CONELRAD: The Voice of Armageddon

Our Own Devices June 14, 2023
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Ever wonder how a rotary telephone works, how sailors and pilots navigated by the stars, or how mechanical calculators perform complex math using only gears? Then you've come to the right place! Our Own Devices is a channel dedicated to the fascinating world of vintage technology, and the many elegant and ingenious ways our ancestors solved even the most complex technical problems. Questions or comments? Have a fascinating device you'd like covered on the channel? Please contact me at [email protected] Want more fascinating history? I am a regular staff writer for Today I Found Out and many of its sister channels: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut

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Like what I make? Want fewer sponsorship ad reads? Consider contributing to my Patreon at https://patreon.com/OurOwnDevices CONELRAD (CONtrol of ELectronic RADiation) was an American public radio alert system operational between 1951 and 1963, intended to provide citizens with government alerts and civil defence instructions in the event of a national emergency such as a nuclear attack. As part of the system, all commercial AM radios sold in the country between 1953-1963 were required by law to have the two CONELRAD frequencies - 640 and 1240 kHz - marked on their tuning dials. Fundamentally flawed, CONELRAD was one of many alert systems implemented during the second half of the 20th Century, culminating in today's Emergency Alert System (EAS). SOURCES: https://coldwar-ct.com/Conelrad_EBS_EAS.html https://people.ohio.edu/postr/bapix/Conalert.htm https://www.oldradio.com/current/bc_conel.htm