Roy Alexander Weagant
Encyclopedia
Roy Alexander Weagant was a noted Canadian
-American
radio pioneer.
Weagant was born in Morrisburg, Ontario, and at age 4 moved to Derby Line, Vermont
. He attended preparatory school and college in Stanstead, Quebec
, then McGill University
, Montreal
, where he saw demonstrations by Sir Ernest Rutherford
, and from which he graduated with a BS degree in 1905. After graduation he worked in turn for the Montreal Light and Power Company, the Western Electric Company in New York City
and then Pittsburgh, the General Electric Company at West Lynn, Massachusetts, and in 1907 the DeLaval Steam Turbine Company at Trenton, New Jersey
.
When Reginald Fessenden
contracted with the company for a steam turbine, Weagant applied for a job, and from 1908-1915 worked at Fessenden's National Electric Signaling Company's station at Brant Rock, Massachusetts, working on the design of the 100-kilowatt spark transmitter for the United States Navy
's first high-power station at Arlington, Virginia.
In 1915, Weagant joined the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America
as a designer, and subsequently became its chief engineer. There he invented the first attempts to avoid infringement of Lee De Forest
's audion tube
, by means of a Fleming valve
with filament and plate. During World War I
, Weagant led design of much of the United States Navy's radio equipment.
In 1918 Weagant became famous for "eliminating" static
in radio transmissions, inventing the first successful system for reducing its effects, and from 1920-1924 was a consulting engineer at RCA
attempting to eliminating static, including a winter of 1921-22 in Bermuda which passed without success. However he did develop directional antenna
s and other devices that reduced static in transatlantic radio communications. He left RCA in 1924, joining with De Forest in research work, finally in 1925 retired to Lake Memphremagog
, Vermont
. He died in Sherbrooke, Quebec
; some of his papers are now archived in the Lemelson Center, Smithsonian Institution
.
Weagant served on the Institute of Radio Engineers
board in 1914, and was awarded its 1920 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio pioneer.
Weagant was born in Morrisburg, Ontario, and at age 4 moved to Derby Line, Vermont
Derby Line, Vermont
Derby Line is an incorporated village in the town of Derby in Orleans County, Vermont, United States, slightly north of the 45th parallel, the normal U.S.-Canadian boundary...
. He attended preparatory school and college in Stanstead, Quebec
Stanstead, Quebec
Stanstead is a town of about 3,000 people, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Québec. Stanstead is located on the Canada-United States border across from Derby Line, Vermont....
, then McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, where he saw demonstrations by Sir Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
, and from which he graduated with a BS degree in 1905. After graduation he worked in turn for the Montreal Light and Power Company, the Western Electric Company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and then Pittsburgh, the General Electric Company at West Lynn, Massachusetts, and in 1907 the DeLaval Steam Turbine Company at Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
.
When Reginald Fessenden
Reginald Fessenden
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden , a naturalized American citizen born in Canada, was an inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including early—and possibly the first—radio transmissions of voice and music...
contracted with the company for a steam turbine, Weagant applied for a job, and from 1908-1915 worked at Fessenden's National Electric Signaling Company's station at Brant Rock, Massachusetts, working on the design of the 100-kilowatt spark transmitter for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's first high-power station at Arlington, Virginia.
In 1915, Weagant joined the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
as a designer, and subsequently became its chief engineer. There he invented the first attempts to avoid infringement of Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
's audion tube
Audion tube
The Audion is an electronic amplifying vacuum tube invented by Lee De Forest in 1906. It was the forerunner of the triode, in which the current from the filament to the plate was controlled by a third element, the grid...
, by means of a Fleming valve
Fleming valve
The Fleming valve, also called the Fleming oscillation valve, was a vacuum tube diode invented by John Ambrose Fleming and used in the earliest days of radio communication...
with filament and plate. 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...
, Weagant led design of much of the United States Navy's radio equipment.
In 1918 Weagant became famous for "eliminating" static
Noise (radio)
In radio reception, noise is the superposition of white noise and other disturbing influences on the signal, caused either by thermal noise and other electronic noise from receiver input circuits or by interference from radiated electromagnetic noise picked up by the receiver's antenna...
in radio transmissions, inventing the first successful system for reducing its effects, and from 1920-1924 was a consulting engineer at RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
attempting to eliminating static, including a winter of 1921-22 in Bermuda which passed without success. However he did develop directional antenna
Directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources....
s and other devices that reduced static in transatlantic radio communications. He left RCA in 1924, joining with De Forest in research work, finally in 1925 retired to Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake is long with 73 percent of the lake's surface area in Quebec, where it drains into the Magog River. However, three-quarters of its watershed, , is in Vermont. The...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. He died in Sherbrooke, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
; some of his papers are now archived in the Lemelson Center, Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
Weagant served on the Institute of Radio Engineers
Institute of Radio Engineers
The Institute of Radio Engineers was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until January 1, 1963, when it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers .-Founding:Following several attempts to form a...
board in 1914, and was awarded its 1920 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award
IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award
The initially called Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers , the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award was created in 1919 in honor of Colonel Morris N. Liebmann. It was initially given to awardees who had "made public during the recent past an important...
.