Frank Conrad
| Dr. Frank Conrad | |
|---|---|
Frank Conrad 1921
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| Born |
May 4, 1874 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | December 10, 1941 (aged 67) Miami, Florida |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Electrical Engineer, Inventor |
| Employer | Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing |
| Known for | Radio broadcasting |
| Spouse(s) | Flora Selheimer Conrad |
| Children | Francis H. Conrad, Crawford Conrad and Jane Conrad Durham |
| Awards |
IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award (1925) IEEE Edison Medal (1930) John Scott Medal (1933) IEEE Lamme Medal (1936) |
| Notes | |
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Photograph appeared on page 39 of the February, 1921 issue of QST, in the article "Who's Who in Amateur Radio".
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Frank Conrad (May 4, 1874 – December 10, 1941) was an electrical engineer, best known for radio development, including his work as a pioneer broadcaster. He worked for the Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for half a century. His experimental radio station provided the inspiration, and he acted in an advisory role, for the establishment of Westinghouse's first broadcasting service, over radio station KDKA.
Conrad was born May 4, 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Herbert M. Conrad, a railroad mechanic, and Sadie Conrad. His formal education ended with 7th grade, however in 1928 his work would be recognized with an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He began employment at the Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company at age 16, and at 23 began working in Westinghouse's Testing Department, where his inventions included, in 1897, the circular-type watt-hour meter. (In 1937, it was estimated that 30 million of these units were in use.) In 1904, the company appointed him General Engineer, and he was promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer in 1921. Conrad was awarded more than 200 patents internationally throughout his life.
Conrad first became interested in radio in 1913, the result of a bet with a co-worker over whose watch was more accurate. Conrad won the bet, in part because he secretly replaced his cheap watch's internal components with the mechanism from a more expensive watch. While conducting the time comparisons, Conrad began to doubt the accuracy of time signals provided by a Western Union telegraph service, so he built a simple radio receiver to pick up the official Naval Observatory time signals, broadcast nightly by station NAA in Arlington, Virginia. With this receiver he also overheard transmissions being made by a neighbor, John Coleman, so Conrad built a transmitter in order to communicate with Coleman and other local amateur radio operators. After moving from Swissvale to Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, he installed a radio station on the top floor of a two-story garage adjacent to his home. In the summer of 1916 this station was issued an Experimental license, with the callsign 8XK. At this time the station employed a spark-transmitter, thus could only be used for Morse code transmissions.
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