Orkney Wireless Museum, Radio technology museum in Kirkwall, Scotland
The Orkney Wireless Museum is a building that displays radio devices from different eras, ranging from everyday domestic receivers of the 1930s to military communication equipment from World War II. The collection holds roughly a hundred objects arranged in display cases and shelves across several rooms.
The museum was established in 1983 from the personal collection of Jim MacDonald, who gathered electrical devices over many decades. The display documents the rapid evolution of radio technology from the early 20th century through the war period.
The collection shows how radio transformed British daily life in the 20th century, with devices that millions of people used in their homes. The display gives a sense of how people once tuned in to receive music, news, and entertainment.
The museum sits in Kirkwall and is a small, single-story building easy to reach on foot. A visit takes roughly one to two hours since the collection is manageable and the devices are displayed side by side.
Visitors can operate a radio receiver using crystal detection technology that is over a hundred years old. These simple, unpowered devices show how radio worked in its earliest form.
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