In fact, some people have wanted to study the technology of radio propagation of sound before, but due to the slow speed of information transmission, many people are not aware of it.
Moreover, if you want to transmit sound, you must perform modulation, and many people have never thought about radio modulation at all.
To put it simply, "modulation" means: since radio can imitate Morse code to transmit information in the form of pulses, it can directly transmit continuous radio waves, and then let its amplitude change with the irregular changes of sound waves.
To understand it more casually, it can be regarded as the so-called broadcast and radio. Of course, its use can be very wide, and it also involves issues such as encryption, band, etc.
But what really affects radio technology is the triode. It is said that without the triode, radio cannot truly grow.
Therefore, the electronic triode that Li Yu applied for is basically the most critical patent in the current development of radio.
Many subsequent technologies are based on this patent to continue to improve radios. The first radio broadcast of sound would not occur until three years later.
But Li Yu thought further than broadcasting;
"Wireless Telephone". Westinghouse Electric has implemented this technology by accident before, but the technology was called
The technology of "electromechanical spark gap" is too backward because it is very complex to manufacture, has low power, and the communication distance is less than ten kilometers, so it has no commercial value.
——After all, there is still no electronic triode. Anyway, the positron triode is really a good thing. Before the transistor appeared, it was really a trump card.
Tesla knew how to modulate. After listening to Li Yu's story for a while, he generally knew that this matter was feasible.
"I also want to find you a long-term helper." Li Yu said.
"Help?" Tesla asked.
"I used to be your colleague at Westinghouse Electric." Li Yu said.
"Fedenson?" Tesla remembered.
"He is a technical genius." Li Yu nodded: "He will be one of our own from now on." As mentioned before, Fedensen's experience is very similar to Tesla. He also worked in Edison's company at first, and then entered Westinghouse Electric of Westinghouse.
Fedensen has obtained more than 500 patents in his life, but like Tesla, who has many patents, he almost became someone else's wage earner and did not become a rich man.
For the same reason, major companies do not pay enough attention to technical talents at this time. But Li Yu understands how important talents are to a company.
Fedensen happened to be here after being sent by Westinghouse to help build radio equipment.
"Director of Radio Research?" Fedensen exclaimed as he looked at the contract in front of him, still very confused in his heart.
"I have learned about such a seat, but is the salary you gave me too high?" Li Yu said: "Not only is the salary high, you will also be a senior executive of the company in the future, and you will receive stock dividends." Feidensen opened his mind and calculated. Even if you don't count dividends, it's at least seven to eight thousand US dollars a year. In today's United States, you are among the top 3% of high-income earners.
"I..." Fedensen didn't know what to say for a moment. Li Yu said with a smile: "Why, do you have liquidated damages at Westinghouse Electric?" Feddenson said: "That's too bad, I'm afraid it can't be called such a high salary." Li Yu said: "Top talents should be You deserve the income that top talents should have." Although Li Yu said this, Feidensen's concept still stayed at the beginning of the 20th century. As a technician, he had never expected such an income level. I worked at Westinghouse Electric for five or six years.
But with Li Yu's appointment letter written in black and white in front of him, any further hesitation would be disrespectful of money. He promised, "I will do my best to complete my assigned job!"
"In the future, you will be mainly responsible for R&D and training, that is, the technical details of radio debugging and employee training, which are all very relevant business sectors." Li Yu originally wanted him to be a subordinate of Tesla, but Tesla Their personalities are obviously not suitable for being managers and are more suitable for specific tasks, so it is better to make their positions not have an obvious superior-subordinate relationship and have a little overlap.
We happen to be engaged in research and development of new technologies right now. As Li Yu
"Product Manager", put
After the "radio wave fusion wired telephone" project was planned, let these two masters implement it in detail.
——In fact, even if it is developed, wireless phones will not have much use in a short time. But this is just like what some car companies did in later generations: they often launch high-end cars with very advanced technology but high prices. The sales are very low, but they can be used as a way to show off their muscles and let consumers know that their technology is extremely advanced. abuse.
From a consumer psychology perspective,
The role of "spiritual totem" is indeed very effective. Although many consumers buy the high-volume Mercedes-Benz C-Class or the entry-level A-Class, they can completely imagine it as an S-Class or even a Maybach-class Mercedes!
There is no shame in enjoying yourself. There is a saying that goes like this:
"I have a turbo in my heart, and I drive it with it"! Because the technical direction was very clear and the triode patent could be directly used, the two quickly completed the development of the wireless phone.
Unless there is a war, there will not be excessive demand for a certain period of time. But if it is used by civilians, it can be extended to urban taxi systems in the near future.
Because taxis need to travel everywhere, they, like ships, need portable radio transceivers.
This is true historically. The patent was registered with LY Company, and the names of Li Yu, Tesla, and Fedensen were on the certificate.
——Not long after, the U.S. Navy issued a tender. Since the amount of this order is not small, it will have a strong advertising effect, so not only Li Yu's company and Marconi's company, but also some German companies such as Siemens came to compete.
After the first wave of technical bid evaluation, only Li Yu and Marconi Company were left. The second round was the quotation round. The U.S. Navy had a headache after seeing the quotation from Marconi Company, because Marconi actually submitted a leasing plan: 20 sets of radio equipment for a rent of US$20,000 in the first year and annual rent thereafter. $10,000.
In addition, other conditions are very demanding. The rent does not include maintenance costs, and the base station must also use Marconi’s proprietary base station.
Major Abel said to him: "Mr. Marconi, can you modify your quotation? As military supplies, we cannot accept the leasing plan." Marconi said: "Major, I have read the military's tender document , your requirements are stability and distance, these are the advantages of our company's products, no one will make better equipment than me." Marconi is still relatively arrogant, although he is not as good as Tesla, but he He was convinced that as the first person to invent radio, the equipment he created must be the best in the world.
Major Abel pulled out the quotation from Li Yu Company: "What a coincidence, you seem to be able to meet one today."
"What did you see?" Marconi obviously did not realize the seriousness of the problem. Major Abel said: "From a technical perspective, LY's products seem to be more advanced than yours. The technical specification says that it can achieve an effective communication distance of 3,500 kilometers, and they accept direct purchase options." Marconi Having just arrived in the United States from Europe, in his eyes, it was impossible for the United States to master Europe's advanced technology. He smiled and said: "Major Abel, for such a big matter as military procurement, you must keep your eyes peeled and not be fooled by scammers. 3,500 kilometers. Although I can do it, the signal is already extremely weak. To say it is 'effective communication' is simply a lie." Major Abel spread his hands: "Then you can ask Mr. Li Yu directly."
"Li Yu?" Marconi had heard his name.
"That scientist who is famous in Europe? How could he also know about radio?!"
"I'll call him over, and you can communicate face to face." Major Abel said. The U.S. Navy's bid evaluation took a long time, so Li Yu had some free time to play poker with Tesla and Fedensen in a small lounge.
"King Zha!" Li Yu threw out two cards,
"I win again!"
"Keep going," Tesla and Fedensen were not discouraged even if they lost.
"It turns out that poker has such an interesting way to play." Li Yu said while shuffling the cards: "I'll just say that Landlord Fighting is very interesting. I'm sure you'll be addicted."
"Call the landlord!" This time Li Yu became the landlord again, and then played three 3s and three 4s.
"Steel plate!"
"don't want!"
"I can't afford it!"
"Shunzi!"
"don't want!"
"Pass!"……
"Spring!" Neither of them played a single card, and Li Yu felt like he was bullying a novice. Fedensen smiled bitterly: "You played your cards too well." Tesla was not convinced and continued to play.
But as soon as he finished dealing the cards, Major Abel opened the door and walked in: "Mr. Li Yu, please come over."
"Is it the final bidding stage? We're coming." Li Yu was very confident, threw down the cards, and said to the two of them: "You still need to practice more." Tesla was still thinking about the evening. We must continue to fight against landlords.
When they came to the hall, Marconi first recognized Tesla;
"Is that you?" After Edison's intervention, the U.S. Patent Office revoked Tesla's radio patent and awarded it to Marconi instead.
The main contradiction between the two focuses on
Regarding the "Radio Tuning Circuit", they even went to court to fight for a patent, but in the end Tesla lost the lawsuit and Marconi obtained the patent.
After all, Tesla was weak and could not defeat Marconi, who had better business acumen. There was a big difference between the two of them. Marconi wanted more to do business, while Tesla was a bit idealistic.
This also led to very different fates between the two. Tesla said: "Mr. Marconi, you really don't think that you can sit back and relax with just a few patents, do you?" Their relationship was not good at all, and Marconi immediately replied: "My equipment is the most advanced and have made many improvements, so why sit back and relax?" Tesla smiled and said: "I am really interested in hearing what improvements are. Don't tell me something I already know." Marconi said: “My equipment is able to communicate through continuous waves generated by electromechanical alternators. It is reliable and our company also has the largest number of independent base stations, which is an advantage that no other company has.”
"It turned out to be an alternator," Tesla said.
"I'm familiar with this. But when it comes to reliability and the number of base stations, it's not an advantage." The two were tit-for-tat. Knowing that they were both industry veterans, Major Abel quickly broke up the fight: "In fact, the Navy also values Marconi's products. The reliability and the number of existing base stations make it difficult to accept the leasing option alone." Li Yu said: "Since we talk about reliability and distance, to make a long story short, we can increase the reliability of communication while increasing the effective communication distance, thus Reduce the number of base stations and have better information transmission effects than other companies." Marconi said: "Are you Mr. Li Yu? With all due respect, I know your extremely high achievements in physics, astronomy and mathematics. But radio is different from them and is extremely professional." Li Yu said with a smile: "Yes, so I attach great importance to this technology and developed a triode to amplify signals and reduce the size of radio equipment."
"Amplification? Signal?" Marconi had never heard of such technology in reality.
"Words are unfounded and still need to be verified through experiments," Li Yu said to Major Abel,
"I heard that the Navy happens to be on duty in Panama. You will conduct a comparative test when you arrive. The results will be clear at a glance. Isn't it simple and clear?" Just a month ago, the United States and Panama had just signed the "United States and the Republic of Panama on the Construction of a Connection" Treaty on the Navigation of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, also known as
"U.S.-Malaysia Treaty." The treaty required the United States to guarantee Panama's independence in exchange for a one-time payment of $10 million, followed by annual payments of $250,000 over ten years.
It seems to be very equal, but in fact it is a completely unequal treaty between Panama, because the sovereignty of the canal and nearby islands was also transferred to the United States.
The Americans themselves commented: "We stole it legitimately!" This is a huge project, and it is overseas, so the U.S. Navy must be responsible for the escort mission.
——This is what the U.S. Navy mainly does today. After World War II, the U.S. Navy was invincible, but before World War I, it was still far behind Britain, Germany and other countries.
It is said that there were actually many Chinese workers building the Panama Canal, and they sacrificed a lot. Chinese workers were behind many major projects in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, they did not receive the respect they deserved for a long time, and were not even reported at all.
Major Abel thought it was a good idea and accepted the proposal.
"You all need to wait for news during this period." Li Yu said with a smile: "You can directly send me the results by radio from Panama." The straight-line distance from New York to Panama is about 3,500 kilometers.
Marconi felt a little uneasy, because his company did not deploy base stations in Central America, and he always felt that it was not necessary at all.
We can only hope that the base station in Florida will receive the signal and transmit it. Tesla and Fedensen were equally confident. They had privately verified the amplification effect of the transistor and could transmit not only telegraphs but also voices over a distance of 3,500 kilometers.
The result can be said to be obvious, they just need to wait for the good news. Tesla's hand was still itchy, and he immediately called Li Yu and Feddensen back to Fifth Avenue: "I must win against Li Yu today!" Feddensen smiled and said, "He is the boss, isn't this bad?" Tesla didn't care: "I'm not convinced about playing cards!" Li Yu was also not afraid at all. Instead, he was still thinking about whether he would need to find Franklin Roosevelt again after signing the supply contract. The company was indeed Need long-term legal counsel.
