Some time before the
nineteen-twenties began there already were
experimental radio
broadcasts in the United States. Westinghouse
began their own radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh in late 1920
and in 1921 Westinghouse produced their
first consumer radio: the Aeriola Junior,
a crystal receiver. The price of this set was
$25. In December 1921 the Aeriola Senior was
introduced: a
regenerative receiver with one valve that sold
for $69. This radio was more sensitive and made it possible to
receive more (distant) stations.
The early
version had silver coloured metal dials beneath
the knobs. This set was made in 1923 and has
black dials. The case is made of mahogany (in
the first models this was poplar); the
valve is a 11 bright emitter.
In 1922 the customer could also purchase
a matching two-tube amplifier, the Aeriola
Senior Amplifier, and loudspeaker,
so that single-user headphones could be placed
aside, and the whole family could listen at the
same time.
Two simple batteries,
1.5 Volts for the filament and 22.5 Volts for the
plates, a headset and an aerial + ground are
enough to operate the radio.
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