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The Bickersons

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Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves . Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to an antenna which radiates oscillating electrical energy, often characterized as a wave . They can be received by other antennas connected to a radio receiver ; this is the fundamental principle of radio communication. In addition to communication, radio is used for radar , radio navigation , remote control , remote sensing , and other applications.

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94-500: The Bickersons was a series of radio and television comedy sketches which began in 1946 on NBC radio . The show's married protagonists, portrayed by Don Ameche (later by Lew Parker ) and Frances Langford , spent nearly all their time together in a relentless verbal war. The Bickersons was created by Philip Rapp , the one-time Eddie Cantor writer who had also created the Fanny Brice skits (for The Ziegfeld Follies of

188-471: A directional antenna transmits radio waves in a beam in a particular direction, or receives waves from only one direction. Radio waves travel at the speed of light in vacuum and at slightly lower velocity in air. The other types of electromagnetic waves besides radio waves, infrared , visible light , ultraviolet , X-rays and gamma rays , can also carry information and be used for communication. The wide use of radio waves for telecommunication

282-471: A heart attack , prompted by the incident, persisted for decades. Occasionally, newspaper items mentioned the "late" Lee – even though he was performing at a dinner theater in the same city as one of the reporting newspapers. The incident also spawned rumors that Lee had been institutionalized after going insane on live television . In 1957, Lee hosted The Gumby Show , the original appearance of that clay animation character. In 1963, Lee attempted

376-418: A microphone , a video signal representing moving images from a video camera , or a digital signal consisting of a sequence of bits representing binary data from a computer. The modulation signal is applied to a radio transmitter . In the transmitter, an electronic oscillator generates an alternating current oscillating at a radio frequency , called the carrier wave because it serves to generate

470-497: A radar screen . Doppler radar can measure a moving object's velocity, by measuring the change in frequency of the return radio waves due to the Doppler effect . Radar sets mainly use high frequencies in the microwave bands, because these frequencies create strong reflections from objects the size of vehicles and can be focused into narrow beams with compact antennas. Parabolic (dish) antennas are widely used. In most radars

564-474: A " push to talk " button on their radio which switches off the receiver and switches on the transmitter. Or the radio link may be full duplex , a bidirectional link using two radio channels so both people can talk at the same time, as in a cell phone. One way, unidirectional radio transmission is called simplex . This is radio communication between a spacecraft and an Earth-based ground station, or another spacecraft. Communication with spacecraft involves

658-422: A 15-minute sitcom, Those Two . He returned on January 4, 1954, with The Pinky Lee Show , a children's show sponsored by Tootsie Roll . An Emmy-nominated afternoon children's program that spawned later imitators such as Pee-Wee's Playhouse , it was followed each day by the popular Howdy Doody Show . Lee opened each show with his trademark theme song, "Yoo Hoo, It's Me!": Yoo hoo, it's me, My name

752-532: A DVD with two episodes was released by Alpha Video . Lee returned to television in 1983, appearing on NBC's Yummy Awards, a mock awards show hosted by Ricky Schroder that honored the best children's TV programming of the year. Lee can be seen in films, including Lady of Burlesque , Earl Carroll Vanities , Pals of the Golden West , South of Caliente , and Blonde Ransom ; and Lee appeared on television shows, including Ed Sullivan 's Toast of

846-627: A Service Regulation specifying that "Radiotelegrams shall show in the preamble that the service is 'Radio ' ". The switch to radio in place of wireless took place slowly and unevenly in the English-speaking world. Lee de Forest helped popularize the new word in the United States—in early 1907, he founded the DeForest Radio Telephone Company, and his letter in the 22 June 1907 Electrical World about

940-412: A controller device control the actions of a remote device. The existence of radio waves was first proven by German physicist Heinrich Hertz on 11 November 1886. In the mid-1890s, building on techniques physicists were using to study electromagnetic waves, Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi developed the first apparatus for long-distance radio communication, sending a wireless Morse Code message to

1034-427: A fur coat to buy her bourbon-loving husband a portable bar; John—although a bourbon lover—had swapped his stock to buy Blanche a matching fur muffler. But the skit ends with the confession that, for all that they're each other's biggest pain in the rump, there really is a love between them. Jackie Gleason probably knew of that Christmas exchange or had also read the short story it was based on, O. Henry 's " The Gift of

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1128-421: A given bandwidth than analog modulation , by using data compression algorithms, which reduce redundancy in the data to be sent, and more efficient modulation. Other reasons for the transition is that digital modulation has greater noise immunity than analog, digital signal processing chips have more power and flexibility than analog circuits, and a wide variety of types of information can be transmitted using

1222-548: A government license, such as the general radiotelephone operator license in the US, obtained by taking a test demonstrating adequate technical and legal knowledge of safe radio operation. Exceptions to the above rules allow the unlicensed operation by the public of low power short-range transmitters in consumer products such as cell phones, cordless phones , wireless devices , walkie-talkies , citizens band radios , wireless microphones , garage door openers , and baby monitors . In

1316-417: A half-season, from September 1950 to February 1951. In this version, Lew Parker took the role of John Bickerson, as he would also do on radio a season later. The televised version did not work as well as the original skits. Langford did not appear to have the seamless anti-chemistry with Parker as she did with Ameche, and the show's persistent setting (always in the same bedroom) made the show less than ideal for

1410-485: A kind of running gag) with the telephone (thanks to his film portrayal of Alexander Graham Bell ), became a familiar television face as well as a well-respected film actor, enjoying a late-life popular revival through his roles in the 1983 film Trading Places and the 1985 film Cocoon . He died in 1993. With the Rapp family approval, an adapted version of The Bickersons was written for a comedy puppet show, Breakfast with

1504-587: A large economic cost, but it can also be life-threatening (for example, in the case of interference with emergency communications or air traffic control ). To prevent interference between different users, the emission of radio waves is strictly regulated by national laws, coordinated by an international body, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which allocates bands in the radio spectrum for different uses. Radio transmitters must be licensed by governments, under

1598-595: A metal conductor called an antenna . As they travel farther from the transmitting antenna, radio waves spread out so their signal strength ( intensity in watts per square meter) decreases (see Inverse-square law ), so radio transmissions can only be received within a limited range of the transmitter, the distance depending on the transmitter power, the antenna radiation pattern , receiver sensitivity, background noise level, and presence of obstructions between transmitter and receiver . An omnidirectional antenna transmits or receives radio waves in all directions, while

1692-427: A more limited information-carrying capacity and so work best with audio signals (speech and music), and the sound quality can be degraded by radio noise from natural and artificial sources. The shortwave bands have a greater potential range but are more subject to interference by distant stations and varying atmospheric conditions that affect reception. In the very high frequency band, greater than 30 megahertz,

1786-470: A primitive spark-gap transmitter . Experiments by Hertz and physicists Jagadish Chandra Bose , Oliver Lodge , Lord Rayleigh , and Augusto Righi , among others, showed that radio waves like light demonstrated reflection, refraction , diffraction , polarization , standing waves , and traveled at the same speed as light, confirming that both light and radio waves were electromagnetic waves, differing only in frequency. In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi developed

1880-420: A public audience. Analog audio is the earliest form of radio broadcast. AM broadcasting began around 1920. FM broadcasting was introduced in the late 1930s with improved fidelity . A broadcast radio receiver is called a radio . Most radios can receive both AM and FM. Television broadcasting is the transmission of moving images by radio, which consist of sequences of still images, which are displayed on

1974-459: A radio signal is usually concentrated in narrow frequency bands called sidebands ( SB ) just above and below the carrier frequency. The width in hertz of the frequency range that the radio signal occupies, the highest frequency minus the lowest frequency, is called its bandwidth ( BW ). For any given signal-to-noise ratio , an amount of bandwidth can carry the same amount of information ( data rate in bits per second) regardless of where in

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2068-489: A receiver that is typically colocated with the transmitter. In radio navigation systems such as GPS and VOR , a mobile navigation instrument receives radio signals from multiple navigational radio beacons whose position is known, and by precisely measuring the arrival time of the radio waves the receiver can calculate its position on Earth. In wireless radio remote control devices like drones , garage door openers , and keyless entry systems , radio signals transmitted from

2162-533: A recipient over a kilometer away in 1895, and the first transatlantic signal on 12 December 1901. The first commercial radio broadcast was transmitted on 2 November 1920, when the live returns of the Harding-Cox presidential election were broadcast by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, under the call sign KDKA . The emission of radio waves is regulated by law, coordinated by

2256-673: A reference to the radiotelegraph and radiotelegraphy . The use of radio as a standalone word dates back to at least 30 December 1904, when instructions issued by the British Post Office for transmitting telegrams specified that "The word 'Radio'... is sent in the Service Instructions." This practice was universally adopted, and the word "radio" introduced internationally, by the 1906 Berlin Radiotelegraphic Convention, which included

2350-607: A reference to the radio show and a play on the title of Orson Welles ' 1942 film The Magnificent Ambersons ). Ameche and Welles shared the same hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin , and at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the night of October 30, 1938, Welles made his legendary " War of the Worlds " radio broadcast on the CBS network while Ameche hosted The Chase and Sanborn Hour on the Red Network of NBC. The Bickersons can be heard in

2444-503: A return to kids' TV, hosting a local children's comedy program on KABC-TV in Los Angeles. This series was nationally syndicated for the 1964–65 TV seasons, but the program fell prey to creative interference from the show's producers and station management. Lee fought the interference, but his efforts were for naught. The Pinky Lee Kids TV Show went off the air after one season. One episode was released on DVD/VHS by Shokus Video, and

2538-446: A screen on a television receiver (a "television" or TV) along with a synchronized audio (sound) channel. Television ( video ) signals occupy a wider bandwidth than broadcast radio ( audio ) signals. Analog television , the original television technology, required 6 MHz, so the television frequency bands are divided into 6 MHz channels, now called "RF channels". The current television standard, introduced beginning in 2006,

2632-452: A sexual encounter, Father Mulcahy (who has walked into the room while the others are listening) is told that the conversation (and noises) being listened to are a radio program. He asks if it is an episode of The Bickersons ...until he realizes otherwise, and hastily leaves. In the Season 1 finale of NewsRadio , Dave and Lisa are called "the magnificent Bickersons" by Bill (at once

2726-441: A smaller bandwidth than the old analog channels, saving scarce radio spectrum space. Therefore, each of the 6 MHz analog RF channels now carries up to 7 DTV channels – these are called "virtual channels". Digital television receivers have different behavior in the presence of poor reception or noise than analog television, called the " digital cliff " effect. Unlike analog television, in which increasingly poor reception causes

2820-402: A staff member, continued their enthusiastic cheering and applause from the on-stage bleachers. After as much as ten seconds of writhing by the stricken Lee, the camera abruptly panned to the still-cheering audience. The following afternoons Pinky Lee was not present. This effectively ended his leading role on the show, which continued without him until June 9, 1956. Rumors that he had died of

2914-416: A television (video) signal has a greater data rate than an audio signal . The radio spectrum , the total range of radio frequencies that can be used for communication in a given area, is a limited resource. Each radio transmission occupies a portion of the total bandwidth available. Radio bandwidth is regarded as an economic good which has a monetary cost and is in increasing demand. In some parts of

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3008-400: A transmitter to a receiver, by modulating the radio signal (impressing an information signal on the radio wave by varying some aspect of the wave) in the transmitter. In radar, used to locate and track objects like aircraft, ships, spacecraft and missiles, a beam of radio waves emitted by a radar transmitter reflects off the target object, and the reflected waves reveal the object's location to

3102-652: A transmitter to control the actions of a device at a remote location. Remote control systems may also include telemetry channels in the other direction, used to transmit real-time information on the state of the device back to the control station. Uncrewed spacecraft are an example of remote-controlled machines, controlled by commands transmitted by satellite ground stations . Most handheld remote controls used to control consumer electronics products like televisions or DVD players actually operate by infrared light rather than radio waves, so are not examples of radio remote control. A security concern with remote control systems

3196-435: A variety of license classes depending on use, and are restricted to certain frequencies and power levels. In some classes, such as radio and television broadcasting stations, the transmitter is given a unique identifier consisting of a string of letters and numbers called a call sign , which must be used in all transmissions. In order to adjust, maintain, or internally repair radiotelephone transmitters, individuals must hold

3290-423: A whole bathtubful of rice. What happened to it? J: I took a bath in it. B: Why didn't you eat it? J: I've told you a million times I can't stand the sight of rice. B: Why not? J: Because it's connected to the saddest mistake of my life. Though they spent their allotted time together at each other's throats, assuming always that the shrewish Blanche could awaken John from his snoring, there were moments when

3384-413: Is amplified in the transmitter and applied to a transmitting antenna which radiates the energy as radio waves. The radio waves carry the information to the receiver location. At the receiver, the radio wave induces a tiny oscillating voltage in the receiving antenna which is a weaker replica of the current in the transmitting antenna. This voltage is applied to the radio receiver , which amplifies

3478-703: Is spoofing , in which an unauthorized person transmits an imitation of the control signal to take control of the device. Examples of radio remote control: Radio jamming is the deliberate radiation of radio signals designed to interfere with the reception of other radio signals. Jamming devices are called "signal suppressors" or "interference generators" or just jammers. During wartime, militaries use jamming to interfere with enemies' tactical radio communication. Since radio waves can pass beyond national borders, some totalitarian countries which practice censorship use jamming to prevent their citizens from listening to broadcasts from radio stations in other countries. Jamming

3572-551: Is Pinky Lee. I skip and run bring lots of fun To every he and she. It's plain to see That you can tell it's me With my checkered hat And my checkered coat, The funny giggle in my throat And my silly dance Like a billy goat. Put 'em all together, Put 'em all together, And it's whooooo? (Audience): PINKY!!!!! Others in the cast: Betty Jane Howarth, Jimmy Brown, Molly Bee , Jack McCoy, Mel Koontz, Cindy Sue, Susabelle, Ken Mayer, Isabel Dwan, Sidney Fields , Margie Lizst, Milton Newberger and Jymme Shore. Adding to

3666-445: Is a digital format called high-definition television (HDTV), which transmits pictures at higher resolution, typically 1080 pixels high by 1920 pixels wide, at a rate of 25 or 30 frames per second. Digital television (DTV) transmission systems, which replaced older analog television in a transition beginning in 2006, use image compression and high-efficiency digital modulation such as OFDM and 8VSB to transmit HDTV video within

3760-433: Is an audio transceiver , a receiver and transmitter in the same device, used for bidirectional person-to-person voice communication with other users with similar radios. An older term for this mode of communication is radiotelephony . The radio link may be half-duplex , as in a walkie-talkie , using a single radio channel in which only one radio can transmit at a time, so different users take turns talking, pressing

3854-410: Is called "tuning". The oscillating radio signal from the desired station causes the tuned circuit to resonate , oscillate in sympathy, and it passes the signal on to the rest of the receiver. Radio signals at other frequencies are blocked by the tuned circuit and not passed on. A modulated radio wave, carrying an information signal, occupies a range of frequencies . The information ( modulation ) in

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3948-427: Is called an uplink , while a link that transmits data from the spacecraft to the ground is called a downlink. Radar is a radiolocation method used to locate and track aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, ships, vehicles, and also to map weather patterns and terrain. A radar set consists of a transmitter and receiver. The transmitter emits a narrow beam of radio waves which is swept around the surrounding space. When

4042-565: Is in radio clocks and watches, which include an automated receiver that periodically (usually weekly) receives and decodes the time signal and resets the watch's internal quartz clock to the correct time, thus allowing a small watch or desk clock to have the same accuracy as an atomic clock. Government time stations are declining in number because GPS satellites and the Internet Network Time Protocol (NTP) provide equally accurate time standards. A two-way radio

4136-417: Is mainly due to their desirable propagation properties stemming from their longer wavelength. In radio communication systems, information is carried across space using radio waves. At the sending end, the information to be sent is converted by some type of transducer to a time-varying electrical signal called the modulation signal. The modulation signal may be an audio signal representing sound from

4230-524: Is the one-way transmission of information from a transmitter to receivers belonging to a public audience. Since the radio waves become weaker with distance, a broadcasting station can only be received within a limited distance of its transmitter. Systems that broadcast from satellites can generally be received over an entire country or continent. Older terrestrial radio and television are paid for by commercial advertising or governments. In subscription systems like satellite television and satellite radio

4324-534: Is usually accomplished by a powerful transmitter which generates noise on the same frequency as the target transmitter. US Federal law prohibits the nonmilitary operation or sale of any type of jamming devices, including ones that interfere with GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi and police radars. ELF 3 Hz/100 Mm 30 Hz/10 Mm SLF 30 Hz/10 Mm 300 Hz/1 Mm ULF 300 Hz/1 Mm 3 kHz/100 km Pinky Lee Pincus Leff (May 2, 1907 – April 3, 1993), better known as Pinky Lee ,

4418-595: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which allocates frequency bands in the radio spectrum for various uses. The word radio is derived from the Latin word radius , meaning "spoke of a wheel, beam of light, ray". It was first applied to communications in 1881 when, at the suggestion of French scientist Ernest Mercadier  [ fr ] , Alexander Graham Bell adopted radiophone (meaning "radiated sound") as an alternate name for his photophone optical transmission system. Following Hertz's discovery of

4512-504: The ionosphere without refraction , and at microwave frequencies the high-gain antennas needed to focus the radio energy into a narrow beam pointed at the receiver are small and take up a minimum of space in a satellite. Portions of the UHF , L , C , S , k u and k a band are allocated for space communication. A radio link that transmits data from the Earth's surface to a spacecraft

4606-400: The radio spectrum into 12 bands, each beginning at a wavelength which is a power of ten (10 ) metres, with corresponding frequency of 3 times a power of ten, and each covering a decade of frequency or wavelength. Each of these bands has a traditional name: It can be seen that the bandwidth , the range of frequencies, contained in each band is not equal but increases exponentially as

4700-531: The 1920s with the introduction of broadcasting. Electromagnetic waves were predicted by James Clerk Maxwell in his 1873 theory of electromagnetism , now called Maxwell's equations , who proposed that a coupled oscillating electric field and magnetic field could travel through space as a wave, and proposed that light consisted of electromagnetic waves of short wavelength . On 11 November 1886, German physicist Heinrich Hertz , attempting to confirm Maxwell's theory, first observed radio waves he generated using

4794-551: The Air and Maxwell House Coffee Time ) that grew into radio's Baby Snooks . Several years after the latter established itself as a long-running favorite, Rapp developed and presented John and Blanche Bickerson, first as a 15-minute situational sketch as part of the 1946 half-hour radio program Drene Time , then as a short sketch on The Old Gold Show and later, on The Chase and Sanborn Hour (the show that made stars of Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy ). Drene Time

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4888-543: The B.F. Keith vaudeville circuit throughout the Mid-West and East. In early 1926, he left the act to pursue his career as Pinky Lee on stage and in film and television. He worked as a comic of the "baggy pants" variety on stage, becoming an expert at slapstick , comic dancing, and rapid-fire jokes of the burlesque style. During the 1940s, he was heard on Drene Time and other radio programs. Easily recognized by his trademark lisp and high-energy antics, his signature costume

4982-482: The Bickersons , premiering at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe . The show was adapted and directed by British comedian Jeremy Engler. Satsuma & Pumpkin starred Bob Monkhouse OBE, and was also his very last work before he died. Monkhouse was a big fan of The Bickersons and The Baby Snooks Show . In the movie MASH , when Radar O'Reilly bugs Margaret Houlihan 's tent as she and Frank Burns have

5076-474: The Earth's atmosphere has less of an effect on the range of signals, and line-of-sight propagation becomes the principal mode. These higher frequencies permit the great bandwidth required for television broadcasting. Since natural and artificial noise sources are less present at these frequencies, high-quality audio transmission is possible, using frequency modulation . Radio broadcasting means transmission of audio (sound) to radio receivers belonging to

5170-455: The Magi ." A " classic 39 " Christmas episode of The Honeymooners involved blustery bus driver Ralph hocking his brand-new bowling ball in a mad dash to get Alice a last-minute Christmas gift, only to learn the hard way that Alice had bought him a stylish new bowling ball bag. The Bickersons had at least two television runs. The first was as a segment on Star Time , which ran on Dumont for

5264-685: The Town . Lee also appeared in regional theatres throughout the U.S. in Sugar Babies and other shows in the late 1980s. Lee was married to Bebe (née Beatrice Dancis), with whom he had two children, Patricia Bonnie Lee and Morgan David Lee. Lee's brother-in-law was well-known Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al Sherman . Lee was also the uncle of the Sherman Brothers , Robert and Richard , with whom he also worked from time to time in

5358-596: The US, these fall under Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Many of these devices use the ISM bands , a series of frequency bands throughout the radio spectrum reserved for unlicensed use. Although they can be operated without a license, like all radio equipment these devices generally must be type-approved before the sale. Below are some of the most important uses of radio, organized by function. Broadcasting

5452-475: The accusation that he doesn't love her. Her aim appears to be to drive her husband crazy and she succeeds very nicely. The harassed John's only weapon is insult, at which he's pretty good. As transcribed by John Crosby in his May 1948 column, this was a typical Bickersons exchange: B: You used to be so considerate. Since you got married to me you haven't got any sympathy at all. J: I have, too. I've got everybody's sympathy. B: Believe me, there's better fish in

5546-405: The air simultaneously without interfering with each other because each transmitter's radio waves oscillate at a different rate, in other words, each transmitter has a different frequency , measured in hertz (Hz), kilohertz (kHz), megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). The receiving antenna typically picks up the radio signals of many transmitters. The receiver uses tuned circuits to select

5640-414: The beam strikes a target object, radio waves are reflected back to the receiver. The direction of the beam reveals the object's location. Since radio waves travel at a constant speed close to the speed of light , by measuring the brief time delay between the outgoing pulse and the received "echo", the range to the target can be calculated. The targets are often displayed graphically on a map display called

5734-668: The continuous waves which were needed for audio modulation , so radio was used for person-to-person commercial, diplomatic and military text messaging. Starting around 1908 industrial countries built worldwide networks of powerful transoceanic transmitters to exchange telegram traffic between continents and communicate with their colonies and naval fleets. During World War I the development of continuous wave radio transmitters, rectifying electrolytic, and crystal radio receiver detectors enabled amplitude modulation (AM) radiotelephony to be achieved by Reginald Fessenden and others, allowing audio to be transmitted. On 2 November 1920,

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5828-482: The couple showed an uncommon tenderness to each other—particularly in a Christmas skit. (It should have been hinted at the outset by Marvin Miller's atypical introduction: "The Bickersons—have not retired.") After arguing over whether John had sent Blanche a Christmas card (he had, it was buried in a stack of newspapers), they exchanged their gifts to each other... with a twist. Tight in the pocketbook, Blanche had swapped

5922-423: The couple their nickname, "The Bickering Bickersons"): Blanche... is one of the monstrous shrews of all time. She makes her husband... take two jobs, a total of 16 working hours, in order to bring in more money which she squanders on minks and the stock market. Meanwhile, he can't afford a new pair of shoes and goes around with his feet painted black. In the few hours he has to sleep, she heckles him all night with

6016-466: The customer pays a monthly fee. In these systems, the radio signal is encrypted and can only be decrypted by the receiver, which is controlled by the company and can be deactivated if the customer does not pay. Broadcasting uses several parts of the radio spectrum, depending on the type of signals transmitted and the desired target audience. Longwave and medium wave signals can give reliable coverage of areas several hundred kilometers across, but have

6110-570: The existence of radio waves in 1886, the term Hertzian waves was initially used for this radiation. The first practical radio communication systems, developed by Marconi in 1894–1895, transmitted telegraph signals by radio waves, so radio communication was first called wireless telegraphy . Up until about 1910 the term wireless telegraphy also included a variety of other experimental systems for transmitting telegraph signals without wires, including electrostatic induction , electromagnetic induction and aquatic and earth conduction , so there

6204-413: The first commercial radio broadcast was transmitted by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, under the call sign KDKA featuring live coverage of the Harding-Cox presidential election . Radio waves are radiated by electric charges undergoing acceleration . They are generated artificially by time-varying electric currents , consisting of electrons flowing back and forth in

6298-592: The first radio communication system, using a spark-gap transmitter to send Morse code over long distances. By December 1901, he had transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean. Marconi and Karl Ferdinand Braun shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy". During radio's first two decades, called the radiotelegraphy era, the primitive radio transmitters could only transmit pulses of radio waves, not

6392-618: The frequency increases; each band contains ten times the bandwidth of the preceding band. The term "tremendously low frequency" (TLF) has been used for wavelengths from 1–3 Hz (300,000–100,000 km), though the term has not been defined by the ITU. The airwaves are a resource shared by many users. Two radio transmitters in the same area that attempt to transmit on the same frequency will interfere with each other, causing garbled reception, so neither transmission may be received clearly. Interference with radio transmissions can not only have

6486-402: The longest transmission distances of any radio links, up to billions of kilometers for interplanetary spacecraft . In order to receive the weak signals from distant spacecraft, satellite ground stations use large parabolic "dish" antennas up to 25 metres (82 ft) in diameter and extremely sensitive receivers. High frequencies in the microwave band are used, since microwaves pass through

6580-472: The need for legal restrictions warned that "Radio chaos will certainly be the result until such stringent regulation is enforced." The United States Navy would also play a role. Although its translation of the 1906 Berlin Convention used the terms wireless telegraph and wireless telegram , by 1912 it began to promote the use of radio instead. The term started to become preferred by the general public in

6674-521: The ocean than the one I caught. J: There's better bait, too. B: I don't see how you can go to bed without kissing me good night. J: I can do it. B: You'd better say you're sorry for that, John. J: Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. B: You are not. J: I am too. I'm the sorriest man that was ever born. and... B: Is there any milk for breakfast? J: No. B: Then you'll have to eat out. J: I don't care, I've been doing it all week. B: What for? I left you enough food for six days. I cooked

6768-505: The picture quality to gradually degrade, in digital television picture quality is not affected by poor reception until, at a certain point, the receiver stops working and the screen goes black. Government standard frequency and time signal services operate time radio stations which continuously broadcast extremely accurate time signals produced by atomic clocks , as a reference to synchronize other clocks. Examples are BPC , DCF77 , JJY , MSF , RTZ , TDF , WWV , and YVTO . One use

6862-451: The radio frequency spectrum it is located, so bandwidth is a measure of information-carrying capacity . The bandwidth required by a radio transmission depends on the data rate of the information (modulation signal) being sent, and the spectral efficiency of the modulation method used; how much data it can transmit in each kilohertz of bandwidth. Different types of information signals carried by radio have different data rates. For example,

6956-409: The radio signal desired out of all the signals picked up by the antenna and reject the others. A tuned circuit (also called resonant circuit or tank circuit) acts like a resonator , similar to a tuning fork . It has a natural resonant frequency at which it oscillates. The resonant frequency of the receiver's tuned circuit is adjusted by the user to the frequency of the desired radio station; this

7050-451: The radio spectrum, the right to use a frequency band or even a single radio channel is bought and sold for millions of dollars. So there is an incentive to employ technology to minimize the bandwidth used by radio services. A slow transition from analog to digital radio transmission technologies began in the late 1990s. Part of the reason for this is that digital modulation can often transmit more information (a greater data rate) in

7144-456: The radio waves that carry the information through the air. The modulation signal is used to modulate the carrier, varying some aspect of the carrier wave, impressing the information in the modulation signal onto the carrier. Different radio systems use different modulation methods: Many other types of modulation are also used. In some types, a carrier wave is not transmitted but just one or both modulation sidebands . The modulated carrier

7238-444: The role of John Bickerson, as he had done on television a season earlier (see below). Premiering as a summer season replacement, the CBS radio version of The Bickersons lasted only 13 episodes. The typical Miller introduction would set the scene: The Bickersons... have retired. Three o'clock in the morning finds Mrs. Bickerson wide awake and anxious, as poor husband John, victim of contagious insomnia, or Schmoe's Disease, broadcasts

7332-481: The same digital modulation. Because it is a fixed resource which is in demand by an increasing number of users, the radio spectrum has become increasingly congested in recent decades, and the need to use it more effectively is driving many additional radio innovations such as trunked radio systems , spread spectrum (ultra-wideband) transmission, frequency reuse , dynamic spectrum management , frequency pooling, and cognitive radio . The ITU arbitrarily divides

7426-496: The show's bounce and style was its musical director and master organist Gaylord Carter , who underscored every moment with appropriate accompaniment. On September 20, 1955, Lee collapsed on camera during a live show due to illness. His normal antics were so energetic that apparently the cameraman and the show's director assumed the fall an ad lib part of his performance. The "Peanut Gallery", an audience usually composed almost entirely of pre-adolescent children who were coached by

7520-401: The tables on Blanche by trying to provoke her (using the "you'll say it, but you won't do it!" spiel) into buying him a race-horse after she took his money and squandered it on a bookie. Rounding out the cast was future children's television favorite Pinky Lee in occasional supporting roles. As New York Herald Tribune critic John Crosby described them (in his May 1948 column which gave

7614-535: The telltale signs of the dreaded affliction. Listen... The listener heard a chorus of low-roaring snoring, punctuated occasionally with something that sounded like laughing mixed with crying. Blanche would awaken John, even at three in the morning, and the feuding would continue with their trademark arguments about John's jobs, Blanche's domestic abilities, Blanche's continual wasteful spending of his money; John's alleged eye for neighbor Gloria Gooseby, Blanche's shiftless brother Amos (played by Thomas, whose real given name

7708-420: The time), Bob Cummings and Johnny Mathis . But neither did the twosome abandon the characters that made them famous as a comedy team in the first place: Columbia Records eventually released long-playing albums— The Bickersons , The Bickersons Fight Back , and The Bickersons Rematch —that featured newly recorded performances of Rapp's adapted radio scripts by Ameche and Langford as John and Blanche. Rematch

7802-431: The transmitting antenna also serves as the receiving antenna; this is called a monostatic radar . A radar which uses separate transmitting and receiving antennas is called a bistatic radar . Radiolocation is a generic term covering a variety of techniques that use radio waves to find the location of objects, or for navigation. Radio remote control is the use of electronic control signals sent by radio waves from

7896-742: The video game L.A. Noire , playing on the radio during driving sequences. The Bickersons inspired The Honeymooners and other television shows about couples. In episode 11 of season 6 of Better Call Saul , Saul Goodman says to Walter White and Jesse Pinkman "Fellas, I was enjoying the Laurel & Hardy vibe, but I'm not such a fan of The Bickersons !" in response to White and Pinkman arguing with each other. Radio In radio communication , used in radio and television broadcasting , cell phones, two-way radios , wireless networking , and satellite communication , among numerous other uses, radio waves are used to carry information across space from

7990-416: The visual medium. Ameche and Langford later co-hosted a daytime variety series, The Frances Langford–Don Ameche Show , in 1951–1952, which featured among the few regular performers a very young Jack Lemmon , as a newlywed in a sketch series known as "The Couple Next Door". When Langford hosted a variety special in 1960, Ameche appeared along with The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita at

8084-510: The weak radio signal so it is stronger, then demodulates it, extracting the original modulation signal from the modulated carrier wave. The modulation signal is converted by a transducer back to a human-usable form: an audio signal is converted to sound waves by a loudspeaker or earphones, a video signal is converted to images by a display , while a digital signal is applied to a computer or microprocessor, which interacts with human users. The radio waves from many transmitters pass through

8178-567: Was Amos), her other family members (notably her sister, Clara) or John's taste for bourbon. Sometimes, they would go off on random rants about various scenarios. Blanche usually moaning about not having children, and, after unloading on him about how miserable life would be for a child in that house, would accuse John of not feeding their non-existent baby (after calling him an unsympathetic unfeeling wretch), or John ranting about Blanche marrying someone else (usually their tightwad physician, Dr. Hersey) and him living off of his money, usually after John

8272-420: Was a loud plaid suit with baggy checkered pants and an undersized hat. During his routines, whenever anybody irritated him (which happened frequently) he would unleash his catchphrase : "Oooooh! You make me so mad!" In 1950, he had his own 30-minute primetime variety television series on NBC, The Pinky Lee Show , featuring vaudevillians and burlesque comics. In 1951–52 he starred with Vivian Blaine in

8366-598: Was a need for a more precise term referring exclusively to electromagnetic radiation. The French physicist Édouard Branly , who in 1890 developed the radio wave detecting coherer , called it in French a radio-conducteur . The radio- prefix was later used to form additional descriptive compound and hyphenated words, especially in Europe. For example, in early 1898 the British publication The Practical Engineer included

8460-544: Was a variety show starring Don Ameche and singer-actress Frances Langford as co-hosts, airing on NBC and sponsored by Drene Shampoo. Announcing the show—and later familiar to television viewers as The Millionaire ' s presenter and executive secretary, Michael Anthony—was Marvin Miller . Drene Time typically opened with Langford singing a big band-style arrangement before Ameche and Langford would slip into routine comedy, often aided by co-star Danny Thomas , in routines that often expressed Ameche's frustration that Thomas

8554-492: Was an American actor. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota , Lee began his career as Pincus Leff in vaudeville in the 1920s. In January 1925, he was hired by Betty Felsen to be a dancer in the acclaimed Boderick & Felsen vaudeville dancing act. Pincus Leff soon became a featured tap dancer in the act and was often mentioned in advertisements, notices, and reviews. He was part of the act throughout 1925 during its headline tour on

8648-506: Was more interested in modern technology and discoveries than in women. After another musical number and a commercial spot for Drene Shampoo, Miller would announce Ameche and Langford as the Bickersons, "in 'The Honeymoon's Over' " , for the final 15 minutes of the show. A stand-alone The Bickersons half-hour radio series then ran on CBS radio for a short time in summer 1951. In that version, Lew Parker (later familiar as That Girl ' s harried, slightly overbearing father Lew Marie) took

8742-415: Was taunted into making out a will. During their spats, Blanche would often try to force John to do something that normally wouldn't be done at such an early morning hour, such as the aforementioned will; going to Dr. Hersey's office to cure his snoring; or getting re-married. She usually taunted him into these actions, by saying, "You'll say it, but you won't do it. Do it now!" In fairness, John once turned

8836-448: Was the two LPs reissued in a gatefold jacket as a two record set. A beautiful woman with a honey voice who used sheer talent to turn herself into the venomous Blanche Bickerson, Frances Langford enjoyed a fine career as a singer and actress in film (including a memorable cameo in the otherwise stylised The Glenn Miller Story ) and television, as well as radio; she died July 11, 2005. Don Ameche, whose name sometimes became synonymous (and

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