Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin G7MRV
Its almost incredible that a device could have been in production for so long, in so many forms, and yet not have many commercial uses!
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Could it have had anything to do with the Cold War?
It was said one of the reasons that the UK government was so keen to clamp down on unlicenced broadcasting was that if it was that easy to broadcast pop music to the youth, then what was to stop the Russians from broadcasting Communist propaganda to them? Rock and Roll, with its loud boasts about
s-e-x, fast cars and disobedience to authority was positively innocuous by comparison!
So perhaps the ZN414 was really intended for the benefit of Eastern Bloc spies and their controllers? There must have been some propaganda value to the obvious ease and speed of constructing a simple radio receiver, which would be created by having as many as possible of the awkward parts of a radio receiver in a single package. An electromagnetic pulse weapon might cause permanent damage to existing radio receivers, but a bare IC not connected to a tuned circuit would be much safer. Somebody high up in the Military would surely understand the implications of all that.
Was there ever some classified document reading something like
In the event of invasion and disruption to existing communication facilities which may have involved damage to receiving equipment, a network of temporary transmitters can be established; and a large quantity of suitable battery-powered receivers can be quickly manufactured and distributed to civilians in occupied areas ?
I don't suppose we'll ever know .....