From Smoke Signals To Cell
Phones
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© 2008, andrews.com, all rights
reserved
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Early Forms Of Long Distance Communications
Was it a shouted warning? The waving of hands to draw attention? A cry for help?
Or perhaps a joyful yelp of greeting?
At some point in our distant past, ancient man realized the need to communicate beyond the distance that a normal human voice would travel. That simple need, discovered so long ago, continues to be the driving force behind many of today's high tech advancements.
Until fairly recently, in terms of human history, methods of long distance communication included smoke signals (mostly in the Americas and China), drums (mostly Africa), yodeling (originating in the Swiss Alps), horns (like the Alphorn of Ricola fame, or trumpets made from shells or animal horns), torches (China, Rome and elsewhere) and courier. Later came church bells (ringing out calls to service or alerts to the surrounding community), light ("one if by land, two if by sea"), flags, optical telegraphs, and other sight related solutions for immediate long distance communication.
As humans tend to do though, we wanted more. Something faster... easier... better.
Technology Takes A Leap
So along comes Samual Morse, who in 1837 (though some earlier versions were created in Europe) invented and patented the electric telegraph. Wires were strung from city to city and telegrams quickly became a popular way to communicate over long distances. It was fast, could transmit complex messages, and was legally binding (contracts and business dealings could be confirmed by telegram). A technological revolution in communications had begun.
Wired Based Telephony
The telephone was invented in the 1870's. Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention, however, others also did pioneering work and contributed to the concept, including Thomas Edison, Elisha Gray, Johann Philipp Reis, Innocenzo Manzetti, Antonio Meucci.
Regardless of who gets credit, the invention of the telephone changed the world we live in.
For over one hundred years, the basic 'land line', wired, telephone was the standard in long distance communications. But the idea of wireless communications was bouncing around in the minds of inventors at about the same time the wired telephone was created. The technological know how just wasn't there yet.
Wireless Communications
The modern cell phone is basically a full duplex (you can talk and listen at
the same time) two way radio.
Credit for the development of the radio is... complicated. Michael Faraday,
James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, David E. Hughes, Jagdish Chandra
Bose, Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi and Nikola
Tesla all had a hand in the theories, experiments, and advancements in our
understanding of and ability to use radio waves.
The first radio patents were awarded in 1900, and by 1912 ships began carrying
both transmitters and receivers, allowing two-way communication between ships
and land.
In 1923 an early forerunner of the mobile phone was developed and used by the
Victoria, Australia police department. It was a mobile two way radio that took
up the entire back seat of their patrol cars and, while it had limited range,
it did away with the inefficient method of officers communicating with the main
office via public phone boxes. In 1933, the police department in Bayonne, New
Jersey became the first police force in the US to use a two way radio system.
Both Allied and Axis countries furthered development of radio communications
during the second World War. Tanks were able to communicate by
crystal-controlled two way FM radios. Handie-Talkies and backpack
walkie-talkies allowed ground troops to communicate with other units.
Early Mobile Phones
The modern mobile phone age started in the US in 1946. The Mobile Telephone
Service was launched in St. Louis by AT&T, using Motorola radio equipment.
These early mobile phone systems were installed in cars. They weighed in at 80
pounds and filled up a car's trunk.
To make a call, you would turn it on, let it warm up, and rotate a knob looking
for a clear channel. If you found one, you pushed a button and called the
operator. They would connect you and you'd talk in half-duplex (you could talk
or listen, but not both at the same time). Despite the high cost of the unit,
usage fees, lack of privacy (others could tune in and listen to your call), and
other challenges, the service proved to be popular and quickly spread to other
cities. The small number of frequencies devoted to this service made finding an
available channel difficult at times, but still there was a waiting list for
service.
These bulky car phones were the way of mobile communications through the 50's
and 60's. But the groundwork was being laid for a true cellular phone system.
Development Of The Modern Cell Phone
The original Mobile Telephone Service required a big tower in a central part of
a city for the reception and transmission of radio signals. In 1947 Donald H.
Ring, an engineer at Bell Laboratories, sketched out a plan that divided large
cities into smaller, neighborhood size sections, or 'cells'. His idea was that
every cell would have its own antenna. This had two big advantages. First,
channels can be reused on each antenna, multiplying the number of channels
available. Second, the antenna would be closer and the phone would need less
power to make a call.
Another major development happened that same year. The transistor was invented
at Bell Laboratories by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain.
Over time, the transistor replaced the bulky vacuum tubes of early electronics
and allowed for the development of the small appliances and electronics we use
today.
While the idea of smaller cell areas and the invention of transistors were
major breakthroughs, it wasn't until the late 60's and early 70's that
computers became powerful enough to crunch the computations required to really
make the idea of a wireless phone system based on cells work.
In 1973, Dr Martin Cooper, of Motorola, invented the first hand held cell
phone, the Motorola DynaTAC. A base tower was set up in New York City and on
April 3, 1973, he made his first call - by calling his rival, Joel Engel, the
head of research at AT&T's Bell Labs.
Thirty years later, Dr. Cooper recalled: "As I walked down the street
while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of
someone actually moving around while making a phone call."
In 1983, Motorola offered up the first commercially available hand held mobile
phone in the US, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, at a price of $3500 each. It was
10 inches tall, looked somewhat like a big boot, weighed almost two pounds, and
had a whip antenna. It was the first mobile phone that could connect to the
telephone network without the assistance of an operator.
Despite the availability of hand held cell phone models, in the 80's and early
90's most cell phones continued to be installed in cars and referred to as car
phones. They were not light, and they were power hungry, so keeping the phone
connected to a large power source like a car was simply more practical. By 1990
there were a million cell phone subscribers in the US.
With advancements in batteries, electronics, computer chips and digital
technology, plus changes in the frequencies that cell phones use, cell phones
moved from the car to the pocket. They are much smaller, more powerful, cheaper
and easier to use than the cell phones of the 80's and early 90's.
Cell phones have developed into communication devices that can incorporate a
computer, email, calculator, TV and music, GPS location and tracking services,
download ringtones and more. The size, lightness and capabilities of mobile
phones and accessories are truly amazing compared to what we had just a few
decades ago.
Today there are over 243 million cell phone subscribers in the US and an
estimated 3.3 billion world wide.
The Communications Revolution
Where would we be today if not for the advent of modern communications? The communications revolution influences on the way we live, work, and play. Modern communications affects our families, our communities, and our world. It plays a critical role in our economy.
We've gone from smoke signals to cell phones in less than 200 years. Humankind is still in the process of adjusting to this revolution in communications. And the drive for faster... easier... better... communications continues just as strong (or stronger) than ever before. It may be that the revolution has just begun.
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