The Rogers Batteryless Radio:

World's First in All-Electric Achievement

by Ian Anthony, Rogers Historian

Photo Courtesy, Rogers Communications Inc.

Edward Samuel ‘Ted’ Rogers Sr. was a Canadian visionary and radio enthusiast who made it his mission to improve home radio. When radio receivers were first introduced for household use in the early 1920’s, they required three separate batteries for operation. These A, B and C batteries were roughly the size of car batteries, and required a maze of wiring to connect them to the radio set – in addition to their annoying habit of ‘humming’ when active, and leaking acid which tended to burn the rugs or carpeting. Radio could be seen as an ‘inconvenient leisure’ for these reasons and the batteries were largely detracting from the potential of radio to become accepted as a common household instrument.

Ted Rogers had first been introduced to wireless communication while in science class at school in Toronto when he was twelve years old. He learned about the telegraph, and the accomplishments of Morse and Marconi. He was immediately captivated by the concept of being able to talk long distances over the airwaves. Ted promptly built his own telegraph set and taught himself Morse Code, while also erecting a large aerial on top of the chimney at the family home, which was little more than an eyesore to the neighbors, but his parents allowed him his hobby. He worked hard, and soon became an expert in the medium. In 1921, at age 21, Ted participated in a contest sponsored by an American radio club to send a signal from North America to Scotland. Ted succeeded, and was the only Canadian to do so, becoming the first Canadian amateur to send a transatlantic signal. What is even more interesting is that all but one of the other winners were along the Atlantic seaboard in the United States, and radio waves travel much better over water. Ted made his achievement from Newmarket, some 500 miles inland.

Ted Rogers’ vigor and intense dedication had long been a Rogers family trait. Timothy Rogers had come to Canada from Vermont, and founded the Town of Newmarket north of Toronto in 1801. Samuel Rogers, a Great-Grandson of Timothy’s and the Grandfather of Ted, operated a large fuel oil company in Toronto and was the first to bring oil in to the city by rail car; his firm was also the Toronto arm of Imperial Oil.

Ted began work as a radio engineer in 1922 in the radio division of CITCO, the leading manufacturer of radios in Toronto at the time. CITCO went bankrupt in 1924, and Ted Rogers and his father acquired the radio holdings. It was a generally accepted fact among radio engineers that batteries were the only means available to power radio sets. Ted believed otherwise, but his ideas were scoffed at. That summer, after relentless experiments and research trips, Ted perfected what he called the “15-S” radio tube – the first functional alternating current radio tube in the world. The 15-S prototype went on to become the “Rogers A/C Type 32” when it was produced in mass. The a/c tube meant that radios could operate from regular household electricity rather than batteries, and a host of problems that were adversely affecting the development and acceptance of radio had just been eliminated. Ted proved “It Can Be Done.”, which became his own personal motto.

Ted and his father founded the Standard Radio Manufacturing Corporation to produce the tubes and their accompanying radio sets, and at the 1925 Canadian National Exhibition, the “Rogers Batteryless Radio” was introduced to the public. There were seven models to choose from, and the first slogan was “Just Plug In ~ Then Tune In!”

The Rogers Batteryless was the first radio in the world which could operate from home electricity. It also used the whole house wiring system as one giant antenna array. The radios, which retailed upwards of $110 in 1925 dollars, were stylish and an instant success. In 1927, Rogers expanded his operation by founding station CFRB whose call-letters represent Canada’s First Rogers Batteryless. Ted Rogers designed the CFRB transmitters, which used Rogers A/C Tubes, and the station became the first broadcaster in the world to be all-electric. CFRB was stronger and clearer than other stations, and could be heard as far away as Hawaii. In 1929, Standard Radio partnered with a Chicago company to form the Rogers-Majestic Corporation, and CFRB joined the CBS network as their first international affiliate.

Rogers-Majestic built a massive new plant on Fleet Street in Toronto which was the largest factory for radio production in Canada. In 1934, Rogers-Majestic acquired DeForest Crosley Canada, making it the largest radio manufacturer in the country, and in 1933 CFRB had built the largest antenna towers in the nation while also having the most powerful transmitters. Rogers Radios and CFRB would also cross-promote each other, when print ads would suggest that listeners tune in to fine programming by CFRB over their Rogers Radios, and CFRB would identify itself over the air with “the Rogers Batteryless station, Toronto” and in effect give a free commercial for the sets.

Ted Rogers won a license to experiment with television in 1930, and in 1933 conducted Toronto’s first public demonstration of television.

E.S. Rogers Sr. passed away suddenly in 1939 at age 38. With dedication and determination he had made a remarkable and tremendously successful revolution in home entertainment. Actually, any time someone turns on a home radio plugged in to the wall, it is a nod to Canadian ingenuity. Mr. Rogers’ foresight and abilities inspired his son, Ted Jr., to pursue a career in telecommunications which resulted in Rogers Communications Inc., a nationwide company operating within cable television, wireless communication, and broadcast and print media interests. Ted Rogers Sr. was a visionary, an inventor and an entrepreneur who modernized and simplified the science of radio on a global scale and ushered in a new era of home entertainment. His remarkable feats and achievements put Canada at the forefront of the radio world for several years. The next time you see a Rogers Tube, a Rogers Radio, or listen to CFRB, remember how they are the products of a will to succeed.