Steampunk Radio: No Steam Required

Because the radio would focus largely on picking up radio signals, it would actually be a bit less extensive than much other steampunk technology. It wouldn’t have to be powered by steam, or even gunpowder. You could just have a wind-up radio - where you can listen to the radio for as long as you wish, as long as you keep it wound.

The wind-up radio would be largely antennae-based, and the standard wind-up radio would come with an adjustable antenna - which would make the radio signals a bit more similar to frequency modulation (FM), rather than amplitude modulation (AM)… even though it wouldn’t actually be either. Antenna-extensions can be purchased at a fairly reasonable price, which can allow radio signals to be picked up from a longer distance. Signal blockers would also be necessary, which would be used to cut out potential interference from other radio stations that share the same frequency.

Television and computer networks would work pretty much the same way - except the challenge there would be figuring out which source of energy would be used for lighting the screen.