Radio Transceiver
Production date
1929-1939
Country
Australia
State/Province
South Australia
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Object detail
Description
Radio transceiver and microphone with pedal operated generator. The transceiver is encased in a metal casing. Speaker, frequency and Voltage display windows in the centre of the transceiver with fifteen dials beneath.
Classification
AUDIO-VISUAL TECHNOLOGY Audio Appliances two way radio
Maker
Production date
1929-1939
Production place
Measurements
Radio: H 288 x W 586 x D 336mm weight 21.7 kg
Pedal: H 273 x W 525 x D 234mm weight 9.8 kg
Microphone: weight 0.2 kg
Pedal: H 273 x W 525 x D 234mm weight 9.8 kg
Microphone: weight 0.2 kg
Media/Materials description
Metal, bakelite, glass
Signature/Marks
[short wave frequencies for different areas of Australia] / F.D.S WIRELESS STATION / FLYING DOCTOR / DERVICE / [Royal Flying Doctor Service emblem] / AUSTRALIA / NATIONAL BROADCAST STATIONS / RECIEVER WAVELENGTH BAND SWITCH ON 3 / [frequencies] / TRAEGER TRANSCEIVER / 10...90 [frequencies]
TRANSCEIVER / No 484 TYPE 40 / MANUFACTURED BY / A.H TRAEGER / UNDER LICENCED OF / PHILIPS LAMPS AUSTRALIA LTD
0...3 [volts] / VOLTS D.C / MASTER INST'S PTY LTD MODEL R 212 / SYDNEY No A 22487
[15 other dials used to alter the volume, wavelengths etc]
TRANSCEIVER / No 484 TYPE 40 / MANUFACTURED BY / A.H TRAEGER / UNDER LICENCED OF / PHILIPS LAMPS AUSTRALIA LTD
0...3 [volts] / VOLTS D.C / MASTER INST'S PTY LTD MODEL R 212 / SYDNEY No A 22487
[15 other dials used to alter the volume, wavelengths etc]
History and use
This pedal radio was invented by Alfred Hermann Traeger (1895-1980), an engineer in the employ of the Royal Flying Doctor’s Service from 1926.
After an outback tour of duty, Traeger began work in Adelaide on a transceiver for the Flying Doctor network. The sets had to be cheap, durable, small and easy to operate. Using bicycle pedals to drive the generator, he found that a person could comfortably achieve 20 watts at a pressure of about 300 volts. His famous pedal wireless was actually a pedal-operated generator which provided power for a transceiver.
Once the first pedal sets had been introduced in Queensland in 1929, the invention created a communications revolution by diminishing the loneliness of the inland environment. In 1933 Alfred invented a Morse typewriter keyboard, an accessory to the pedal sets which was widely used until the advent of radio telephony. In 1939 Traeger's set adopted a vibrator unit and no longer used pedals.
Uploaded to the Web 27 May 2011.
After an outback tour of duty, Traeger began work in Adelaide on a transceiver for the Flying Doctor network. The sets had to be cheap, durable, small and easy to operate. Using bicycle pedals to drive the generator, he found that a person could comfortably achieve 20 watts at a pressure of about 300 volts. His famous pedal wireless was actually a pedal-operated generator which provided power for a transceiver.
Once the first pedal sets had been introduced in Queensland in 1929, the invention created a communications revolution by diminishing the loneliness of the inland environment. In 1933 Alfred invented a Morse typewriter keyboard, an accessory to the pedal sets which was widely used until the advent of radio telephony. In 1939 Traeger's set adopted a vibrator unit and no longer used pedals.
Uploaded to the Web 27 May 2011.
Associated person
Registration number
H19821
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