Entertainment Systems

Sources indicate that the first outdoor use of a public address system was nearly 100 years ago in San Francisco, California. This was helped along by the efforts of Danish inventor and founder of Magnavox (which is Latin for “great voice”), Peter L. Jensen. His pioneering efforts kick-started an aural revolution, electrifying the town crier and giving real legs to sounds. The earliest PA systems were mounted on to the roofs of cars and used to deliver messages primarily in large urban centres.
Reports indicate that the sounds carried clearly for as far as a mile away.

Another force crediting with propelling the evolution of public address system technology was early radio pioneer Guy R. Fountain. If you've ever wondered where the “tannoy” got its name, look no further. Fountain 'devised a patent electrolytic rectifier using a Tantalum Alloy and from the combination of these words the present world-renowned trade mark 'TANNOY' was derived.' Fountain's device was designed to run off the mains. 'The availability of these mains operated power sources, together with the rapid advancement in valve technique, led to the production of some of the earliest high quality power amplifiers designed specifically for Public Address purposes.'

Tannoys would go on to become fixtures in a wide, largely institutional, array of settings. Schools, armed forces bases and ships, and camps all benefited from the ability of a single messenger to inform multiple people simultaneously. Anyone who remembers the TV programme MASH may recall that the tannoy was itself nearly a character in its own right.