My first Crystal Radio

This simple shunt-fed crystal radio uses only a OA5 diode and a pair of vintage headphones.

My First Crystal Radio - Schematic

The DLR No.5 I.T.B.A.5 S headphones used are of the 'Balanced Armature' type and very sensitive.

Reception of the lone local 200kW 612kHz AM station, located 20km away, is quite good using a wire antenna just 60' long and earth.

My First Crystal Radio

The homebrew enclosure is of copper clad phenolic board. The centre pin of the BNC socket serves as the antenna input with a screw terminal for the earth connection. A 3-pin audio connector is used for the headphones.

External detectors may be connected through a 2-pin socket while the OA5 is disconnected through the switch provided.

Related post: Ideal detector for a Shunt-fed Crystal Radio
________________________________________

My first Antenna

The 'aerial' was erected on our two storey house in the mid-1960s. It was intended for my very first crystal radio.

My first Antenna - details

With electrical conduit pipes as masts, its height was about 30 feet above the ground.

The weft wire, unravelled from a length of steel mosquito mesh, was used as the conductor! The wire was quite tough for its small gauge which rendered it rather light and minimised sag.Bakelite pieces served as the insulators.

This antenna did a great job for the series of simple radios I built those days.

I now wonder how it would have performed as a long wire antenna for the HF rigs I built in later years.

Related post: Handy Crystal Radio Antenna
______________________________