hore
radio got its start long before even those relics pictured were
introduced. For the younger readers, those of you born after 1975 or
so, those are monaural radios typically featuring:
A single
3-4" speaker
An On/off/volume
switch
AM-only
tuning!
In their day, though, everyone thought they were
every bit as hot as the latest advances in portable and Internet based
radio technology.
This will serve as a timely reminder that no matter how
sophisticated we think our appliances are today, in the near future we'll be
laughing at how cool we thought we were (and wishing we held on to some of that
"hot stuff" for the collectible value).
The
Jersey Shore played an important part in the early development of radio
broadcasting with many tests conducted from the higher elevations and towers
constructed through the region. The Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi achieved
the first successful transmission from land to sea in 1899 at the Twin Lights in
Highlands, NJ.
A pair of interesting CD references.
The
Tuckerton Wireless
was one of many other points used for both initial testing and ongoing transatlantic
broadcasting. It's reported that only the Eiffel Tower in France exceeded its
height at the time of construction. The large Belmar
Station, featuring two 300' towers, was one of the more important links in
the growing Marconi network and was located near the Camp Evans Technology Center in Wall Township.
Today,
many of the original structures at Camp Evans remain intact and plans are
underway for an educational center
on science and technology. Countless projects important to both advancing our
knowledge and capabilities in communication and the national security of the
country have been researched here. Coming up in the near future, in conjunction with the Planetary
Society, the camp will be involved in the next Mars Rover mission.
We've
come a long way since that first weak signal was sent over a century ago, but we
have so much further to go. Enjoy exploring the numerous pages the Information
Age organization has compiled about both Camp Evans and technology in
general.
Stations and
Programming
Just as when the first VCRs hit the
market and the demise of theaters was widely predicted, radio was expected to
die over 50 years ago when television arrived on the scene. Neither of these
events are likely to occur anytime soon.
Whether
delivered over the air waves to cars on the Garden State Parkway and boom boxes
on the beach, or via the internet; there is one unique feature not available
with the other media:
Radio doesn't require
your
undivided attention
to work
well.
In the Golden Age of
radio, during the middle part of the last century, one of the most popular
programming choices was the mystery theater genre, with the Shadow
one of most remembered of all. This style of broadcasting was still taking
place in limited markets through the 1970s as original content. Fortunately, many of
those older shows are now readily available on the Net through sites like the
Original Old-Time Radio.
Some notable
programming events from the past include:
The Hindenburg Disaster in
1937 at Lakehurst,
A War of the Worlds spoof
perpetrated by Orson Welles in 1938,
The D-Day Invasion announcement on
June 6, 1944.
Many shore area stations
have come and gone over the years; one long-time station that's still
broadcasting today is WJLK in Asbury Park, first established in the 1920s. Not
shore based, but popular throughout the state and heard as far away as Hawaii,
was WABC Radio 770 in NYC. Their switch from music to talk in 1982 was a sad day
for legions of fans, some of which revived the popular jingles of the day at MusicRadio77.
A visit there is sure to bring back some pleasant memories.
That switch by WABC was
prompted by the growing popularity and sound clarity of FM stations at the time,
leaving AM broadcasting to provide primarily talk and news, with music moving
almost exclusively to FM today. Rock and Roll is by far the most popular music choice
as reflected by the
shore stations
included in the Web resources.
The future will bring many
technological advances to our communication needs and the means of accessing
radio programming will certainly change with the times, but the medium will be
providing enjoyment to commuters and beach goers alike for many years to come.
hore
radio got its start long before even those relics pictured were
introduced. For the younger readers, those of you born after 1975 or
so, those are monaural radios typically featuring:
