Shrinking the distance in the outback of Australia - the pedal radio

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Several friends were wondering about the ‘pedal radio’ which I mentioned in my post about the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). The pedal transmitter-receiver (radio) was invented by Alf Traeger (1895-1980), an Australian engineer and inventor, who developed a pedal-operated generator (using bicycle pedals) which provided power for a transceiver. The pedal radio meant that outback stations had access to emergency services. They could speak to a doctor or call on the RFDS to send a plane in an emergency. The first sets were introduced in Queensland in 1929. A few years later, a typewriter Morse keyboard was developed as an accessory, He continued to refine his invention, developing an alphanumeric keyboard and later a voice-capable receiver. A School of the Air was established enabling correspondence school lessons to be supplemented by communication over the radio. Outside of specified transmission hours, neighbours, families and friends could chat with each other. This was called the ‘galah’ session. The image show Traeger with his invention.