The Father of FM Radio Trivia Game | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What invention did Edwin H. Armstrong give the world?

Answer: FM radio

Armstrong was entranced with radio from an early age. He tinkered with and refined the concept of "frequency modulation' at a time when all radio was AM - "amplitude modulation".

2. When and where was Armstrong born?

Answer: 1890, New York City

Armstrong was born on 18 December 1890 in the Chelsea section of New York City. His mother was a teacher and his father was vice president of the United States branch of the Oxford University Press. They soon moved to Yonkers, New York.

3. Armstrong patented his "Regenerative Circuit" while a student at Columbia University. Which year was he in when he invented it?

Answer: Junior

Armstrong was a junior when he invented the "Regenerative Circuit". It was patented in 1914. According to wikipedia, "The regenerative circuit (or self-regenerative circuit) allows an electronic signal to be amplified many times by the same vacuum tube or other active component such as a field effect transistor."

Another site, inventors.about.com, describes it as "Regeneration amplification worked by feeding the received radio signal through a radio tube 20,000 times per second, that increased the power of the received radio signal and allowed radio broadcasts to have a greater range." In other words, there really isn't a little guy with a turntable inside your radio...

4. Armstrong was in the Army in WWI. What rank did he achieve?

Answer: Major

He continued to be called "Major" for the rest of his life. He was an officer in the US Army Signal Corps, based in Paris, where he used the Eiffel Tower to conduct tests on new techniques.

5. Lee de Forest patented the same item as Armstrong, but under a different name, in 1916. He then sold the rights to his invention to AT&T. The lawyers rubbed their hands in glee: how long did the lawsuit take to litigate?

Answer: 12 years

Initially Armstrong won the case over the patent, but lost it on appeal. It then went up another level, where it ended in a stalemate. Finally the case was heard at the Supreme Court, where the patent was awarded to de Forest. It is believed that had the justices had any technical knowledge, the result would have been in favour of Armstrong.

6. Armstrong pursued his dreams: he patented a "Radio Signalling System", which we now know as FM. It has the great advantage of producing a clearer signal. In which year was this patent granted?

Answer: 1933

This new FM method varied the frequency of sound waves, rather than the amplitude (which is a measurement of height of a wave, should one be able to see it). The patent was #1941066, and it was filed on 30 July 1930. The application included two circuit diagrams and 3 1/2 pages of technical information.

7. Armstrong's inventions were licensed by a major organisation which felt threatened by his invention of FM radio. Which company tried to get the FCC to ban his inventions?

Answer: Radio Corporation of America

The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) had enough clout with the FCC to get them to restructure the waveband allocation, which caused all the earlier FM radios to become useless. Further, RCA then claimed ownership of the patent for FM radio. Needless to say, they won - and Armstrong was left penniless.

8. Armstrong was broke and the suit cost him not just money, but also his marriage. Emotionally exhausted, he committed suicide in which year?

Answer: 1954

Armstrong jumped from his 13th floor flat in New York City on 31 January 1954. He was wearing his coat and a hat when he took his life. He landed on a third-floor overhang and his body was not discovered until the next day.

9. Armstrong's wife did not give up the fight; she reopened the legal battle. True or false: Mrs. Armstrong won the final judgement on ownership of the patent.

Answer: true

The final decision was handed down in 1967, some 20 years after the case was first filed. She won millions of dollars from RCA, Motorola, Sylvania, CBS and anyone else who had infringed his patents.

10. Armstrong won many awards and recognitions in his life, including the Legion d'Honeur and the Edison Medal "For distinguished contributions to the art of electric communication, notably the regenerative circuit, the superheterodyne, and frequency modulation". In which year was he inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame?

Answer: 1980

In 1917 Armstrong was the first recipient of the IRE, now called the IEEE Medal of Honor. The ITU added him to its roster of great inventors in 1955. He was on a US postage stamp in 1983. The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame inducted him in 2000, "in recognition of his contributions and pioneering spirit that have laid the foundation for consumer electronics."

Source: Author CariM0952

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor DakotaNorth before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Father of FM Radio Trivia Quiz

A 'rite of passage' in my youth was going to "The Haunted House" near the Amstrong tower in Alpine, NJ. But who was E.H. Armstrong? And why is he such a big part of your life? If you like the quiz, please rate it. If not, please let me know why.

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