Marion Armstrong Presents the First Portable Superheterodyne Radio Receiver to Henry Ford Museum, September 22, 1967

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Artifact Overview

This photograph shows the first portable superheterodyne radio receiver, designed by Edwin Armstrong. Superheterodying was a major communications discovery made by Armstrong. High and low frequencies were mixed to produce powerful, selective radio waves. Following his untimely death, Edwin's wife Marion Armstrong continued to preserve his legacy; she donated this radio to The Henry Ford museum in 1967.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Negative (Photograph)

Date Made

22 September 1967

Subject Date

22 September 1967

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

EI.1929.N.B.47446

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 4 in
Width: 5 in

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    First Portable Superheterodyne Radio Receiver, Made by Edwin Howard Armstrong, 1923

    Edwin H. Armstrong was a pioneer of radio engineering, credited as the inventor of FM radio. In 1918 he filed a patent for the superheterodyne radio circuit. This technology increased the sensitivity and selectivity of radio receivers. The radio depicted is the first portable superheterodyne radio receiver ever made. Armstrong gave it to his wife, Marion, on their 1923 honeymoon.
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