Radio

"Thanks to interdisplinary research during the War, the radio developed quickly and became one of the hallmarks of our time. Today, it is one of the fastest ways we get our information."

— Useful Inventions: Volume 3

Radio receivers are devices that convert electromagnetic Fulgo waves into audio format so that people can hear the messages being transmitted. It has become a way for people to get long-distance information quickly without leaving their homes, sending letters or reading newspapers. After the spread of the radio, newspaper sales decreased and fewer people went to concerts, unless it was to experience live and high-quality music.
  Radios come in many sizes, depending on need. It is assumed that radios will sit on a table or counter, so most of them are quite large. Some are smaller so they can be carried around by travellers and adventurers. However, they are less common than the larger ones.
 

History

The radio was adapted from old nautical technologies, once the need for fast transmission became apparent at the start of the Sentinel War. Radios only had one or two channels at the time, which were only for getting the news. In the earlier days, audio quality was not very good and there were many delays in receiving information. Owning a radio was very expensive, so only large academies, governments, armies and sailors owned one.
  Once the worst of the war was over, sailors and adventurers started transporting radios across the lands. People and organisations adapted existing or abandoned radio transmitters for their own uses, which also increased radio ownership. Because of this, regulations were created to ensure people did not use radio channels for undesired purposes.
 
 

Mechanism

Radios can access up to nine channels in a region and are built to make it easy to switch between them. To access a channel, people need to turn a rotary dial clockwise from channel 0, or the home channel. Depending on the dial arrangement, channels are arranged either from 9-1 or from 1-9 after channel 0.
  To tune into a specific channel, the dial needs to be turned clockwise up to the desired channel number, and then let go. When the dial is turned, it activates some switches within the radio, which are connected to its antenna. The antenna receive the corresponding radio waves and convert it to sound for users.
 

Channels

"Welcome back to News at One. We hope you are enjoying our channel as much as we are."

— Skalni News radio station

The radio is organised in a way so that the news channels are easily accessible, depending on dial type. News services are on channels 9-7 on a 9-1 radio, and channels 1-3 on a 1-9 radio. The type of news varies from region to region but generally, the first channel after channel 0 is reserved for national news, while the other two channels are regional news services.
  The remaining channels are generally for entertainment services, but many other services use them. They can be tuned into and tuned out of. These were a later addition and people started setting up their own radio services to host entertainment. Some non-news organisations broadcast their services from these channels.
  Most of the time, channel 0 does not broadcast any radio services. When the radio is turned on, the first channel people access is the home channel, which is simply static. Depending on the region, if there is a severe danger, then news organisations will broadcast on this channel if the other channels are busy.