In 1895, at the age of 21, Guglielmo Marconi created the first ever wireless link. However, the first practical wireless sets were the crystal sets developed in 1910 by Dunwoody and Pickard. The 1920's saw the introduction of the first `portable' radio. Radios have become progressively smaller with technological advancements from valve, through transistors to today's microchips.
The tuner is the radio section of a modern HiFi system. The only difference between a tuner and a radio is the fact that a radio has a built in amplifier and speaker, whereas the tuner relies on an external amplifier and speakers.
The tuner is designed to receive airborne radio transmissions via an ariel. By use of a front mounted tuning knob the operator is able to selectively tune into specific radio frequency transmissions. This process of tuning is very simple in electronic terms, the sophisticated circuits found in many tuners are more likely to be for support functions such as station memories, muting and station locking circuits called AFC's (Automatic Frequency Control).
In domestic radios and tuners there are three wavebands in use; Long Wave, Medium Wave (AM) and FM, the two most popular being the AM and FM wavebands.
