Those batteries might be available only by mail order or from a dealer miles or even days away.īeginning with the market crash of 1929, and the depression that followed, the price of radios declined. For most though, the budget of the rural American, mostly farmers or agricultural workers, could not afford the relatively expensive and short-lived batteries. So why didn't rural Americans simply buy and operate battery powered radios? The truth is that some did. In the mid 1930s, newer tube technology and more efficient batteries allowed for portable, relatively light weight battery radios.
#Smallest transistor radios of 1930 series#
If you've been following my series of articles, you already know that the earliest of radios were powered by batteries. Prior to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, part of Roosevelt's New Deal programs to spur recovery from the Great Depression, only ten percent of rural America had electricity, compared with 90 percent of urban populations at the time. Radios require electricity, and that is where the problem occurred. Receiving those signals, however, would prove to be a challenge for rural and isolated populations. Radio waves don't limit themselves to urban centers, and they don't stop at the town, county, or state line. Getting radio signals to rural and remote parts of the country would not be a problem. The emphasis is on the importance of making internet access available to all Americans.įrom the beginning of broadcast radio, the sheer novelty of the new technology, as well as the soon to be found value in news and entertainment programs, made radio attractive and desirable to the masses. Government, or initiatives taken by private industry to bring internet service to rural and remote parts of the country. In this day and age, we often hear of various programs, either sponsored or encouraged by the U.S.
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