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Old November 15th 10, 05:58 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
amdx amdx is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 349
Default Matching antenna to crystal radio


"Richard Clark" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:59:44 -0600, "amdx" wrote:

Hi Guys,
Assuming I have a tank circuit on a crystal radio with a Z at resonance
of
1.5 megaohms.
How would I make an antenna and extract maximum signal and keep the Z at
750,000 ohms.
If don't think that's what I want to do, tell me that too. :-)
MikeK


Hi Mike,

Try thinking backwards. How much current through your headphones/ear
pieces do you need to hear the signal you want? (This is assuming you
are not amplifying the signal, which if that's the case, what's the
point in building a xtal set?).

What is the impedance of your headphones/ear pieces? They will
dictate the "loaded Q" of your tank circuit.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

Hi Richard,
It all affects the loaded Q, the antenna, the diode, the audio matching
transformer and headphones.
I think the ideal is to impart maximum power to the tank circuit from the
antenna, now you have an
AC power supply with a known source impedance. Then pick your diode and
transformer match
your headphone for max power out...
I'm going through a mental exercise to build the most sensitive crystal
radio I can.
The best scenario would be to build a headphone with about a megaohm of
impedance
and eliminate the matching transformer losses. Here's one form that could
be modified.
http://www.hpfriedrichs.com/images-votc/gallows.jpg
If it's not self explanatory, you connect a stethoscope type headphone to
the tube that sticks out.
So to rephrase my question, how do I raise the impedance of an antenna to a
very high impedance
with minimum losses?
MikeK