FIRST Ship-to-shore radio broadcast - Put-in-Bay, OH
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 41° 39.249 W 082° 48.949
17T E 348803 N 4612970
Broadcasting from the yacht ‘Thelma,’ Lee de Forest provided folks on shore with real-time updates on the Inter-Lakes Yachting Assoc. Regatta for the first time in 1907.
Waymark Code: WM19Y62
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 05/08/2024
Views: 1
Ohio - a state known for several aviation firsts - is also the site of a radio first: the first ship-to-shore audio broadcast. Ever since Heinrich Hertz demonstrated the propagation of electromagnetic waves, in accordance with the theories of James Clerk Maxwell, in the late nineteenth century, advancements in “wireless” communications technology began to happen at a rapid pace. One of those was the invention of the vacuum tube “audion” by Lee de Forest in 1906. Capable of amplification and high-speed switching of electrical signals, the vacuum tube became the backbone of electronic devices until the invention of the transistor in 1947 ushered in the solid-state era.
Apparently, providing up-to-the-minute reports on yacht racing was an early objective of “wireless” communication. In 1901, de Forest, Marconi and the American Wireless Telephone and Telegraph Company were all on hand in New York to provide real-time results for an International Yacht race. Since tuning of radio transmitters and receivers had not been invented yet, they all interfered with one another and, according to de Forest, the only wireless communication that day was done with semaphore flags.
By 1907 however, advancements such as continuous wave generators, de Forest’s own triad “audion” and amplitude modulation, allowed de Forest to successfully broadcast an audio signal from one of the yachts in that year’s Inter-Lake Yachting Association’s Regatta. The signal was picked up by a receiver on shore thus making Put-in-Bay the site of the first ship-to-shore radio broadcast.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
Date of FIRST: 07/18/1907
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|