My bedside radio as a kid in Connecticut was my parents’ old GE 408 that I rescued from the attic. It was introduced in 1950, only a few years after the FCC’s mandated change in FM frequencies, from 42-50 MHz to 88-108 MHz.
Edwin Howard Armstrong invented and patented FM. Armstrong had a very difficult time getting broadcasters to embrace his cutting-edge technology, despite the fact his inventions had made AM broadcasting possible. So Armstrong started his own radio network.
“In the war’s final year, big industry, led principally by RCA, was working quietly behind the scenes to undermine FM’s position… The interests aligned against FM were concealing a strong poker hand, and they planned to play their cards as soon as the war ended.”
The war stopped Armstrong just as FM was gaining in popularity. Then the post-war frequency band change rendered his FM radios obsolete. His consolation prize was FM being mandated by the FCC for TV sound.
