![Picture on the box of the ‘Radiofee II’ do-it-yourself tube radio kit, 1923.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/abbildung-auf-der-schachtel-des-rohrenradio-radiofee-ii-zum-selbstbau1923-300x225.jpg)
99 years of radio in Switzerland
99 years ago, one of Switzerland’s earliest known radio broadcasts hit the airwaves. In Lausanne, the ‘Champ-de-l’Air’ aircraft radio station broadcast a vocal performance live from the studio. Swiss radio was born. In the 1920s, listening to the radio was an adventure and a thrilling journey into uncharted territory. A look back at the pioneering age of radio.
Radio in the 1920s. YouTube / The1920sChannel
![Roland Pièce at the console of the ‘Champ-de-l’Air’ radio station in Lausanne. Photograph taken around 1923. The unit is now in the Enter Museum in Solothurn.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/roland-piece-am-schaltpult-des-senders-champ-de-lair-in-lausanne-300x232.jpg)
Early radio reception
![Two diners listening to the radio in Sirnach. Photograph taken ca. 1923-1928. Photographer Jean Mäder, Hub near Sirnach.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/zwei-radiohorer-bei-speis-und-trank-in-sirnach-aufnahme-ca-1923-1928-300x181.jpg)
![SW crystal radio receiver with crystal detector and headphones from Telefunken, 1920s.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/detektorempfanger-sw-mit-kristalldetektor-und-kopfhorer-von-telefunken-1920er-jahre-300x231.jpg)
![‘Radiofee II’ do-it-yourself tube radio kit, 1923.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/rohrenradio-radiofee-ii-zum-selbstbau-1923-300x110.jpg)
![Caricature in the satirical magazine Bärenspiegel from November 1924](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/4-baerenspiegel-19241115-e1635136857714-237x300.jpg)
This blog post was originally published on the blog of the Museum of Communication.