Pye radio and TV sets go on display in Cambridge

Pye radio and TV sets go on display in Cambridge

Old radios and TVs made by a former electronics giant have gone on display in the city where it was once one of the biggest employers.

Pye was founded in a garden shed in Cambridge in 1896 by William George Pye and made scientific instruments.

It moved to larger premises and, in 1922, began making receivers for teaching students the rudiments of wireless – just before the BBC started daily radio broadcasts in November 1924.

Collector Mike Kemp said by the 1930s "half the homes in the country had a radio set".

The company quickly became one of the biggest employers in Cambridge.

After the Second World War, Pye moved into manufacturing television sets and TV equipment, record players and had its own record label that signed acts including Lonnie Donegan, The Kinks and Status Quo.

The exhibition is at the Cambridge Technology Museum and features wireless sets from the early days of radio dating from 1922 to 1932.

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