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WTB Crystal Radio

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nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:38 am Post subject: WTB Crystal Radio

At 08:34 PM 10/4/2007 -0700, you wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  I know this is an odd request, however, I am a high school electronics 

teacher by day and a plane builder by night :>)   I thought this might be 

a good place to ask if any of you electronics tinkerers might 

have  crystal radio sets jammed into the back of a closet that you would 

like to get rid of. I am trying to round up about 50 of them or the 

components. The difficult part to find in quantity is the variable air 

capacitors (365pfd  or close). My e-mail is

dan  at  azshowersolutions dot com

Thanks,

I live in Mesa, AZ

Dan


	




    Dan, I'm working on a basic electronics course

    that will start with some hands-on activities

    that not only explore the simple-ideas of physics

    but the practical hands-on ideas for fabrication.



    I've discovered a company at



http://tubesandmore.com/



    who offers some interesting products:



    The B-851 book entitled "The Voice of the Crystal"

    by Friedrichs. It offers ways to make things work

    without going to the electronics parts store.



    The other item of interest is a surplus

    C-VW4450 6-gang air variable designed for specific

    application in an AM/FM radio. The TOTAL capacitance

    of sections combined is about 430 pF. Single

    unit price is $2.95 but they say they have a

    LOT of them. I've ordered 10 pcs and will let

    you know how they look. You might be able to

    negotiate a better price for quantities. Best

    yet, it has a geared down drive shaft built in.

    REALLY good value for the performance. The

    smaller sections might figure in a crystal set

    or one-tube design for short wave.



    Also, take a peek at C-VT250 compression trimmer

    that goes up to 250 pF. This is small and would

    cover a major portion of the BC band. One could

    include a switch that kicks in an extra 100pf

    for the bottom end.



    Finally, take a peek at item 330181321066

    on Ebay. I have one of these and the workmanship

    is superb. I'm going to use it in a classroom demo

    for both crystal sets and a one-tube radio.



    It wouldn't surprise me if the book cited above

    doesn't talk about spider-web coil winding. You

    can find Litz wire on ebay and other sources.

    You could build a form for duplicating the

    craftsmanship offered by the ebay guy.



    Bob . . .

        ----------------------------------------

        ( "Problems are the price of progress. )

        ( Don't bring me anything but trouble. )

        ( Good news weakens me."               )

        (              -Charles F. Kettering-  )

        ----------------------------------------

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dan(at)azshowersolutions.
Guest

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject: WTB Crystal Radio

Robert, Thanks a bunch for the info...I ordered the book you mentioned as it looks like a kick to try and make our own stuff. The kids are currently finishing up their first attempts at crystal radios. Thanks to Ed Larson here on the list they have variablle caps to tie in. He sent me a whole box of various sizes. We were out today on the football field and found 4 radios that worked...quite faint...but it was enough to get them worked up. We are going to build a one or two transistor amp to add to them. That will get them into making a PCB. Thanks again, Dan Billingsley

  Building a Kitfox-IV 

  http://www.azshowersolutions.com/Build1.html



"Robert L. Nuckolls, III" <nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net> wrote:

  [quote]--> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "Robert L. Nuckolls,  III" 



At 08:34 PM 10/4/2007 -0700, you wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  I know this is an odd request, however, I am a high school electronics 

teacher by day and a plane builder by night :>) I thought this might be 

a good place to ask if any of you electronics tinkerers might 

have crystal radio sets jammed into the back of a closet that you would 

like to get rid of. I am trying to round up about 50 of them or the 

components. The difficult part to find in quantity is the variable air 

capacitors (365pfd or close). My e-mail is

dan at azshowersolutions dot com

Thanks,

I live in Mesa, AZ

Dan


	




Dan, I'm working on a basic electronics course

that will start with some hands-on activities

that not only explore the simple-ideas of physics

but the practical hands-on ideas for fabrication.



I've discovered a company at



http://tubesandmore.com/



who offers  some interesting products:



The B-851 book entitled "The Voice of the Crystal"

by Friedrichs. It offers ways to make things work

without going to the electronics parts store.



The other item of interest is a surplus

C-VW4450 6-gang air variable designed for specific

application in an AM/FM radio. The TOTAL capacitance

of sections combined is about 430 pF. Single

unit price is $2.95 but they say they have a

LOT of them. I've ordered 10 pcs and will let

you know how they look. You might be able to

negotiate a better price for quantities. Best

yet, it has a geared down drive shaft built in.

REALLY good value for the performance. The

smaller sections might figure in a crystal set

or one-tube design for short wave.



Also, take a peek at C-VT250 compression trimmer

that goes up to 250 pF. This is small and would

cover a major portion of the BC band. One could

include a switch that kicks in an extra 100pf

for [quote][b]

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nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject: WTB Crystal Radio

At 07:05 PM 11/1/2007 -0700, you wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  Robert, Thanks a bunch for the info...I ordered the book you mentioned as 

it looks like a kick to try and make our own stuff. The kids are currently 

finishing up their first attempts at crystal radios. Thanks to Ed Larson 

here on the list they have variablle caps to tie in. He sent me a whole 

box of various sizes. We were out today on the football field and found 4 

radios that worked...quite faint...but it was enough to get them worked 

up. We are going to build a one or two transistor amp to add to them. That 

will get them into making a PCB. Thanks again, Dan Billingsley

Building a Kitfox-IV

<http://www.azshowersolutions.com/Build1.html>http://www.azshowersolutions.com/Build1.html


	




    I've ordered one too.  I've been 'building' since

    the 4th grade when I listened to Ike's election

    returns on the first crystal set I built from

    a kit.



    I've nearly always lived near Wichita's 5KW

    AM station . . . easy to get strong signals,

    hard to get anyone else. I've inherited a house

    from my father in Medicine Lodge, KS . . . lots

    of miles from any AM BC station. I've become

    interested in seeing what can be heard from afar

    with a reasonable antenna system and high

    Q tuning.



    I purchased some 6418 vacuum tubes . . . See:



http://www.schmarder.com/radios/tube/6418.htm



    I'm in the process of packaging the 6418

    circuitry into one of my standard product

    packages. See:



http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Products/A15_Package.jpg



   Everything but batteries, regen pot, tuning

   caps and inductors will be in this package.

   The BIG variability in performance is configuration

   of tuning sections/antenna. I thought it would

   be useful to have the constants packaged in

   a robust module that allows fast,

   low-risk assembly of the variables.

   If you'd like one of these modules

   to play with, I'll send you one when

   they're done.



   Bob . . .

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dan(at)azshowersolutions.
Guest

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:29 am Post subject: WTB Crystal Radio

Robert,

  Sounds like you were hooked at quite a young age. Something about the radio sets that is still magic to me...easy to get the high school kids fired up.

  The site for Dave's Radios looks good. Have you built one of them using the 6418 tube? I would certainly like to try out your module when they are finished.

  Thanks again,

  Dan

  11434 E Portal Ave

  Mesa, AZ 85212



"Robert L. Nuckolls, III" <nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net> wrote:

  [quote]--> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "Robert L. Nuckolls, III" 



At 07:05 PM 11/1/2007 -0700, you wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  Robert, Thanks a bunch for the info...I ordered the book you mentioned as 

it looks like a kick to try and make our own stuff. The kids are currently 

finishing up their first attempts  at crystal radios. Thanks to Ed Larson 

here on the list they have variablle caps to tie in. He sent me a whole 

box of various sizes. We were out today on the football field and found 4 

radios that worked...quite faint...but it was enough to get them worked 

up. We are going to build a one or two transistor amp to add to them. That 

will get them into making a PCB. Thanks again, Dan Billingsley

Building a Kitfox-IV

http://www.azshowersolutions.com/Build1.html


	




I've ordered one too. I've been 'building' since

the 4th grade when I listened to Ike's election

returns on the first crystal set I built from

a kit.



I've nearly always lived near Wichita's 5KW

AM station . . . easy to get strong signals,

hard to get anyone else. I've inherited a house

from my father in Medicine Lodge, KS . . . lots

of miles from any AM BC station. I've [quote][b]

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Eric M. Jones

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 565
Location: Massachusetts

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:31 am Post subject: Re: WTB Crystal Radio

You guys...Darned I've spent half a day Googling Xtal sets.



A MUST SEE:  http://www.wynterarchtops.com/radios/index.htm



I hate to see anyone build a crystal set and cheap-out by buying the variable capacitor. There's no magic in capacitors. A roll of foil and some scissors will make one in a pinch. There is a long history of capacitors in strange forms. And if it doesn't have a cat's whisker and a galena crystal....shame on you.



One of my pet projects (after I finish the Glastar....) is to build crytal sets along the lines of a Captain Nemo fantasy. It is entirely possible to build a an AM radio receiver using nothing you couldn't buy in AD 1200.



"Inventor: A person who makes an ingenious arrangement of wheels, levers and springs, and believes it civilization."

   --Ambrose Bierce

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_________________
Eric M. Jones
www.PerihelionDesign.com
113 Brentwood Drive
Southbridge, MA 01550
(508) 764-2072
emjones(at)charter.net

dan(at)azshowersolutions.
Guest

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject: WTB Crystal Radio

Eric, Tom has some interesting stuff going on with his projects. 

  Dan



"Eric M. Jones" <emjones(at)charter.net> wrote:

  [quote]--> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "Eric M. Jones" 



You guys...Darned I've spent half a day Googling Xtal sets.



A MUST SEE: http://www.wynterarchtops.com/radios/index.htm



I hate to see anyone build a crystal set and cheap-out by buying the variable capacitor. There's no magic in capacitors. A roll of foil and some scissors will make one in a pinch. There is a long history of capacitors in strange forms. And if it doesn't have a cat's whisker and a galena crystal....shame on you.



One of my pet projects (after I finish the Glastar....) is to build crytal sets along the lines of a Captain Nemo fantasy. It is entirely possible to build a an AM radio receiver [quote][b]

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Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

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