Radio Museum

What I can see

The first transmitter (400 Watt) that broadcast a radio signal to Greece, the Balkans and the whole of southeastern Europe was in a wooden shack at the TIF, in Thessaloniki. Christos Tsingiridis, the father of Greek radio, was the person behind the transmitter. He had just two listeners, one at Ippodromiou Square and one on an English ship that was in the port. The museum is housed in a prefabricated Siemens building, as Tsingiridis was a representative of the company in 1926. It includes 3,500 objects, with Kiskilas collection being the main one, objects of radio program production and reproduction and many machines, including those of the army and material of the amateur station Radio Nestor. It is a museum very much relied on volunteers, not easy to spot, and its very interesting objects, such as turntables, microphones, jukeboxes and old radios, are suffocating in this small space.

What I can't see

It was very difficult for Tsingiridis to obtain a permanent operating license, due to the strict legislation at the time. The station’s range eventually reached as far as Belgrade and Cairo, and according to oral evidence, it was also heard in Paris. During WWII, Tsingiridis was imprisoned and the transmitter was confiscated. The Germans, however, did not know how to use it; they released Tsingiridis so that they could implement their propaganda. After the war, the transmitter was purchased by Markos Vafiadis, who used it in his favour during the civil war and shortly afterwards, it was returned to its original owner. The National Radio Foundation, however, forcibly expropriated it for a humiliating sum and Tsingiridis died very poor and terribly sad, but was buried with great honours. Thessaloniki did not take the lead in media only regarding the Radio broadcasting. The first digital editing of a program, the first broadcast of a Divine Liturgy and the first broadcast of a football match took place here.

Info

• Address: TIF
• Website: http://www.radiomuseum.gr/

Bibliography