Crystal Radio Set Receiver Litz Wire Coil Brass Detector Whisker Stand Galena

Description

Some electronic parts and knob designs may vary from photos but are always improved equivalents.
NEW Design allows you to change the main Coil total inductance with the press of a switch !!
Press yellow button to
reduce inductance by as much as 50%, press again for full inductance
The inductance is locked/latched and will hold until you press the pushbutton again
Assembled and Wired Ultimate Professional Grade Crystal Radio with Piezo Earphone and a
Litz Wire Coil.
Tested Working Radio comes with a high performance germanium diode installed and comes with a cat
whisker and a Galena Crysta
l.
Includes my Exclusive Design Preformed Torsion Cats Whisker
Removal of the installed diode and installing the Cats Whisker just takes a few minutes.
Working with a Cats Whisker and Crystal Galena can be very
tricky
and takes some experience, patience, time, and steady hands in addition to acquired skills.
Engineered Quality Litz Wire Coil
Litz Wire Coils are more expensive and are preferred by Crystal Radio
Enthusiasts
Designed for good Signal Strength and Audio Volume.
Also includes a Galena Crystal and built in Brass Stand
Cast Galena Crystal Galena The Cast Dimensions are 13mm diameter and 6-8mm high.
(The Crystal Cup is can secured and centered to the Base Plate with included conductive Adhesive Pad.)
(You can remove it easily but will loose Cup movement Stability.)
Instructions are in the Picture Gallery in JPG format with this listing,
If you are unable to view and read the images, the instructions for getting the files by PDF will be included with the radio when you receive it.
The radio you will receive has the whisker mount built into the radio platform.
The radio will come with a diode secured into the mount so that you can first get the radio properly working with your antenna and ground.
You can easily change over to the whisker and Galena Crystal at a later date by simply removing the diode and installing the included Whisker and Crystal.
Great Radio Backup for when a Power Failure happens.
Earphone Jack is already Connected. Just need to attach an Antenna and Ground and it is ready to use.
(Antenna and Ground Wire Not included)
A minimum of a
30-50ft long outdoor Antenna Wire is recommended.
The reason you need a good length antenna is because the more antenna you have, the more power your set will receive, and the louder it will be.
Operation:
To change the contact
position
, gently lift the end of the whisker wire at the contact point and
slide the crystal cup.
Do not bend the whisker too much or it will take a bend and loose the spring tension.
Just lift the whisker slightly 1/16" from the top of the crystal surface and only then slide the cup. Don't slide the crystal cup while tension is being
applied
from the whisker wire as this crumbles some crystal surface particles and makes the contact point even more unstable.
My design is based on a very old crystal radio 1925 concept.
The most common type was the so-called cat whisker detector, which consisted of a piece of crystalline mineral, usually galena (lead sulfide), with a fine wire touching its surface.
The old ball designs are not at all mechanically stable when attempting to adjust them, I have tested these and they just didn't work well with my experiments.
X and Y axis (see picture) control can be made by lifting the whisker ever so slightly 1/16" from the crystal surface and sliding the crystal cup in any direction.
Z axis (up and down) control can be achieved easily by just cutting a small amount from the end of the whisker. (Just dont cut off too much or the whisker will be too short to properly contact the crystal surface.
It is also possible to form a small turn, bend or loop in the whisker wire to achieve proper Z axis control and this also may change the spring force of the whisker. You can also put a small bend at the tip of the whisker wire to make better contact at 90 degrees from the whisker surface.
Replacement Whisker wire is available.
This Radio permits easy changeover when experimenting with Different Diodes, Earphones or Coils because of the threaded Knurl Nuts used in the unique design.
This is a must have for any Survivalist to keep in your Survival Kit or backpack if the power goes out and to be able to tune to a radio station.
The components can be disassembled from the platform and the base can be stained and finished to your liking.
Crystal Radio Set Kits are sometimes called Xtal Radio Kits and Crystal Diode Radios.
Listen to radio using only the power in the radio waves
This is a must have for any Survivalist to keep in your Survival Kit or to keep at home if the power goes out and to be able to tune to a radio station.
ALSO INCLUDES A PIEZO EARPHONE
THIS KIT IS Completely ASSEMBLED
Professional Grade Crystal Radio project kit
The Components used in this Crystal Radio construction are:
1-
5"x7" Pine Base
1- Piezo Earphone and Adapter Jack -Jack is already wired and connected
1-470uh inductor is placed across the variable capacitor terminal and ground to provide a frequency shift that may improve volume
The
470uh inductor
is already installed on this Model and can also be removed easily from the Knurl Nuts.
1- Galena Crystal and Cats whisker mounted with Brass fittings to Pine base (Radio Base)
1- resistor-
already installed on this Model
1- .001 Capacitor-
already installed on this Model
1-  High performance Litz Wire Coil
1- 60/140pf Variable Capacitor assembly mounted to wood spacer
1- Tuning Knob with shaft extension and screw
4- Brass Thumb screw Nuts/washers and Posts for easy solderless connections to coil, diode, and earphone
1- Schematic Diagram Showing all Electrical connections (Will be emailed)
4- Rubber non-skid feet
The kits do not come with antenna or ground wire (For Earth Ground or Antenna)
A 50ft long outdoor Antenna Wire is recommended.
FACTS ABOUT OLD SCHOOL CRYSTAL DIODES
Measuring forward and back resistance ratios of crystal-and-cats-whisker diode. There is a significant difference
between forward and back resistance readings on an ohmmeter, but the ratio was nowhere close to that of a modern germanium diode,
thus limiting the efficiency of the crystal. However, connecting a germanium diode as a bias with the crystal can make a major
improvements in performance.
Not every contact position on the Galena crystal will perform, so fiddling with the ‘cat's whisker’ to find a sweet spot does take patience and a steady hand.
position to find a sweet spot on the crystal does take patience and some acquired skill.
To change the contact position, gently lift the end of the whisker wire at the contact point and
slide the crystal cup.
Don not bend the whisker too much or it will take a bend and loose the spring tension.
Just lift the whisker slightly 1/16" from the top of the crystal and only then slide the cup.
The "cat whisker", a springy piece of thin metal wire, Hardened wire of about 30 gauge is
commonly used.
The wire whisker is the anode, and the crystal is the cathode.
Cat Whisker:
The "cat whisker", a springy piece of thin metal wire, formed the metal side of the junction. Hardened wire of about 30 gauge was commonly used because it had the right amount of springiness.
Cat whisker detector:
It consisted of a pea-size piece of crystalline mineral in a metal holder, with its surface touched by a fine metal wire or needle (the "cat whisker"). The contact between the tip of the wire and the surface of the crystal formed a crude unstable point-contact metal–semiconductor junction, forming a diode. The wire whisker is the anode, and the crystal is the cathode; current can flow from the wire into the crystal but not in the other direction.
Having a lot of patience and a steady hand are needed when you listen with a piece of the rock. But this can also be very rewarding when you can hear the first station using a cats whisker detector.