The magic of the crystal set is that no power source is required. Theres a lot that goes into making a nice crystal radio set, so this is going to have to be broken down into two parts. This condenser is of unique design and is well adapted. Shortwave version i have constructed a version of this receiver to cover the 90 to 40 meter shortfigure 5 schematic and parts list for 90 meter to 40 meter shortwave version of highsensitivity crystal set. Crystal radios get their power from the radio signal themselves. If youve managed to get one shortwave aerial up, and you fancy having another one, the best way to do this is to have it at right angles, with both meeting at the point where youve got the radio. In addition, specific models mentioned in the ham radio forum like antenna books,amateur radio, shortwave, scanning, antenna building, if you are learning or building we sell what you need, and more are here for future reference. Bernards radio test equipment manual radiotrician, bernards no. Apr 07, 2016 a crystal radio was the very first circuit i built. Building a crystal radio set openlearn open university. Orignially published by ladybird books in 1972 i think. Ultimate rf shortwave radio coil winding manual book. Please note that this radio performs poorly compared to the armstrong crystal. When the repairman had a look at the schematic he said.
The book does not actually describe what each part does. The book that comes with the kit does not actually describe the radio theory. Armstrong crystal radio, but looks a whole lot nicer, i would like to suggest the geezerola senior radio i have also built a tiny crystal radio based on some of the good design features of the cr1. The boys book of crystal sets american radio history. Grebe single circuit short wave regenerative receiver.
Shortwave coil data book radio publications 16 pages. How i built a shortwave armstrong fet regenerative receiver. The capacitor is the oscillator section of a poly film variable capacitor, and the coil is wound on a toilet paper core. See more ideas about short waves, ham radio and antique radio. A crystal receiver is powered solely by the radio waves that it pulls from the air. Crystal set circuit design can vary from simple to intricate, but the basics of operation is. Quartz crystal units and narrowband bandpass filters. This site modernizes that concept by showing you how to build a shortwave radio that utilizes a germanium diode. Vaguely i thought to find a crystal radio or radio kit of some sort to play with. Another good resource is the book world radio tv handbook. The book is well researched and has lots of references. When you look at a crystal radio, one of the simplest of all useful electronic circuits, the first thing youre likely to notice is the large coil.
Theres no need to supply batteries or plug into a wall socket. It assumes you know something about electronics but you can skip chapters which cover familiar subjects. A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early. It is capable of receiving am amplitude modulated transmissions, which are generally found on the long, medium and short wave bands. This area presents radio related building projects, a little bit of everything, from transmitters and a shortwave receiver, to nifty radio addons. Jrc nrd535d shortwave radio communications ham receiver dxers favorite. Figure 4 this photo shows the 90 meter to 40 meter shortwave version of the high sensitivity crystal set. Crystal radios for the shortwave bands 21 jan 02 the first set tunes from about 5. This area presents radiorelated building projects, a little bit of everything, from transmitters and a shortwave receiver, to nifty radio addons. A crystal set is the most basic type of radio receiver. Prior to our move, i had been using and trying all kinds of indoor antennas since the early 60s. The first part is the actual making of a functional radio, and the second part is making the whole arrangement look nice. The armstrong crystal radio or its good looking brother, the geezerola senior is fun, cheap, quick and easy to build and it performs hundreds of times better than a straight crystal radio possibly can, especially with a short antenna.
A howto book from east germany on radio with a crystal set prominently featured. Ive lost count of how many times i built a crystal radio based on the design in this book. An important principle used in crystal radio design to transfer maximum power to. I dont care if it is am or shortwave, i can make more more than one. If you are interested in building a very simple shortwave regenerative radio, you might want to consider. Bernards radio experimental circuits manual radiotrician, bernards no. I could switch the main inductance from 100 400 micro henries. During the 1990 sunspot maximum i had some fun with a very similar shortwave crystal set using a t506 yellow toroid, a tuning capacitor, a germanium diode and a crystal earpiece. Trf am radio receiver nosolder kit black case gr150bk. Crystal radio with ferrite toroid coil all about circuits. When i read of the contest sponsored by crosley, the first thing i thought of was tube radios.
This book offers a fast, inexpensive way to tune in to radio broadcasts from near and far. Im looking to get something to work with 14 thin wall copper tubing. Making a transistor radio by george dobbs, g3rjv published by. The shortwave antenna explained ham radio amateur radio. The crystal radio, or crystal set, is a radio receiving circuit that does not require an external power source to operate. The reason it is called a crystal set is because they use a mineral crystal as a diode for the detector in the circuit. We had moved from a city apartment to a house that had a big backyard. Still remember the first time i actually heard a station come in.
The design and the results obtained were written up in an article in short wave magazine, december 1991. An important principle used in crystal radio design to transfer maximum power to the earphone is impedance matching. Excellent performance for such a simple but, elegant classic receiver design. Projects and info the xtal set society a mustvisit site, a few select links. To learn how i restored many vintage radios and tube televisions, also visit our restoration area. Radio frequency resistance and inductance of coils used in broadcast reception 40 pages. Build this multiband crystal radio featuring a combination of outstanding old english design, australian engineering, and an unexplained mysterious phenomenon. This design requires precise winding, which will be easier if you take a moment to. Build a high end multiband crystal radio alvenh channe. Orignially published by ladybird books in 1972 i think, it takes the reader through the various stages of building a transistor radio, starting with a simple crystal set. Radiofrequency resistance and inductance of coils used in broadcast reception 40 pages.
The coil usually consists of 100 turns or more of smallgauge magnet wire wrapped around a nonconductive tube anywhere from one to five inches in diameter. Crystal radio earth station receiver mk2 i wanted to extend the limited tuning range of the mk 1 radio and i added a tapped coil to this radio. I originally got into them to see how much power they could produce as part of my interest in nonconventional energy though i quickly abandoned that effort due to the low power output. Radio hobbyists designbook or rhdb for short was designed to guide. A basic crystal radio receiver circuit consists of just a few basic electronic components. Sep 17, 2007 jmluber writes in with another radio project in the old days, people used radios that used a germanium diode crystal radio to receive am radio without the need for a battery the radio wave powers this type of radio.
I was 9 at the time, which makes it, what, 49 years ago. A crystal radio was the very first circuit i built. A nice addition for the advancing experimenter would be the the radios that work for free book. How to build a shortwave radio university of dallas. A good read for those interested crystal radio history or construction. Mathematics needed in design is down to simple algebra and trigonometry.
A crystal radio, or crystal set as it is sometimes called, is a radio that only uses the power of the radio waves picked up by the antenna to generate the sound heard in the head phones. Build a crystal radio that does not require an outside antenna or ground by using a new. If you are like me, you may have american radio relay league. The results were astounding for something so simple.
Check with your local craft or hobby shop or the nearest scout shop that carries a crystal radio kit. Horisontal loop antenna for shortwave listening and amateur radio use. In this part, im actually going to tell you more than just how to make a crystal radio, but im also going to explain how and why they work. See more ideas about antique radio, ham radio and ham radio antenna. If you havent built a crystal set before, the oatbox radio is about as reliable as they come, and never fails to bring a smile the face of anyone who hooks it up to an antenna and ground for the first time. The author also does a good job of covering the fundamentals of crystal radio design. A few receive shortwave bands, but strong signals are required. Ive wanted to try building a tube radio for a while, so heres an instructable on how i did it. Please note that this radio performs poorly compared to the armstrong crystal radio.
The antenna, of course, captures the radio waves travelling through the air and converts them into alternating current. We dubbed this inexpensive radio the econoceanic in honor of the legendary zenith transoceanic family of shortwave radios. The early days of the crystal radio design are covered well. Unrelatedly, today, i received a link to a web tuned receiver in england, and then via some other searching around inexplicably got pointed to a youtube published in 2019 describing how to build a crystal set to listen to shortwave. The complete guide on how to build a crystal radioplus how. As you know if youve read even some of our first ud reads book, all the light we cannot see, its possible to build a radio from random. Looking to build a crystal radio, need help with the coil. I used an ohmmeter not in the book to scope out the resistors as a double check. Books and magazines category is a curation of 34 web resources on, coax publications inc, k9ya telegraph, a ham radio adventure book.
This is ok, but for a real good radio, you should build something like we used to build when i was a boy. The boy was looking for a diode to build a crystal set from a cub scout book. Radio hobbyists designbook or rhdb for short was designed to guide you into design of electronics apparatus that relates to radio. Already have some nice diodes and whatever capacitorsresistors i need. More advanced crystal sets have a tuned circuit with a variable capacitor and a coil of some sort. It does a good job of detailing the assembly of the kit. Here, youll find links for books on amateur radio covering hfvhfuhf. Peebles originals crystal radio kits, tube radio kits and more. Jul 29, 2015 the main reason for using a ferite toroid in a crystal radio is size. Resistance and capacity of coils at radio frequencies 1922 30 pages. Portable crystal receiving set manufactured by ameri can radio.
1185 338 1566 962 386 31 458 675 762 1466 911 758 599 1524 344 280 175 1258 1415 861 285 944 1348 1438 876 494 132 851 1353 1165 1206 1472 481 180 183 1372 1435 1396 1025