Discover the technological development of wireless telegraphy through objects relating to the history of radio, and television transmission and reception.
Radio Communication
1969-1970
Sony 'Trinitron' colour television set, model type KV-1320UB, manufactured by Sony, Japan, 1969-1970. Serial No. 505704
1945-1955
Bush TV22 9 inch television receiver, made by Bush Radio Limited, England, 1945-1955. With band III convertor, 1957
1934
Three-ring Enigma cypher machine complete in oak wood transit case, together with original German battery (Serial number A6421/1937), unsigned, Germany, 1934 (see Note)
1953
Pye 'Cambridge International' 11-band broadcast receiver, type PE80, made by Pye Limited, Cambridge, England, 1953
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
1935-1965
'Standlens' liquid-filled plastic lens for magnifying a television picture, mounted on adjustable wooden stand, probably made by Lumex, probably British, 1935-1965
1943-1966
Variable inductance coil for tuning the aerial of the very-low-frequency (16 kHz) transmitter (callsign GBR) installed at Rugby Radio Station, unknown maker, British, 1943-1966. Constructed in 1943 to the original 1926 design, and as modified in 1966, together with separate transformer and variometer with supporting framework.
1944-1959
BBC Marconi AXBT ribbon microphone, inst. no. 498044, made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company Limited, Chelmsford, Essex, England, 1944-1959
1923
Gecophone crystal detector radio set no. 1, complete with instruction handbook, made by the General Electric Company Limited, British, 1923. Instruction handbook not mentioned in the nominal file (4868), nor on the form 100. Polished mahogany case with a lift up lid and ebonite control panel.
1900-1910
Experimental model of Marconi's magnetic detector with moving magnet, unknown maker, England, 1900-1910
1925
Amplion loud speaker with wooden horn, made by Graham Amplion Limited, Slough, England, 1925
1910-1960
Pair of Sterling headphones, made by the Sterling Telephone and Electric Company Limited, Dagenham, London, England, 1920-1960
1939-1945
Headphones DLR no. 5 from wireless set no. 38 Mk. II serial no. 6319, unknown maker, British, 1939-1945
1980-1983
CB mobile antenna Oscar 11SE from `Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
Television receiver built from "Premier Radio" kit, made by Premier Radio Company, Hackney, London, England, 1945-1955
1979
Ferguson television receiver, 20", black-and-white, 625-line, hybrid valve/transistor, Model 3821, manufactured 1979
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
1954
Murphy 14-inch Band I/Band III television receiver, Model V240, made by Murphy Radio Limited, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, 1954
1927
Two-valve, short wave radio - telephonic receiver, made for the Science Museum by Frederick H Walker, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 1927
1922-1925
Three-valve receiver used in a Derbyshire colliery test, unknown maker, Derby, England, 1922-1925. Ref. Wireless World 2/12/22 p.314
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
1963
Set of Knochenhauer spirals, replica of originals in Deutsches Museum, made by the Science Museum, South Kensington, London, England1963.
1965
Portable "Spinney" transistor radio by Perdio Radio Co., England, 1965.
Home made 30-line televisor, made by Robert Albert Lampitt, Wolverhampton, England, 1934.
1924-1927
Primax loud speaker (sectioned), made by the Sterling Telephone and Electric Company Limited, Dagenham, London, England, 1924-1927
1926
Television receiving apparatus, made by John Logie Baird, British, 1926. Used by Baird in the demonstration given by him to members of the Royal Institution and others on 27 January 1926.
1865-1875
Hughes microphone detector, probably made by David Edward Hughes, London, England, 1865-1875
1870-1923
Righi pattern oil-bath oscillator, made by John J Griffin & Sons Ltd, c. 1910
1960-1961
Philips personal transistor receiver, Model L1G30T, probably made in the Netherlands or United Kingdom, 1960-1961.
1944-1945
Wartime civilian receiver A.C.mains type, Wartime Joint Enterprise, British, 1944-1945
1963-1965
One Pye Bantam radio telephone set, labelled as 'Museum A', made by Pye Telecommunication Limited, Cambridge, England, 1963-1965
1920-1930
Low power transportable radio transmitter in teak case, complete with hand-driven generator, made by G E Mortley-Sprague and Company, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, 1920-1930
1934-1940
Two albums of cigarette cards showing early British radio performers, "Radio Celebrities" and "Radio Celebrities Second Series", manufactured by Imperial Tobacco and distributed under the brand name W D and H O Wills and Company, probably Bristol, 1934-1940
1899
Experimental transmitting ‘jigger’ or oscillation transformer used by the Marconi Company, probably made by Marconi's Wireless Telegraphy Company, Chelmsford, Essex, England, 1899
One pair B.T.H. headphones, bearing B.B.C. insignia, c. 1923
1962-1967
Telstar maser assembly with magnet, made by Mullard Research Laboratories, Redhill, Surrey, England, 1962-1967
1927-1956
Part of Rugby transatlantic telephone transmitter, made by Standard Telephones and Cables, New Southgate, England, 1927
1951-1953
Reporter mobile radiophone type PTC 116, serial No. 6744, made by Pye Limited, Cambridge, England, 1951-1953
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.
1906-1916
Silicon crystal for wireless telegraphy, mounted in a locket, unknown maker, England, 1906-1916
CB antenna tuner 100TU27 from `Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
1928
Volume 1 number 1 of "Television" monthly magazine, "The Official Organ of the Television Society", published by Television Press Limited, British, March 1928.
1925-1935
Marconi-Reis transverse-current carbon microphone, invented by Georg Neumann, unknown maker, British, 1925-1935.
1894
Iron borings coherer (Branly type), probably made by Oliver Lodge, England, 1894. Mounted on wooden baseboard.
'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
Burndept 'Ethodyne' superheterodyne receiver, with two frame aerials, made by Burndept Limited, probably Blackheath, London, England, 1925
Ampex videotape recorder, type VR 1000A, serial number 329
Demonstration broadcast receiver, unsigned, United Kingdom, 1926
Microphone from `Oscar One' 27 MHz f.m. CB mobile/base radio transceiver, manufactured by South Midlands Communications Limited, Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, 1980-1983
1875-1880
Clockwork interruptor made and used by David Edward Hughes (1831-1900), England, c. 1879
