I was wondering what one would have heard say 1850 with a good 20th Century Receiver covering all Bands, I assume probably just static but I used Radios all my live and I noticed this noise like an increase and decrease of white noise when one rotates the Dial, would that be heard then as well?
Thanks
Crackles and pops when lightning strikes.
noise in a receiver can be an artifact of that receiver.
humans do generate a lot of radio noise. nature generates radio noise which will vary in time of day, season and year, besides thunderstorms.
At least some of what you hear will be the remnants of the fireball of the Big Bang.
The sun and jupiter emit radio waves which I expect predate the invention of wireless communication.
This is Radio WGB playing the latest hottest tunes. You’ve just heard "My Grandfather’s Clock by the… Dammit, Wilbur, I give up. I told you that this here radio transmitter is worthless pile of junk unless someone invents a radio receiver..
In the February Sky&Telescope, there’s an article (which I could not find online) about a massive solar storm that happened in 1859. Telegraph communication was severely impacted, but otherwise there were just a lot of aurorae.
A radio receiver around then would have picked up some really major noise during that storm.