Radio and electronics in the Land of Israel in the twenties

The radio is the source of the electronics technology that brought about the communication and computing revolution and until about eighty years ago, it was almost the only application of electronics. Today we listen to the radio maybe only when we are in the car, but until about fifty years ago it was the only electronic device that existed in our homes (with the exception of the record player) and who thought of other gadgets then? Below we will bring an unknown chapter from the history of radio in the Land of Israel and this chapter is credited, believe it or not, to the Histadrut.

We are talking about the 1926s, more precisely the years 1928 to XNUMX, a period when the subject of radio broadcasting to the public was in its infancy and receivers that existed then, were more ancient than ancient - they were not even similar to the ancient radio receivers we know. It turns out that at that time receivers were manufactured and marketed here, listening to the radio was organized in public halls, informational and demonstration activities were held in connection with radio reception, radio technology and other audio applications. There is also a course for studying radio theory. Those interested in receiving stations and radio technology were called radio amateurs (but a broadcasting station was called a sending station and instead of receiving they said receiving).

It was at the very beginning of the era of public radio broadcasting that actually only started in the early twenties. At that time, there were no broadcast stations in the country and no mass-produced commercial radio receivers. The receivers that existed then, operated from batteries or accumulators and not from the mains.

The following is a news item published in the Devar newspaper dated November 23.11.1926, XNUMX.

at the radio institute

On the night of Friday and Mochash, the Institute for Sha Radio arranged by the workers' association in the Talpiot neighborhood - listening to the radio by the new apparatus produced by the Institute. The receiving unit without an outdoor antenna is arranged in the form of a table with drawers and a frame on it (probably the antenna) and can be easily moved from place to place.

At each of the balls (so call a gathering of people in the evening - a ball, even if the event is not festive). There were about 25 people from the house owners in the neighborhood. The stations were heard: Vienna, London, Prague, Moscow - Opera Faust from the Great Academic Theater, Neapoli (Naples) and other stations that we have yet to find out.

The Workers' Company - the radio pioneer in the Land of Israel

The recorded history of radio in the Land of Israel begins only in the 1932s. In 675 there were 1935 registered radio receivers in Israel that received foreign stations. Even if we add the unregistered radio receivers, even then the number of devices did not exceed a thousand. In the same year, a temporary radio station operated from the Mizrah Fair in Tel Aviv. The operator of that station, Mendel Abramowitz, continued to operate broadcasts, with the approval of the authorities, from his radio station (Radio Eretz Israel, which was also a representative of RCA) on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, until 1936. The mandatory Jerusalem Voice only began broadcasting in 1926. That is why it is interesting to discover that there was, already in the twenties, an extensive activity, although only of reception, but it included efforts to bring the radio into public awareness. The event of radio reception in XNUMX that we described earlier, like all the other activities that we will review here, was organized by the workers' company of the General Union.

The Workers' Association of the Histadrut was established in 1923 and is the umbrella organization that was responsible for the economic entities owned by the Histadrut. Yes, this is the same organization that, until it actually collapsed in the last decades, sheltered under its wings companies such as Solel Bona, Koor Concern, Bank Hapoalim, Hasna Insurance Company and more.

Within three years of its establishment, on August 24.8.1926, XNUMX, a body was established in the workers' company to promote the topic of radio, this at the initiative and management of the engineer Levi Dobkin.

There were at least four halls of the Histadrut, one in Jerusalem, two in Tel Aviv and one in Petah Tikva, where people entered for an entrance fee, sat and listened to concerts, speeches, news, etc. which were received from radio stations in Europe. In most cases these events had a musical character. The participants were more interested in listening to music than in the radio itself. In the announcements in the Devar newspaper, such evenings were called concerts and the program was even published - a number of works in one evening according to the broadcast program of the stations; For example, a concert by Beethoven from Stuttgart, the symphony Iphigenia by Gluck from Königsberg, the operetta The Ideal Husband from Vienna, works by Haydn and Beethoven from Leipzig, etc.

Listens and informational events of radio and electronics

However, listening to the radio in a public hall was not the only activity of the Radio Institute. One of the things that is expressed almost daily, is a section in the Histadrut newspaper called Radio Talk News. The institute regularly listened to radio stations from Europe and collected news and news, which were published in the newspaper. We really listened!

It is worth noting that the reception of the radio back then was done on long and medium waves. The shortwaves were in their infancy at the time - only a short time before the effectiveness of their long-distance propagation had been discovered and public broadcasting stations were barely operating (the BBC's first shortwave broadcast was in 1925, according to the English Wikipedia). The commercial receivers that were marketed, even several years later, did not include short waves. Even years later - in the thirties and forties - the publications of the radio programs in the newspaper included, apart from the local broadcasts, programs from all over Europe, mainly on medium waves, what we know as AM.
As you can learn from many ads published in the newspaper, in addition to listening in the halls, the institute held events for the demonstration of radio reception and other electronic devices, such as amplification systems, intercoms, chargers for "accumulators" (batteries that probably powered the radios at the time) and even a demonstration of a recording device .

An ad in the Devar newspaper from May 25.5.1927, XNUMX announces the holding of a popular scientific "ball" at Beit Ha'am in Tel Aviv. In the program: radio waves - lecture and demonstration, listening to the radio - use and direction to different stations, megaphone (amplifier; by the way, the loudspeaker was then called Kolan), Perlophone (perla - speech) - automatic stenogram using an electric device, what is called a recording device these days.

In addition, the institute offered radio receivers for purchase, or for rent to clubs, restaurants, hotels and also to individuals. An ad that was published several times, quotes a letter from a satisfied customer confirming the receipt of radio specials and reporting his success in receiving concerts, speeches, etc. while specifying the stations from which he receives. Although he has no experience, thanks to the institute's explanations, he manages to turn on the unit himself, tune in stations and reduce and even eliminate noise.

Who knows what Termin is?

A termin is an electronic musical instrument that is played without hand contact. It plays a continuous sound and the control of the sound's pitch and intensity is done by bringing or moving the palms of the hands away from two "antennas" of the device - one for tone and one for intensity. The term was invented in 1920! by a Russian named Leon (Lev) Termin. Lenin himself was enthusiastic about the instrument and even learned to play it and even Shostakovich composed music for it. The instrument currently stars in the music of horror and science fiction films and it also appears in various rock bands and other bands. And now the surprising thing - such a tool was built, operated, and presented by the Radio Institute here in the Land of Israel - in the same year that the inventor issued a patent in the USA and before it became really well known in the world. Local musicians also gave concerts and a very technical article was published in the Devar newspaper explaining the operation of the instrument (two high frequency oscillators one fixed and one variable due to the capacitance of the palm and their difference gives an audio frequency). You have to be at least an electronics technician to understand the explanation but then everyone was addicted to the little technology that was there. How did the termin idea come to Eretz Israel? Very simply, the director of the radio institute, engineer Levi Dobkin, researched the tool in Moscow before coming to Israel and he also met with the inventor.

Radio course in 1928

The Radio Institute stopped the events of listening to concerts on the radio and opened a technical course for radio, as published in the Devar newspaper on July 25.7.1928, XNUMX.

For all those interested in the radio, we were asked to publish:
The radio has finally come out here in the land of a miracle. If that's what the audience says - everything should be here like in Europe: a local station will be built and the privates will be cheaper, so that the radio will take its rightful place.
It is a pity that this train of thought, which is essentially correct, does not reach the final conclusions. The local station will not appear automatically - only an interested public will establish it; It is not just an interest for heaven's sake or to win over others that is needed. An interested public means individuals each of whom will feel the need for something, know and know what he lacks.

Not knowing the basic concepts of radio is currently the main obstacle to its development in Israel. It is also the main obstacle to the individual's enjoyment of the radio.

To introduce the concepts of radio to the public, to fight against dilettantism (someone probably still mistakenly thinks that a radio amateur called himself a dilettante), to prove that anyone can grasp the new concepts in a short time - these tasks are before us today. They will not interfere with continuing the technical work; On the contrary, those who will see the progress in the product, those who will argue to what extent it is possible with simple means to achieve perfection in hearing, as if we were in Europe - these will surely feel even more the need to understand the basics of this wonderful technique.

We were forced to cancel the hall next to the institute, because it is impossible to merge the cultural activity with a hall whose audience is random and has no interest in the radio itself. But the possibility of visiting the institute, to hear concerts, speeches, etc., remains. This option will be given to subscribers - "radio enthusiasts". They will be able to receive the information and instructions they need from the institute.

It should be noted that the science of radio and the technique of radio have penetrated, without exaggeration, almost all professions of thought and action. Especially the freelancers, may benefit from home and radio: a teacher and an engineer, a doctor and a musician - each in his own profession.

Apart from that, prizes are given to subscribers - one out of ninety will receive free of charge a sophisticated apparatus (which costs 35 lei) that works without an external antenna and is kept in a beautiful cabinet (from the S. Levinstein Hospital). The prize was given according to a lottery, one that took place on October 26, 1927 and the details of which were published in the press.

The payment - 500 MAI per year - which gives this right to both visits and receiving the award, enables registration for classes from different classes.

Those who would like to acquire a basic knowledge of radio - will be able to enter a class of 10 lessons held in groups of 10-15 people. There will be an opportunity for active participation on the part of the listeners, trials and exercises. In the program: the electronic structure of the atom, electronic current, voltage, current strength, resistance, perception and influence (induction) according to the electronic theory, alternating current, frequency, wavelength, the operation of a radio apparatus, experience of using the apparatus, the assembly of different types of radio apparatus Different. Despite the small number of students in the group, the payment for up to 10 lessons is only 300 MAI.

After the first class, those interested will be able to visit a second class, in which they will assemble accessories for themselves.
The beginning of this action - the lecture arranged on behalf of the institute on July 7, proved that there is indeed a demand in the public to understand the radio. A good sign is, if a fairly large crowd comes, despite the warning that no concert will be given.

Tomorrow, the 26th, this lecture will be given a second time in the Herzliya Gymnasium. This action will continue. We hope that out of the interest of a few and then many - an interested public will emerge. Appropriate and necessary conditions will also be created for the development of radio in Israel.

Institute for Radio and Electrotechnics by the Workers' Company.

According to an ad in the Devar newspaper, the class started on August 12.8.1928, XNUMX.

Long break and late resume

We did not find any publications about the radio institute in the newspaper after 1928. However, from publications from the 1937s we learned that the institute's activities were resumed for a while in Haifa in 1946 and in XNUMX the institute was re-established as a regulatory society called Galim. The company provided radios to consumers in the city and the settlement as well as maintenance, inspection and repair services. The company also acted as an agency for GEC Radio and supplied their devices as well as self-made devices. The self-made devices are said to be in some cases better and more suitable for the conditions of the country and the customer's requirements than the ready-made devices. It should be noted that at that time the radio was already quite common in Israel, including stores that sold it and technicians that repaired it.

Most of the information in this article is collected from old issues of the newspaper Devar, through a website jpress.org.il.