Frank Conrad
Encyclopedia
Frank Conrad was a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
pioneer who worked as the Assistant Chief Engineer for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,. He began what are considered the first regular radio broadcasts from his Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States adjacent to the city of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,930 at the 2010 census, having lost more than 13,000 in the 70 years since 1940, when 29,853 people were enumerated...
, garage in 1916, and is responsible for the founding of the first licensed broadcast station in the world: KDKA
KDKA (AM)
KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in...
.
Early life
Frank was born May 4, 1874 in Pittsburgh as the son of a railroad mechanicMechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
. He quit school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
in the 7th grade, never returning to formal schooling again, and went to work for Westinghouse at age 16. At 23 he began working in the Westinghouse Testing Department, where he developed such inventions as the watt•hour meter. Conrad was awarded more than 200 patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s throughout his life.
Early radio experiments
Conrad first became interested in radio in 1912 when, in order to settle a bet on the accuracy of a watch, Conrad built a radio in order to hear time signals from the Arlington, Virginia Naval Observatory. He then constructed, in his garage, a new transmitterTransmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
, licensed in 1916 as 8XK, whose signal could be heard throughout the Pittsburgh area. In response to popular demand, Conrad began broadcasting for two hours each Wednesday and Saturday night. When all civilian amateur radio operations ceased in 1917, Conrad began using his radio for military purposes during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Frank Conrad's broadcasts were attended by an increasing number of amateurs who would frequently call Conrad wanting to know when the
next broadcast would be. According to S. M. Kintner, later head of Westinghouse and one of Conrad's early colleagues: "Finally these amateurs called up Conrad on the telephone so frequently and at such inconvenient times that he established regular times when he would operate his station. This generally was Wednesday and Saturday nights. The information regarding these concerts of Conrads' was gradually passed by word of mouth until quite a number knew of it."
Conrad resumed his amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
broadcasts in October 1919. Most of the content of these early broadcasts was music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
: Conrad's sons and niece were talented musicians and Conrad played numerous songs from his record collection. He soon ran out of records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, however, and struck a deal with a local music store: if the store would supply him with records, he would give the store on-air promotions. This exchange is arguably the first broadcast commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
in airwave history. He has also been called the first DJ in history.
There are also reports of football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
scores reported, as well as some talk programming. The vice-president of Westinghouse soon saw an ad in the newspaper for a toy store
Toy store
A toy store or toy shop is a retail business specializing in selling toys. No longer held to the limitations of a physical outlet, many toy shops now do business over the Internet. Many department stores have toy sections.-External links:...
advertising radio sets that could receive Conrad's broadcasts. He saw the potential for mass communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
that radio offered, and Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
began manufacturing radio receivers
Receiver (radio)
A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
.
KDKA
Westinghouse applied for a callsign in mid-October, 1920. The callsign arrived just in time for the November 2, 1920, election, and the radio station KDKAKDKA (AM)
KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in...
was born.
The original station was a shack on top of a Westinghouse building in East Pittsburgh. Conrad was not there to witness the historical broadcast, however; worried that the station might go down, he was sitting in his Wilkinsburg garage with his own transmitter as a backup.
Later life
After the great success of KDKA, Conrad turned his attention to the world of shortwave radio. In 1928, Frank Conrad demonstrated a movie-film-to-television converter at Westinghouse. He also received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
that year.
Conrad received numerous awards for his pioneering work, most notably the Edison Medal from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
American Institute of Electrical Engineers
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was a United States based organization of electrical engineers that existed between 1884 and 1963, when it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers .- History :The 1884 founders of the...
, now IEEE, in 1930.
He retired from Westinghouse in 1940, and died while on vacation, December 11, 1941, four days after Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.