ABSTRACT
Early radio receivers suffered from serious technical limitations and made good reception very difficult to obtain. The crystal set was the most popular of the early receivers because it was the cheapest, easiest to operate and crudest form of listening. The improvements made sets smaller, more compact and more portable - all advantages to encourage more listeners. Early portable sets sold well during the first boom for portables in the summer of 1925. Other technological changes outside the purely radio sector also had beneficial effects. Oscillation is an important part of the social history of radio. It was a great distraction at a time when the technical problems of listening were of paramount importance, whilst programme policy or content were secondary considerations. The radio manufacturing industry had an important part to play in the expansion of listening. The listener had many sets to choose from, while competition and technological improvement eventually permitted reductions in the price of some sets.
