Meeting Information

Supporting a New Industry: NBS’ Measurements and Standards for Radio

December 14, 2021
Virtual

Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2021 (Note: This talk is on a Tuesday, not the usual Wednesday)
Speaker: Brian Belanger (National Capital Radio and Television Museum)
Title: Supporting a New Industry: NBS’ Measurements and Standards for Radio
Time: 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada) Talk goes from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Abstract: The National Bureau of Standards, (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology - NIST) is a government agency that had a surprisingly large role in the early development of radio technology. NBS scientists worked on understanding radio wave propagation and antennas. It developed calibration equipment relied on by the fledgling radio industry for measurements of key electrical parameters such as voltage, current, wavelength and others. NBS developed direction finding radios for the military services, as well as aircraft landing systems and radio beacons, and even demonstrated the first AC-powered radio for home use. During WWII, NBS helped to create the proximity fuse, a key weapons enhancement for the Army and Navy. The Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi. Maryland was originally called the Harry Diamond Laboratories, named for NBS engineer Harry Diamond. In more recent decades NIST has supported the integrated circuit industry and other modern electronic technology, so early work in radio made possible today’s television, computers, and even our modern indispensable smartphones.

Bio: Brian Belanger is the curator (as a volunteer) at the National Capital Radio & Television Museum in Bowie, Maryland, and was its executive director (also as a volunteer) for approximately a decade. He is a co-editor of Dials and Channels, the museum’s quarterly journal. Prior to his retirement in 2000 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, he held several senior management positions there, including Deputy Director of the Advanced Technology Program, Liaison to the Department of Defense, and Associate Director of the Center for Electronics and Electrical Engineering. He was a Commerce Department Science and Technology Fellow in 1983 and a recipient of Bronze and Silver medals from the Commerce Department. An electrical engineer, with a bachelor’s degree from Caltech and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, Brian is an amateur extra-class ham operator. He serves on the board of directors of the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club and is a co-editor of Radio Age, the club’s journal. He is the recipient of the Antique Wireless Association’s Houck Award for Documentation and the Broadcast History Legend Award of the National Capital Radio & Television Museum.

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