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Invented radio? Ummm... what does Mr Marconi have to say....
Two points:
First, the hyperlink in the above article to the Tesla Memorial Society of NY, may correctly attribute Tesla's 1898 invention of a remote-control boat. Marconi has also been attributed as the inventor of radio.
Rather, Tesla and Marconi may have applied the principles of Prof. Heinrich Hertz who demonstrated between 1887-1888 that ".... electrical energy travels in waves with a frequency that can be calculated...." https://www.fgm.it/en/marconi-en/profiles/heinrich-hertz.html. A schematic of Hertz's transmitter and receiver is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_radio#/media/File:Hertz_schematic0.PNG .
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Alexander Popov, published a paper on “On the Relation of Metallic Powders to Electrical Oscillations,” and his demonstration of a radio-wave detecting apparatus at St. Petersburg University on 7 May 1895" and further developed a device to transmit and receive Morse code in 1896, https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/dawn-of-electronics/who-invented-radio-guglielmo-marconi-or-aleksandr-popov.
The question is who invented the radio? Hertz, Popov, Marconi or Tesla? Based on detecting the presence of an electromagnetic signal that can be measured, Hertz's demonstration could be inventor. If based on the radio to distinguish between dots and dashes, then Popov wins. If based on using a radio apparatus to control a boat, that goes to Tesla. If based on applying the knowledge of Hertz with entrepreneurial flair and and public relations, that goes to Marconi, https://www.fgm.it/en/marconi-en/profiles/nikola-tesla.html by Francesco Paresce.
Second, the idea of Tesla blocking access to the radio then asking its customers to pay $800 to allow the radio to operate reminds me of the Warner Brothers 1995 "Looney Tunes" cartoon "Dime To Retire". In this cartoon, Porky Pig is looking for hotel accommodation. He ends up at a hotel run by Daffy Duck. Daffy made extra money by charging the customer extras for pest extermination starting with Daffy placing a mouse inside Porky's room. Extra charges accumulated for each unsuccessful removal of the pests: mouse, cat, dog and elephant.
In Tesla's blocking of the radio alone, then charging a fee to unlock a radio that should never been locked is unethical.
Thank you,
Anthony of exciting Belfield