph has a product number of 550,440 and is likely to have been manufactured in 1958 or 1959. Radio sets like this were widely used and part of everyday life in many households in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of the historical radio news items which are now part of Europeana Sounds were originally broadcast on devices like this.
