What is needed are a good pair of ears and sensitive headphones. Thinking back to those good old days, i recall that i could only hear two local stations on my crystal radio. This fine crystal set kit was named after general dunwoody for his contribution to. I now have this radio, and can absolutely confirm its attributes. You will now find all the information from the original site plus some exciting.
Put pictures of your sets in your posts, talk about the component parts of crystal sets. Qso today interview with fred regennitter, k4iu, on amateur. A good read for those interested crystal radio history or construction. Universal radio research is pleased to sponsor this informative website for radio enthusiasts, originally created by noted author harry helms. Internet newsletter the radio magazineuk industry news radio timesuk. Dxing is one of the many ham radio activities he enjoys as well as participating in field day with his local club. Carr, has created a series of short articles on topics of interest to the shortwave listener. With the broadcast bands uncrowded, signals of the most powerful stations could be heard over hundreds of miles, but weaker signals required more precise tuning or better receiving gear.
Daves crystal dx radios are built using the information contained on this page. Dx work can be accomplished with a simple end fed wire antenna 50 to 100 feet in length, although longer antennas are better. When you think of a crystal radio, you probably think of something simple maybe built out of household scraps. To this day, the company continues to serve those markets while producing an broad line of communicationsrelated products and solutions.
A crystal set is a radio receiver that operates using a crystal diode to extract the audible sound from the power that the radio station is transmitting. This greatly improved the crystal set which rectified the radio signal using an early solidstate diode based on a crystal and a socalled cats whisker, an adjustable point contact. Yes, it is possible to hear a long way on a crystal set. This page describes my reconnection to the hobby of crystal sets or crystal radios. My version of loop antenna crystal radio the radioboard forums. My previous experience with crystal radio dx is welldocumented on my website here. This page contains a little information about us and our crystal set activities. Birmingham, alabama crystal radio group crystal contest radios. The swling post shortwave listening and everything radio.
The heathkit crystal radio my copy of the heathkit crystal radio of the 50s. Dx101x 235 pages of real dx secrets for hf and six meters. Early radio receivers, called crystal radios, used a cats whisker of fine wire pressing on a crystal of galena lead sulfide to serve as a pointcontact rectifier or crystal detector. Yadd and several other software decoders can be downloaded from the ndb list info site. I have also partcipated in the radiocontest sponsored by the radioboard. I show my crystal and tube radio contest results starting at this page. Performance tips include the best coils to wind, to how a matching transformer can be used. The signals heard from radio australia, radio havana and all india radio came from their respective countries however. Mike peebles presents his newest project, a dx crystal radio with easy to obtain parts on a budget. Hi, today i wanted to share some photos from my last project last week i finished building loop antenna crystal set. Since 1995, dxtreme software has been producing powerful and easytouse logging applications for all kinds of radio enthusiasts.
The main category is crystal radio that is about crystal radio receivers. Several years ago i took over running the elmer crystal radio contest, started by owen pool sk. About crystal radio circuits the resource is currently listed in in a single category. It is common to be able to hear real dx from short wave broadcast stations. Home board index homemade receivers crystal radios. Am radio stations heres a neat little pdf someone created that helps beginners with dxing am radio.
Tuning coil construction high selectivity crystal radios. Back then, i quickly adopted the standard protocols to help hear dx. It is named for its most important component, a crystal detector, originally made from a piece of crystalline mineral such as galena. Dx radio systems opened its doors for business in 1988 for the purpose of serving specific niche markets. Crystal radio contest entry 2003 crystal radio contest entry 2004 crystal radio contest entry 2005 crystal radio contest entry 2006 crystal radio contest entry 2007 crystal radio contest entry 2008 crystal radio contest. Antenna for crystal radio electrical engineering stack exchange. Welcome to the birmingham, alabama crystal radio group website. Dx and contests are freds interest and the new digital modes. It is our mission to enhance your radio operating and monitoring experience by making it easy and fun to enter your loggings, record audio archives of the stations youve worked or heard, and maintain a digital repository of your treasured qsl cards. Jan 26, 2015 popular crystal radio design thats a waste of time and why updated video available duration. The sensitivity of a good crystal set is about 500v for minimum discernable signal.
Sep 16, 2016 when you think of a crystal radio, you probably think of something simple maybe built out of household scraps. I built my first crystal set at age 10 or 11 without a lot of knowledge of how it worked. We are the host of the crystal radio receiving contest. Many dxers also attempt to obtain written verifications of reception or contact, sometimes referred to as qsls or veries. For the past several months my interest in dxcrystal radio construction has been percolating once again. It was also possible to hear some of the nearer coast radio stations in europe which were still using cw then. Popular crystal radio design thats a waste of time and why updated video available duration.
May 21, 2016 this video shows how to make a homemade am radio, also called a foxhole or crystal radio. Everyone can enjoy dxing american radio relay league. This is the main page showing the radios that the contestants built. This crystal radio is a homemade copy of the heathkit cr1 crystal radio from the 1950s. This crystal set kit was named after him in his honor. The longer and higher your antenna is the better your set will perform. My qso this week is with fred regennitter, k4iu, has a rich ham radio history spanning over 50 years, from the first crystal radio receiver to his modern flexradio software defined transceiver. Outside of ham radio, he is interested in guitar, tennis and cycling. Several weeks ago i became aware, via the internet, of an experimental am crystal set style of receiver, that uses what is known as a zvb zero voltage bias device. It is built in a 6 x 3 x 2 inch deep plastic box, the same size as the original. Crystal radio construction with helpful links to build you own.
Antenna for crystal radio electrical engineering stack. The book is well researched and has lots of references. Dxing is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making twoway radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens band radio or other twoway radio communications. Swling post reader, richard langley, received his crystal radio and had a very similar experience with reception. Discussion of all levels of crystal set building and use. I continued to look for a microspot ra318 on ebay but with no luck.
Best is a bold word, however in my opinion and that of others if you search for it perhaps the best am radio for long range dx listening of the am radio band is the ccradio2e by c crane. If you are anything like most radio nuts, you probably had a crystal set when you were a kid. Here is a summary of all that you should do to make a better dx crystal radio. Longwave club of america home page, the prime source of information on radio below 500 kilohertz, including beacons, time signals, amateur radio and more. Tinkering with the credit card crystal radio the swling post. Apr 14, 2015 7 thoughts on tinkering with the credit card crystal radio mr bill july 10, 2015 at 2. A fine setup about as adjustable as would be possible. The pickard crystal set radio kit build a pickard crystal radio greenleaf whittier pickard invented the crystal detector in 1906. The original pickard crystal set radio kit was designed for a rice university class on amateur radio for eighttotwelve year olds that was presented at the. Even the best possible crystal set will not work without an antenna.
Crystal radio credit card receiver the swling post. Through advanced radio control software, the radios can be automatically ganged together, so that tuning one radio can tune all the others in the group. Qso today interview with fred regennitter, k4iu, on. Early radio listeners, often using home made crystal sets and long wire antennas, found radio stations few and far between. In some crystal receiver designs and other good designs, it is seen that the antenna is first coupled via inductive coupling. A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It uses only the power of the received radio signal to produce sound, needing no external power. With any crystal radio especially one this small, performance is directly correlated with antenna length, availability of a good ground connection. It is a difficult location for crystal radio dxing as separating weak dx signals from the blowtorches can be challenging. Dxing is the art and science of listening to distant stations ddistance xxmitter or transmitter. Radio world short wave magazineuk software for shortwave listeners southern california area dxers a.
Heres why i bought it, why i believe its the best am radio in its class, and. Documentation of my high performance crystal set thelen. This website is dedicated to the art of radio building, dxing and competition. Money back guarantee ensures you receive the item you ordered or get your money back. He will be joining a group of young hams lead by don dubon, n6jrl, on a trip to costa rica to operate ti5n as well as sightsee in the beautiful city of san jose. Car radios are also used for dxing the broadcast bands. Jun, 2015 yes, it is possible to hear a long way on a crystal set. Sound powered headphones and how to use them on crystal radios. The pickard crystal set radio kit main trading company. Building crystal sets is fun but operating them is more fun. Birmingham, alabama crystal radio group crystal contest. Sep 10, 2019 all of these signals are wide and strong, being wellover s9. That took me around 35 hours to build soldering, fixing the parts, testing, painting, designing etc. Crystal radios, crystal set, crystal sets, catswiskers, science fair crystal radio, and much more.
He recently posted a video see below of his highpe. Yadd stands for yet another dsc decoder and is an offshoot of dirks equally popular and effective yand, a free navtex decoder. If you are looking for some material for people interested in dxing, this is a good starting point and explanation of what is out there. Dxing is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making. This crystal set has two sections, an antenna tuner and a detector section. All of these signals are wide and strong, being wellover s9. Crystal radio plans, crystal radio circuits, crystal radio schematics are all right here. This link is listed in our web site directory since monday mar 30 2015, and till today crystal radio circuits has been followed for a total of 477 times. It requires no additional electric current or batteries to operate. It was a picture of al klases wonderful crystal radio dx contest station. I think i was foolishly lured by the xdr in its type number into buying this radio, on impulse, while in the shop. Aug 07, 2017 yadd stands for yet another dsc decoder and is an offshoot of dirks equally popular and effective yand, a free navtex decoder. Tannenbaums manuals tiare publications universal dx leagueindia waveguide. I had always believed that you just couldnt hear very far on a crystal setuntil i ran across this picture.
Longwave club of america home page, the prime source of information on radio below 500 kilohertz, including beacons, time signals, amateur radio. It is our mission to enhance your radio operating and monitoring experience by making it easy and fun to enter your loggings, record audio archives of the stations youve worked or heard, and maintain a digital repository of your treasured qsl. The antenna was the nearest downspout and i was thrilled to receive wlw, the 50kw giant in cincinnati. Through advanced radio control software, the radios can be automatically ganged together, so that.
Orchid city software passport to world band radio popular communications radio h. My ears are getting old and if i can hear this dx then younger. My version of loop antenna crystal radio the radioboard. It had no tuning capacitor, it brushed a metal contact across a copper coil where the varnish had been sanded off with sand paper.
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