Welcome to the birmingham, alabama crystal radio group website. Early radio listeners, often using home made crystal sets and long wire antennas, found radio stations few and far between. Qso today interview with fred regennitter, k4iu, on amateur. Dx work can be accomplished with a simple end fed wire antenna 50 to 100 feet in length, although longer antennas are better. Here is a summary of all that you should do to make a better dx crystal radio. Crystal radio plans, crystal radio circuits, crystal radio schematics are all right here.
This page contains a little information about us and our crystal set activities. Dxing is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making. Thinking back to those good old days, i recall that i could only hear two local stations on my crystal radio. Dx101x 235 pages of real dx secrets for hf and six meters. 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. All of these signals are wide and strong, being wellover s9. Yadd and several other software decoders can be downloaded from the ndb list info site.
The swling post shortwave listening and everything radio. The author also does a good job of covering the fundamentals of crystal radio design. 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. Several years ago i took over running the elmer crystal radio contest, started by owen pool sk. This website is dedicated to the art of radio building, dxing and competition. Great presentation best crystal radio video ever uploaded to the net. Dx radio systems opened its doors for business in 1988 for the purpose of serving specific niche markets. It was also possible to hear some of the nearer coast radio stations in europe which were still using cw then. My version of loop antenna crystal radio the radioboard forums. 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. In some crystal receiver designs and other good designs, it is seen that the antenna is first coupled via inductive coupling. Crystal radios, crystal set, crystal sets, catswiskers, science fair crystal radio, and much more. 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.
Mike peebles presents his newest project, a dx crystal radio with easy to obtain parts on a budget. It is common to be able to hear real dx from short wave broadcast stations. Daves crystal dx radios are built using the information contained on this page. Put pictures of your sets in your posts, talk about the component parts of crystal sets. My ears are getting old and if i can hear this dx then younger. That took me around 35 hours to build soldering, fixing the parts, testing, painting, designing etc.
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. This page describes my reconnection to the hobby of crystal sets or crystal radios. The heathkit crystal radio my copy of the heathkit crystal radio of the 50s. Everyone can enjoy dxing american radio relay league. 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. It requires no additional electric current or batteries to operate.
Performance tips include the best coils to wind, to how a matching transformer can be used. This crystal radio is a homemade copy of the heathkit cr1 crystal radio from the 1950s. The main category is crystal radio that is about crystal radio receivers. Back then, i quickly adopted the standard protocols to help hear dx.
A fine setup about as adjustable as would be possible. I now have this radio, and can absolutely confirm its attributes. Tuning coil construction high selectivity crystal radios. I built my first crystal set at age 10 or 11 without a lot of knowledge of how it worked.
Carr, has created a series of short articles on topics of interest to the shortwave listener. To this day, the company continues to serve those markets while producing an broad line of communicationsrelated products and solutions. Sep 16, 2016 when you think of a crystal radio, you probably think of something simple maybe built out of household scraps. The book is well researched and has lots of references.
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. Many dxers also attempt to obtain written verifications of reception or contact, sometimes referred to as qsls or veries. 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. It was a picture of al klases wonderful crystal radio dx contest station.
My previous experience with crystal radio dx is welldocumented on my website here. Universal radio research is pleased to sponsor this informative website for radio enthusiasts, originally created by noted author harry helms. May 21, 2016 this video shows how to make a homemade am radio, also called a foxhole or crystal radio. 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. This is the main page showing the radios that the contestants built. Car radios are also used for dxing the broadcast bands. It had no tuning capacitor, it brushed a metal contact across a copper coil where the varnish had been sanded off with sand paper. Popular crystal radio design thats a waste of time and why updated video available duration. I have also partcipated in the radiocontest sponsored by the radioboard. This crystal set kit was named after him in his honor. Discussion of all levels of crystal set building and use.
It is a difficult location for crystal radio dxing as separating weak dx signals from the blowtorches can be challenging. Swling post reader, richard langley, received his crystal radio and had a very similar experience with reception. Crystal radio credit card receiver the swling post. What is needed are a good pair of ears and sensitive headphones. Sep 10, 2019 all of these signals are wide and strong, being wellover s9. Jun, 2015 yes, it is possible to hear a long way on a crystal set. The antenna was the nearest downspout and i was thrilled to receive wlw, the 50kw giant in cincinnati.
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. Sound powered headphones and how to use them on crystal radios. Antenna for crystal radio electrical engineering stack. Documentation of my high performance crystal set thelen. Building crystal sets is fun but operating them is more fun. It uses only the power of the received radio signal to produce sound, needing no external power. 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. Am radio stations heres a neat little pdf someone created that helps beginners with dxing am radio. Home board index homemade receivers crystal radios. Tinkering with the credit card crystal radio the swling post. 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. I had always believed that you just couldnt hear very far on a crystal setuntil i ran across this picture. Yadd stands for yet another dsc decoder and is an offshoot of dirks equally popular and effective yand, a free navtex decoder.
Since 1995, dxtreme software has been producing powerful and easytouse logging applications for all kinds of radio enthusiasts. Money back guarantee ensures you receive the item you ordered or get your money back. Longwave club of america home page, the prime source of information on radio below 500 kilohertz, including beacons, time signals, amateur radio. Heres why i bought it, why i believe its the best am radio in its class, and. Dxing is the art and science of listening to distant stations ddistance xxmitter or transmitter. Tannenbaums manuals tiare publications universal dx leagueindia waveguide.
The sensitivity of a good crystal set is about 500v for minimum discernable signal. Through advanced radio control software, the radios can be automatically ganged together, so that. 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. He recently posted a video see below of his highpe. It is built in a 6 x 3 x 2 inch deep plastic box, the same size as the original. A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. We are the host of the crystal radio receiving contest. Antenna for crystal radio electrical engineering stack exchange. For the past several months my interest in dxcrystal radio construction has been percolating once again.
The pickard crystal set radio kit main trading company. Longwave club of america home page, the prime source of information on radio below 500 kilohertz, including beacons, time signals, amateur radio and more. There is not a lot of math or theory, but solid tips for making a better radio. Soon, once you hear a station over a few hundred miles, you think of how much further you can hear. It is named for its most important component, a crystal detector, originally made from a piece of crystalline mineral such as galena. I continued to look for a microspot ra318 on ebay but with no luck. Yes, it is possible to hear a long way on a crystal set.
Dxing is one of the many ham radio activities he enjoys as well as participating in field day with his local club. The pickard crystal set radio kit build a pickard crystal radio greenleaf whittier pickard invented the crystal detector in 1906. 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. Jul 30, 2012 hi, today i wanted to share some photos from my last project last week i finished building loop antenna crystal set.
Crystal radio construction with helpful links to build you own. Qso today interview with fred regennitter, k4iu, on. With any crystal radio especially one this small, performance is directly correlated with antenna length, availability of a good ground connection. Orchid city software passport to world band radio popular communications radio h. Jan 26, 2015 popular crystal radio design thats a waste of time and why updated video available duration. Apr 14, 2015 7 thoughts on tinkering with the credit card crystal radio mr bill july 10, 2015 at 2. A good read for those interested crystal radio history or construction. 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. You will now find all the information from the original site plus some exciting. Internet newsletter the radio magazineuk industry news radio timesuk. This crystal set has two sections, an antenna tuner and a detector section. Birmingham, alabama crystal radio group crystal contest. Birmingham, alabama crystal radio group crystal contest radios.
I show my crystal and tube radio contest results starting at this page. When you think of a crystal radio, you probably think of something simple maybe built out of household scraps. 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. Outside of ham radio, he is interested in guitar, tennis and cycling. Hi, today i wanted to share some photos from my last project last week i finished building loop antenna crystal set. The early days of the crystal radio design are covered well. About crystal radio circuits the resource is currently listed in in a single category. I think i was foolishly lured by the xdr in its type number into buying this radio, on impulse, while in the shop.
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