While studying electrical engineering at a Technikum University in Bingen, Germany; he built a simple radio transmitter and receiver.

In February 1904 Gernsback emigrated to America hoping to sell his battery design to automobile companies and had modest success with this.

Gernsback lived in a New York City boarding house where he met Lewis Coggeshall, a railroad telegraph operator.

[3] An early product was a spark-gap telegraph transmitter with a one-mile range that was first advertised in the November 25, 1905, issue of Scientific American and sold for $8.50.

[4] Another product featured by the Electro Importing Company was Gernsback's own Telimco Wireless Telegraph, the name of which comes from the letters in the catalog's name.

[4] The Electro Importing Company catalogs soon had 64 pages of products and detailed technical articles on how to use the components offered for sale.

The catalog reached several prominent radio entrepreneurs, including Lee de Forest, who read the catalog while developing his Audion tube,[4] Edgar Felix, who purchased headphones from the store on Fulton Street, and Stanley Manning, a Detroit broadcaster who traveled to New York to see Gernsback's store.

To expand Electro Importing, Gernsback ran a classified ad in the January 27, 1908, New York Times looking for a new investor.

H. Gernsback, 108 Duane St.Milton Hymes answered and with the new capital, Electro Importing moved to a larger building on Fulton Street and later opened two retail stores.

The articles in Radio News were technically sophisticated so a new magazine, Practical Electrics, was created to appeal to a wider audience.

It claimed to cover every phase of radio with "over 1930 separate definitions, 549 illustrations, a complete cross index, and many other special features."

An advertisement for the magazine claimed that "each issue is practically an endless source of information on sex, prevention and care of diseases, the senses and the normal functions of nature as related to our bodies.

Gernsback promoted it as a magazine for the whole family but Time felt the target audience was "radio bugs" (a 1920s term for geeks).

In addition the radio titles, there were general interest books like Houdini's Spirit Exposes, Beauty Secrets, and Popular Tricks.

Experimenter Publishing applied for and was granted a radio station license to transmit at 1160 kilocycles (kHz) with the call sign WRNY.

In November 1926, WRNY (800 kHz) moved its transmitter from the Roosevelt Hotel to Coytesville, New Jersey (directly across the river from Manhattan).

Hugo Gernsback first wrote about television in the December 1909 issue of Modern Electrics and had reported on the technical advances in his magazines.

[22] Pilot also sold the receivers but Experimenter Publishing magazines provided complete plans that allowed readers to build their own television.

[24] Hugo Gernsback estimated that there were around 2000 television receivers in the New York area.By 1927 the expenses exceeded the income of the Experimenter Publishing Company.

[25] In February 1927 the Experimenter Publishing Company leased the entire sixteenth floor of 230 Fifth Avenue to be used as executive offices.

[27] On February 20, 1929, an involuntary petition in bankruptcy was filed against the Experimenter Publishing Company on behalf of Daniel A. Walters ($2,030), Marie E. Bachmann ($2,094) and Robert Halper ($2,095).

"[28] The April 1929 issues of Radio News (on the newsstand March 10), Amazing Stores and Science and Invention were the last to feature Hugo Gernsback as editor.

[29] The creditors of Experimenter Publishing and the Consrad Company reviewed bids at a March 28 hearing before the bankruptcy referee.

The Irving Trust Company's decision to keep the magazines and stations running avoided an early sale at a sacrifice price.

It was reported that Mr. Hearst could not be reached and Mr. Kirchway decided that he was not authorized to exceed Mr. Cuthell's bid.Hugo and Sidney Gernsback were questioned at an April 19 hearing about the operation of the Experimenter Publishing and the Consrad Company.

"[32] Attorneys for Mr. MacKinnon, questioned the method of the bankrupt companies in allowing hotels space for advertising in the magazines published by the Gernsbacks for trade bills (vouchers) instead of cash.

[33] The state of New York missed the deadline for filing claims but still wanted the back taxes the Experimenter Publishing owed.

Here is the complete description of the bankruptcy: "In the spring of 1929, Radio News, Science and Invention, Amazing Stories and associated magazines were sold to other interest.

Gernsback decided to focus on radio magazines and added Short Wave Craft in June 1930 and Television News in 1931.

[37] Radio News and Amazing Stories were continued but Science and Invention was sold and absorbed into Popular Mechanics magazine.