Mike Watterson has a background in RF design, Programming, Electronic Engineering, Communication Engineering and IT. His non-fiction covers those subjects as well as various histories of Computers, Communication, Radio and technology since the late 1700s

Other information:

Collection of Vintage Radios and Batteries on the Radio Museum. There are also many articles on Vintage radio by Mike on RMorg.

Mike’s website about old valve / tube technology, RadicalValves

Information about TV reception in Ireland by Mike Watterson

Information on Batteries, especially old ones at Blaukatz

Forthcoming titles

(Subject to change)

A History of Communications

From Bonfires and Code Sticks 2500BC to fibre and Satellite today

Covering Telegraph, Semaphore, Fax, Telephone, Broadcast Radio & TV, Internet and aspects of Computer and Cryptography/Encryption development.
I wrote a version of this in 1987-88 as part of package for a Startup Company developing a Pocket information/Communication device (would be called a Smartphone today).

History of the Personal Computer.

The first thirty years: 1976 to 2005

He was there. Most of what even computer people believe is nonsense. A bit of background of 1750s to 1970s. IBM PC was a late introduction and obsolescent, a step backwards compared to Xerox Star, ACT Sirius 1 / Victor 9000 and 68000 cpu.

Victorian isn’t Steampunk.

Or how almost everything you think is 20th Century is a 19th Century invention. Steam seriously predates the Victorian era. Electricity was the big change, followed by trains, photography and cars.
Why the Battery of Volta in 1799 and Industrialisation, not the Steam Engine “galvanised” the Victorian Era. Submarine, plane, Computer, Radio, Ballpoint pen, Fax, TV, Electric Car, Diesel car, Petrol car, Public Electric Light, Power Stations, Hydro Electric, Phone, Telegraph, Heavier than air powered flight, “Spam Marketing”, Typewriter, Mass Production, Electric Hearing Aids, Gramophone and Magnetic recording all before 1900. I was provoked to think about this due to a woman telling me we got Transistors, ICs, Computers etc from Roswell / Area 51 in the late 1940s. Ha! such ignorance of history! Steam Punk should be set 1650 to 1800. Commercialisation of Steam power is from 1650s.

Battery Radios

The first 75 years, 1914 to 1989

With especial detail on UK Ever Ready, supporting cast: Lissen, Burndept, Vidor. Some mention of Mullard, Philips, Pye, Plessey, KB-ITT, RCA, Zenith, Hallicrafters, Sylvania and Supersonic. Covers Valve (Tube), transistor and IC technologies. Originally (from 1896) all radio sets ran on battery, though genuinely portable sets only from the 1930s. The late 1920s saw transportable suitcase models.