Discover the technological development of wireless telegraphy through objects relating to the history of radio, and television transmission and reception.
Radio Communication
1980-1983
`Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, CB27/81, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
Valve receiver, wireless, made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co Ltd, British, c. 1910
1949
Models (scale 1:4) of three wooden prisms used by Heinrich Hertz, made by the Science Museum Workshops, South Kensington, London, England, 1949
Ampex videotape recorder, type VR 1000A, serial number 329
1924
Gecophone broadcast receiver, model B.C 3200, made by the General Electric Company Limited, England, 1924
1923-1930
Rexophone crystal set with, 2 of 3, pairs telefunken head-phones (see note). Rexophone crystal set manufactured by Morch Borthers Limited, London, 1923-1930. Headphones manufactuered by Telefunken, Germany, 1923-1930
1920-1925
'Cat's whisker' crystal radio set with single headphone and original crystal, made by the Scientific Wireless Company, Manchester, and purchased in 1924-25.
1920-1940
Voigt condenser microphone, probably made by Voigt Patents Limited, Sydenham, London, England, 1920-1940.
1927-1956
Part of Rugby transatlantic telephone transmitter, made by Standard Telephones and Cables, New Southgate, England, 1927
1917
C.W. (continuous wave) transmitter/receiver, Mk.I**, also known as Trench set C.W. Mk.I, made by W/T Factory, W.D. Soho W. (Wireless Telegraphy Factory, War Department), England, 1917
1880-1889
Two syntonic Leyden jars, unknown maker, Germany, 1880-1889. Possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to demonstrate resonance in adjacent circuits when at the same frequency.
1922-1924
BBC printing stamp issued to the Willesden Wireless Company, British, 1922-1924.
1900-1910
Branly tripod coherer, probably made by Edouard Branly, France, 1900-1910
1901
Four aerial inductances, wired together, used in Newfoundland in series with the balloon and kite aerials for tuning to the Poldhu (Cornwall) transmitted wavelength for the first wireless communication across the Atlantic, probably made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company, Chelmsford, Essex, England, December 1901
2014
Presentation Model of the 1922 Shukhov Radio Tower, also known as the Shabolovka tower, created by the model builder Henry Milner, England, 2014.
1934-1940
'Radio Celebrities Second Series' cigarette card album, manufactured by Imperial Tobacco and distributed under the brand name W D and H O Wills and Company, probably Bristol, England, 1934-1940
CB low-pass filter 100LP30 from `Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
Model (scale 1:4) of open oscillator with spherical radiators used by Heinrich Hertz, Science Museum Workshops, South Kensington, London, England, 1949
1936-1955
Moulded unprocessed bakelite panel ready for ECME (Electronic Circuit Making Equipment) machine, probably made by Sargrove Electronics Limited, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 1936-1955.
1939-1945
Throat microphone from wireless set no. 38 Mk. II serial no. 6319, unknown maker, British, 1939-1945
c.1923
'Goltone' crystal radio receiver, made by Ward & Goldstone Ltd, Salford, c.1923.
1939
Mains Minor MW valve radio receiver, made by Ferguson Radio Corporation Ltd, c. 1939.
1910-1960
Pair of Sterling headphones, made by the Sterling Telephone and Electric Company Limited, Dagenham, London, England, 1920-1960
c. 1970
Transistor radio, made by the Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd, c.1970.
1935
Model AD36 Ekco radio receiver, 4-valve TRF domestic receiver in circular Bakelite phenolic plastic case, by E K Cole Limited, Southend-on-Sea; England, 1935
1949-1985
Antiference "Antex" Band I (Channel 5) television aerial, "X" type, on mounting pole, manufactured by Antiference Limited, probably Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, 1949-1985
1922-1923
Burndept mark IV tuner No. 5224 with glass back, made by Burndept Limited, Blackheath, London, England, 1922-1923.
1995
BayGen "Freeplay" wind-up radio, a portable receiver powered by internal generator driven by hand-wound clockwork spring, by BayGen Power Company (Pty) Ltd, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1995.
1922
Marconi 1.5kW transmitter, Marconi Company Limited, Chelmsford, 1922. Used by the BBC London station 2LO between 1922 and 1925, as rebuilt c.1954 incorporating some non-original but contemporary components
Microphone from `Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
1955-1960
'Channel' Band III television converter, type C2, s/n2337, made by Channel Electronic Industries, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, England, 1955-1960
1875-1880
Clockwork interruptor made and used by David Edward Hughes (1831-1900), England, c. 1879
1889
Spark gap or knob coherer, unknown maker, England, 1889. Used by Sir Oliver Lodge to first show the coherer effect and detect electric surgings by closing the circuit of a galvanometer during experiments on lightning guards.
1902
Original wheel or steel-disc coherer (thin-film detector), made by E E Robinson, England, 1902. Made for Oliver Lodge and Alexander Muirhead
1934
Home made 30-line televisor, made by Robert (Bob)Albert Lampitt, Wolverhampton, England, 1934.
Model (scale 1:4) of wire screen in octagonal frame used by Heinrich Hertz, made by the Science Museum Workshops, South Kensington, London, England, 1949
1929-1935
Home-made equipment for 30-line television reception, unknown maker, British, 1929-35. Comprises Nipkow disc, neon lamp, viewing lens, phonic-wheel unit, home recorded discs of signals, square punch for Nipkow disc).
1903
Bas-relief head and shoulders of Guglielmo Marconi on brass lamina, engraved "1903, R. Bravi, Milano", made by R Bravi, Milano, Italy, 1903
1962-1967
Telstar maser assembly with magnet, made by Mullard Research Laboratories, Redhill, Surrey, England, 1962-1967
Moulded unprocessed bakelite panel ready for ECME machine after roughening in the machine, probably made by Sargrove Electronics Ltd, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 1936-1955
Billi condenser, or adjustable receiving capacitor, used for tuning the aerial in Newfoundland for the first wireless communication across the Atlantic, probably made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company, Chelmsford, Essex, England, December 1901.
1898
Receiving ‘jigger’ or oscillation transformer, single layer primary and secondary coils (split), used by the Marconi Company, probably made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company, Chelmsford, Essex, England, 1898
Crystal set with Braille dial marking, supplied by the British Wireless for the Blind Fund and made by Burne-Jones and Company, London, England, 1929-1935.
1890-1896
Ebonite coherer with adjustable contacts, unknown maker, British, 1890-1896. Used in August 1896, in experiments carried out by Captain Henry Jackson
1899
Experimental transmitting ‘jigger’ or oscillation transformer used by the Marconi Company, probably made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company, Chelmsford, Essex, England, 1899
CB mini SWR bridge S3-30L from `Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
Moulded unprocessed bakelite panel ready for ECME machine metallised on both sides by zinc spraying, probably made by Sargrove Electronics Ltd, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 1936-1955
Earliest experimental form of magnetic detector developed by the Marconi Company, with fixed soft iron core and single layer primary coil on core and telephone circuit winding in bobbin surrounding the primary coil, probably made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company, Chelmsford, Essex, England, 1900-1910
1890-1894
Large Hertzian oscillator, unknown maker, England, 1890-1894. Used by Oliver Lodge in his lecture before the Royal Institution on 1 June 1894 on ‘The Work of Hertz and his Successors’.
