[AT] Way OT Crystal sets

Bill Brueck b2 at chooka.net
Wed Apr 7 07:25:13 PDT 2004


I'm a young guy, too, LOL, and I spent quite a bit of time with radios,
starting with crystal sets.

My first crystal set was really a kit, from raw material except for the
headphones.   2 inch dia cardboard tube for the form, wrapped with wire
salvaged from a generator field coil.  The crystal was a safety pin, with a
piece of pencil lead affixed to the point end, and the pin was bent so I
could put the lead down onto a razor blade and seek a spot that would work.
It usually worked best where the manufacturer had etched their name.  I
remember blue blades didn't work very well.

B²
Bill Brueck (brick)
Chatfield, Minnesota USA

Confusion is a higher state of knowledge than ignorance.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <pga2 at hot1.net>
To: <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 7:19 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Way OT Crystal sets


> >> The crystal sets of long ago were lots of fun for youngsters. Mine had
> >> a crystal in a chunk of lead and used a cats whisker piece of wire
> >> mounted on a small shaft with a ball pivot so that it could be moved
> >> around on the crystal to find the best spot for reception. The ear
> >> phones were the old type that could be taken apart to reveal a small
> >> metal disc and the two wire wound pole pieces. A good antenna and
> >> ground rod were required for good reception. The later units (kits)
> >> used a diode --1N34-- I believe for the detector. All the strong local
> >> stations could be picked up.
> >>
> >> H. L. Staples
> >> McLoud, Oklahoma
> >> USA
> >
> >
> > Geez, H.L., I didn't think you were old enough to remember crystal
> > sets?  ;-)   I bought one around 1940 and never could get it to work
> > where we lived in Minnesota. We were 25 miles from the nearest radio
> > station and the signal was too weak to pick up anything. All I got was a
> > little noise. I remember the black headphones with the spring headband.
> > My bedroom  was upstairs and I ran a wire out to a tree in the back yard
> > but even then it never worked for me. Finally had to give up on it.
> >
> > Cecil
>
> I'm several years younger than H.L. and I had one of those crystal sets
> when I was about 8 or 9. If memory serves me right, it was a kit that I
> got while in Cub Scouts. Dad and I put it together on a board that we
> attachedd to the wall next to the desk in my room with the antenna strung
> out the second story window across the back yard to a tree. Worked like a
> champ.
>
> Phil
>
>
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