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www.southgatearc.org
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The first word spoken on radio'Hello!' Not surprisingly, it was the first word to be heard over the radio some 100 years ago. From the time he was a young boy, Canadian Reginald Fessenden was fascinated with the idea of transmitting voice. Upon hearing his uncle describe Alexander Graham Bell's demonstration of the telephone, the 10 year-old reportedly asked, "Why do they need wires?" He then spent much of his life trying to figure it out. His early attempts at voice transmission were unintelligible. With government backing, Fessenden, and his assistant Thiessen, kept trying various improvements until they met with success. The first words transmitted via radio were "Hello! Test, 1, 2, 3, 4. Is it snowing where you are Mr. Thiessen?" Fessenden formed the National Electric Signalling Company with a pair of Pittsburgh millionaires as backers after his contract with the government ended, and began working with the United Fruit Company helping perfect their wireless communication between land stations and ships at sea. Working in secrecy, he planned a surprise for a 9 p.m. broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906. With the assistance of his wife and trusted employees, he scripted a programme of music and Bible readings. Shipboard operators had been tipped to listen for something special during the December 24 transmission, but no one could have anticipated what was planned. At the appointed hour, radio operators across the North Atlantic were surprised to hear voice coming from their radios, calling "CQ, CQ". It was Fessenden beginning the first "radio" program. After a brief introduction, Handel's "Largo" was played from an Edison wax cylinder phonograph, followed by the inventor playing "O, Holy Night" on his violin. The planned Bible reading by Mrs. Fessenden and his secretary had to be quickly covered by the inventor as the first reported cases of microphone fright and dead air occurred when both women froze. Source: The South African Radio League
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