The development of the domestic radio receiver

The domestic 'wireless set' was the earliest item of electronic equipment to enter the home. Although clumsy and primitive by modern standards, these sets were in effect the test beds upon which much of todays giant electronic industry is based. The period covered will be from the early 1920s when the first sets were sold to the public, to the end of the valve radio era in the late 1950s. Since the subject is a large one, only developments in this country will be covered. However it is fair to say that British innovation in this field was at least as advanced as its American and Continental counterparts.