Also known as: Edwin Armstrong, Edwin Howard Armstrong

Edwin Armstrong (1890–1954) was an American electrical engineer who invented several cornerstones of radio, most notably wide-band frequency modulation.¹

Armstrong invented FM (and the superheterodyne and regenerative receivers), giving radio static-free audio.

Life and work

Armstrong devised the regenerative receiver, the superheterodyne receiver architecture still used today, and FM broadcasting, which dramatically improved audio quality and noise immunity.¹

Contribution

The superheterodyne principle underlies almost every receiver — including the front end of an SDR — and FM remains central to analog and digital voice.

Legacy

Armstrong’s inventions shaped 20th-century radio; the superheterodyne is arguably the most important receiver architecture ever devised.

Sources

1. Edwin Howard Armstrong — Wikipedia, for biography and his invention of FM and the superheterodyne receiver. ↩ ↩²

See also

• Frequency modulation (FM)
• Superheterodyne receiver
• Radio wave

Learn it step by step

• Analog modulation — AM, FM, SSB