Radios That Work For Free.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ม.ค. 2020
- hopeandallen.com/
In this video I had the privilege of interviewing Mr K E Edwards, the author of Two books on Crystal Radios. In this video he shows some of the radios he built over 40 years ago. Most of these radios are designed for the AM broadcast band, but a couple of them are designed for short wave, long wave, and believe it or not even the FM broadcast band. For those who may be interested in ordering any of his books, you can find them on these links. hopeandallen.com/
It is good to see that folks still make Crystal sets. I made my first in the 1950's that planted the seed. I am now retired after a career in the Electronics industry. Just a couple of weeks ago I came across a box in my house loft containing all the vintage Ebonite parts of a Chrystal set except the detector so I might sit down and construct one from the parts.
Funny, I have a similar story, and built one 2 weeks ago.✋73's🎙KD9OAM🎧📻📡
Why Am I Just watching this. I love this.
I had a crystal radio when I was a kid around 1960. Really cool and brings back memories. Thank You Both for posting this. Best Regards.
I met this old guy when I was in elementary school. He build fox hole radios in his garage. He helped spark my interest in building radios. I built heatkits when I was in high school. That evolved into my getting my ham license and many enjoyable hours on the air.
Nice video, it took me back to those old days in my neighbors garage
The "foxhole" radio at about 5:46 is just the detector. The actual radio needs a coil. Generally there is also a "wiper" to make the coil adjustable. I made one in the 4th grade or so (early 1960's). I think I used the school's steam heat radiator pipe for the ground. It worked. Crystal headphones have the best output. Cheap crystal headphones were easy to find in the 1960's.
I was doing this stuff beginning around age 10 or 12. One tube radios using a 1T4 quickly followed with an A.C. Gilbert set. Then a two tuber Knight Kit.
This is all still valid education for both adults and kids. What is a mobile phone before it's anything else? Answer: It's a two way radio. Without that most of the other capabilities are impossible.
Tell ur friend that there are still youngsters like myself that are totally in love with the ideas and inventions and tinkering, I love these videos and would love to listen to ur friend talk about his ideas and projects alllll day long, I need to remake my radio, unfortunately mine was stolen, and I want to play again….
I m gonna try to rebuild today I think, I have an old transformer that I used the secondary coil for Electroculture experiment which btw amazed me with my results, my question is can I use the smaller coil wire from the transformer for my coil? I live in a small town and magnetic wire is non existent for sale, trying to be frugal. Any suggestions?
I built a crystal radio in the late 70's just for fun and the first thing I heard when I tried it out was E.G. Marshals voice the program was The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
It couldn't have been more perfect timing, it was as if the radio was picking up broadcasts from the past. At the time I was stunned because until then I didn't know the program existed.
I can identify with the sense of wonder you must have felt. As a small boy I remember the thrill of hearing mysterious voices coming through my earphone. It was as if I was listening to aliens from another planet, and taping into a secret conversation of unknown origin.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair I was almost 30 at the time and it still was amazing to me that this particular show happened to be on at that moment.
@@electronron1 Sounds like it was meant to be. :-)
what a delightful interview. i have his book in this mess somewhere .
I can relate to the mess. LOL. Thanks for the comment. :-)
Little works of art.
Absolutely loved your video! I own both of his books and they’re treasures. I wish his second one was available hard copy, but then I’m old fashioned. Thank you for sharing and God bless!!
Thanks. Same to you.
Awesome work
Your video was great!! I wanna build a crystal radio.....I had a RadioShack crystal radio when I was a kid
I did also. My first crystal set was what sparked my interest in electronics.
outstanding! a new fascination for me!
Fantastic designs AND they all look awesome. Lovely art work.
brilliant work
Very, Interesting and informative. 🤔
Congratulation from Brazil.
Thank you.
Thanks posting! I have the first book and built the sets described. I loved the shortwave crystal set featured in the book, was simple yet sensitive. I am looking forward to get the second edition.
Loved the simple, yet brilliant detectors.
Great video. Thank you for including the link to the books.
Hello Edwards, thank you for sharing your great experience for so many years, the design and construction capacity is amazing.
beautiful content your video, I will buy your book, I hope I can get it in a Spanish edition, once again congratulations, you are leaving a great legacy for amateur radio and for our grandchildren who have no knowledge of remote times. Thank you greetings from Palma de Mallorca. Sincerely Eduardo.
Amazing :-) Thank you both.
I am so happy I stumbled across this. I currently have eight young students that I am teaching radio and electronics. I am using Mr. Edwards first book "Radios That Work For Free" with each student building the "First Crystal Set". So far two have successfully completed their radios and I now have them sending letters with reception reports to stations they have received. It has rekindled my own excitement I first experienced over 50 years ago when I built my first radio as instructed by my 5th grade teacher Mr. Younglove. Terrific books, I highly recommend them both!
My interest in electronics also began with a Crystal Radio. I'll never forget the excitement of picking up stations through the either. Best wishes in passing on some of the magic to younger people. I live fairly close to an AM broadcast station, so I'm also able to light up an LED from all the RF energy coming from my long wire antenna. th-cam.com/video/_pm2tLN6KOQ/w-d-xo.html
@@GrantsPassTVRepair Your Uncle Ken I think you said in the video. It became a career for you. Life is interesting and amazing and we are very blessed.
@@johnnytacokleinschmidt515 For sure. My uncle certainly a part.
Hello! that's a wonderful receiver! thank you for sharing.
I built one from a boy scout kit when I was 11-12 years old, I'm not realy sure of my age then but I'm 74 now and built one 2 weeks ago, using a germanium diode. Reliving my childhood, I guess. ✋73's🎙KD9OAM🎧📻📡
73s _ _ . . . ... __
Not only an engineer, hes an artist. Some belong in the Guggenheim Museum. Seriously, they are beautiful!
I agree. Thanks for the comment.
Very cool guys... I love making these little radios... I’ve had a play with galena ... it’s great to have a successful experience... you definitely need long antenna wires and super sensitive headphones... I may have another go in the near future! Cracking designs chaps! Lovely channel!
I saw and heard a radio powered crystal set in the early 1950's. Invented by Wes Nichols. It detected a strong local station and used the dc to power a Germanium transistor crystal set. A 12" speaker no less!
That is a "stolen power radio". You use the signal from a strong station to power the reception of a weak one.
It's amazing.
What a great gentleman.
Wow wish this video was longer than 8 minutes!! Plenty to discuss and see about his Crystal Radio R Us collections galore!
This is my fantasy.
I love these radios.
I would definitely like to know more about the FM detector.
Absolutely a great informative video I enjoyed it very much very interesting equipment
This is incredible. I just need more u derstanding on how things adjust and its impact
hope to see you do some more videos like this I love it
Thanks, I hope to in the future.
Amazing. Very interesting.
That's amazing
nice radios,, i live in galena Illinois
plenty of galena stones theres i bet!!
Great video.
Great video. Just purchased volume I in paperback If Mr. Edwards ever decides to release volume II on another platform. anything but kindle id buy it as well.
Nice. I should build one. Had a kit as a kid but never got it to work. Now as an advanced amateur I should be able to make one from scratch.
I have the first book,,, really good stuff.
Great stuff. Mr. Edwards has an enormously creative mind, both technically and artistically. Thanks for the video.
Fun stuff, made couple of those when I was kid. Few years ago decided to craft one with variable capacitor from old radio. Even managed to make it work with regular headphones, I read somewhere that you can use transformer for audio output. (i built it with 220V to 12V transformer). Unfortunately AM is almost dead in this part of the Europe so during the day there almost nothing to listen to.
Yes, you need to use an impedance matching transformer to operate a conventional set of headphones.
yeah,croatia has no am stations whatsoever....
@@ludost5178 really?
I will try to make one radio tommorow
Also i live in croatia too
Oh,very good Performance.For 5 Years i endet my Hand Radios coil Manufacturing with colored Cooper wire good Coils.With Germanium or Schottky Doofes I receyving in the night Hourer 16 AM Stations with coopler Voila and 10 Meter Wire and Warth Ground,High Impedance Headphones.Best Regards Matthias
This is a delightful video! I am so glad you tracked down KE Edwards. I ordered his book using your link to Hope and Allen, not wanting to pay $325.00 from Amazon or Ebay. I cant wait for it to get here. Ive been making various crystal radios with my grandkids when they come over for a week or so to visit...they have something to take home and talk about. Ive been experimenting with making copper plate capacitors with saran wrap between the plates with a plastic screw to press the plates together and adjust capacitance. I have had a lot of luck making coils that fit into each other rather than remain adjacent....I use forms using PVC couplers or tubing and find things with the proper clearance or either sand the insides down with a drum sander until they fit. I wish someone could prevail upon Hope and Allen to print his second book. Also...maybe Hope and Allen could get the rights to print "boys first book of radio and electronics" so we dont have to pay $200 on Ebay which I cant afford. Thanks again for putting this together for us all. Ted
I got my first crystal radio as a kid and never stopped enjoying them. All the best.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair So, I got the book, Radios that work For Free, and i have assembled the First Crystal Set Project, page 92, exactly as specified, and I cannot get it to work! Nothing, nada, dead! Yikes! I have a great antenna, an excellent ground, both of which work on several other crystal sets I have recently constructed, but this one is a no go. I think I must be doing something wrong, I cant figure it out. I'm confused and tired; I gotta get some sleep. I'm gonna futz with this tomorrow in the AM. Ted
@@than111 Don't give up they do work.
@@than111 Did...... You get it to work? Simple mistake? I'm curious.
That Edwards is a genius!
I agree.
I 'had' to 'thumbs up' this video. Interesting stuff.
Thanks :-)
Congratulation! Could you ask for a drawing and a close-up photo of the FM receiver?
Wish his books were available via print on demand
Every electronic, telecommunication Nasa scientists in every era.. must start with these basic radio wave n radio technology.
It remind me my first radio which i built when i was a kid, in a small
candy box TicTac, I made a paper roll for the coil and inside was a
ferite bar to adjust de channel, i used a diode which was a germanium
OA90 and the capacitor a fixed ceramic tube 220pF, awful low sound
volume on ear pieces, but working, no point anyway :D need 20 meters
antenna wire and a ground wire as well, just experimental to have fun
with children. No battery, but not portable at all :-) I saw it is
possible to build such simple FM radio as well, but with some more
components.
I also hope to build one for the FM broadcast band to see what's possible. A crystal radio was the first radio I ever owned. I remember being absolutely captivated that this strange little gadget my Uncle built me could pick up sounds from right out of the either, and adjusting the cats whisker over different parts of a rock could enhance reception.
HF is mysterious anyway, and always acts in reverse we would believe in LF
*_BRAVO DOCTOR ELECTRONICS._*
Im going to get both books, Does ken have any goods with vacuum tubes. Ibwould like some science experiments for my kids working with vacuum tubes, thanks.
Would like to know more details on how to build the FM one.
At 8:37, where can you gt those forms and sockets?
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Do the books give you plans on how to build them and a parts list? Built one as a Boy Scout and just heard static, would love to build a good one!
Built my first one when I was 7 years old I wound my coil out of an old Quaker oats carboard container
Excuse me sir can you explain the working of the FM radio mentioned at" 3:01". I am really interested in it.
Sorry but It's beyond my understanding.
what happens if you turn on all the radios. are they more quiet when all near eachother?
I'd guess each radio could potentially lower the volume of other crystal radios if the antennas were close to each other, but that's an interesting question.
you get space radio signals!!
@@GrantsPassTVRepair i have an instance... its CB radio AM but still the same concept. I have a 102" whip and I was parked right next to my dad and he couldn't talk because my massive antenna was interfering with his but when I drove down the street he got out fine
sorry if the radio is for sale ... i really like it
I built a foxhole detector and radio using junk parts when I was around 14, I even posted a video at the time. th-cam.com/video/HAVs2XBtfs4/w-d-xo.html
I didn't have a crystal earpiece at first so i was using PC speakers, so technically my radio had an amplifier stage, but it proved to me that power free radio reception was possible. I think the wire for the coil came from a motor, and pencil lead and blued blade made the detector. What a cool hobby :)
I have Radios That Work For Free 1 and 2, Where may I obtain a circuit diagram for the experimental FM tuner?
I built my first cat's whisker radio as a child, then graduated to a transistor radio from the Ladybird book "Making A Transistor Radio" Lots of MoD surplus shops back then to get cheap but good quality components.
I don't know much about FM crytstal radios, but I noticed a couple youtubers built them. th-cam.com/video/Cfu7runJGF8/w-d-xo.html
Good production which sadly falls short because we didn’t hear any radios demonstrated. Pity. Maybe in another episode? ☹️
Good point. Here is a earlier video I made on my own crystal radio which I built from a schematic in one of his books. th-cam.com/video/L50x35df2nI/w-d-xo.html
finding a suitable earpiece or adaptations to listen to Crystal radios would be nice to see
My friend suggested using headphones that have 2000 ohms of impedance, but I use conventional stereo headphones with a small matching transformer, and it works great.
Could you explain demodulate a signal? Thanks
If you had a CB radio and you pressed the microphone but didn't talk, the signal your were transmitting would be called the carrier wave. If you spoke into the microphone that would be called the modulation part of the transmitted signal. To demodulate a signal means you are removing the audio information, or any kind of information which rides on top of the carrier wave being transmitted such as your voice, I hope this helps.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair thanks for replying. I was thinking if you were building a receiver why would you want to demodulate if your wanting to hear it was what I was thinking watching the video. I’m a newbie so look over me.
A carrier signal is used, this is the radio signal you tune into at a specified frequency.
A carrier is typically a sine wave, which is the simplest type of waveform possible. It contains only a single frequency.
A sine wave is defined by: amplitude, frequency and phase.
And you can change any of these.
To transmit audio by radio, we often use a carrier signal (but not always) and we have to change the frequency, amplitude or phase of the carrier in sympathy with the audio signal we wish to transmit.
If we change the frequency, then that is called Frequency Modulation, and if we came the amplitude that is called Amplitude Modulation.
So we have an electronic circuit in the radio transmitter that takes the audio signal and combines that with the much higher frequency carrier signal.
AM is easiest to deal with, to understand, and much simpler electronics required than FM.
So what is transmitted is a higher frequency carrier with the audio signal amplitude modulated on to the carrier.
You'll need to look for diagrams depicting this.
What is received by the radio receiver is that amplitude modulated carrier, and what the radio has to do is remove the carrier signal so that you are left with the audio signal. This process is called demodulation.
In AM radios it turns out this is incredibly easy to do. We just use a diode.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair Technically not removing the audio from the carrier but *extracting* the audio from the *modulated* carrier.
My Selfmade Audion Radio with Tube 12Volt...(Tube World War Two).
и кода же мы увидим какой из них лучше работает?
I didn't hear any radio
You might enjoy this video I made earlier. th-cam.com/video/L50x35df2nI/w-d-xo.html
Perhaps-Like-The-American-Presidents of-Late ... We-Should Start-To-Call-Them TRUMPIAN!!!??? >(*U^)< (Joke) *Wink*