RadioBanter - Crystal Set Query

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Crystal Set Query

Hi all

Cam someone please help me with a query I have about an old crystal set I
used to own.

When I first came to live in Melbourne (1970s) my parents purchased for me a
small crystal set.at a local, now long gone, toy store. As I recall the set
was manufactured in England although I may be wrong on this point.

It was housed in a small plastic box (red?) and from memory was about 2
inches long and maybe an inch wide and high.

Inside the box was a small wound coil (about 1/4" diameter) around a thin
cardboard tube. There was a ferrite rod inside this which could be slid back
and forth within the tube by means of a small rod that stuck out of the end
of the ferte rod and protruded from the end of the box. This was used for
tuning stations. There was also a piece of wire coming from the box with an
alligator clip on the end. This was the antenna and by attaching it to a
long piece of wire one could receive stations. There was also another piece
of twin wire protruduing from the box which went to a crystal earpiece so
that you could listen to stations.

Aside from this I think there were only two other components - a diode and a
capacitor as I recall which formed the crystal set circuit. Unfortunately
the set is now lost after so many years.

This was my first introduction to radio and despite moving on to bigger
radios and getting my ham license, this example of a crystal set has always
stuck in my mind as being a particularly simple but efficient example of
electrical engineering. I now have a young son of my own and would like very
much to buy one of these sets.

Does anyone know who manufactured these sets and whether they are still
available to be purchased?

cheers Peter VK3PB

We used to build them with 1N34A diode, capacitor across the headphones,
and a coil wound on a toilet paper tube, with taps on the coil
that you'd clip an allegator clip to, for tuning.

Assemble atop wooden board.

There were some with an actual cat whisker instead of the diode,
but we went the modern way mostly.

The project is mostly winding the coil, many turns of enameled wire,
and scraping bits of it clear of enamel for the allegator clip
landing spots.

Another tuning method was a slider over the coil but it never
seemed like that would be very easy to get to work reliably.

Antenna and ground across the live portion of the coil.
--
Ron Hardin

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

That sure brings back some memories S. I made one with a piece of Galena and a cat whisker and a headset. I didn't have any tuning, just a wire for an antenna and a wire to connect to ground - and it worked ! Later I got a diode, as that seemed to work better, but I also managed to get a transistor to work as detector as well simply by the way the leads were connected. It was great fun experimenting. Dad bought me one similar to what you describe, but it was red and white plastic in the shape of a rocket, and it had a metal rod that you could push in or pull out to tune. It had a piece of germanium that slid in and out of a coil. Your son would love it s.mm

Peace +

"Ron Hardin" wrote in message ...
We used to build them with 1N34A diode, capacitor across the headphones,
and a coil wound on a toilet paper tube, with taps on the coil
that you'd clip an allegator clip to, for tuning.

Assemble atop wooden board.

There were some with an actual cat whisker instead of the diode,
but we went the modern way mostly.

The project is mostly winding the coil, many turns of enameled wire,
and scraping bits of it clear of enamel for the allegator clip
landing spots.

Another tuning method was a slider over the coil but it never
seemed like that would be very easy to get to work reliably.

Antenna and ground across the live portion of the coil.
--
Ron Hardin

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Was the radio shaped like a "rocket"?
Like:
http://www.tompolk.com/radios/rocket.html
or:
http://home.earthlink.net/~wb5rex/xt...osrockets.html
There is a company making a reproduction.
I will dig out their name and URL tonight.
Terry

wrote:

Was the radio shaped like a "rocket"?
Like:
http://www.tompolk.com/radios/rocket.html
or:
http://home.earthlink.net/~wb5rex/xt...osrockets.html
There is a company making a reproduction.
I will dig out their name and URL tonight.

I had a couple of those rocket radios in the late 50's early 60's.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

No but the radio is very similar

I think I would almost prefer a rocket radio for my son if they are still
available! They look way cool!

cheers Peter

wrote in message
oups.com...
Was the radio shaped like a "rocket"?
Like:
http://www.tompolk.com/radios/rocket.html
or:
http://home.earthlink.net/~wb5rex/xt...osrockets.html
There is a company making a reproduction.
I will dig out their name and URL tonight.
Terry

Ron Hardin wrote:

We used to build them with 1N34A diode, capacitor across the
headphones,
and a coil wound on a toilet paper tube, with taps on the coil
that you'd clip an allegator clip to, for tuning.

We still do! And they still work great!

They're not hard to construct with inexpensive readily-available items.
There are several good websites with tips and hints for simple
construction, and they're great fun. Try making one!

Bruce Jensen

I bought a crystal radio set from an ad I saw in a Popular Mechanics
magazine in 1947.It worked great too.
cuhulin