The silicon diode crystal set that needs watering
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- Опубликовано: 24 фев 2024
- Commonly available silicon diodes aren't normally much good for crystal sets. But germanium diodes (which are good) are getting harder to find. In this video I revive a 1920s technique used with carborundum detectors to make silicon diodes OK for crystal sets. And still with no external battery required.
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Развлечения
I Have Watered My radio Grounds With Saltwater, Neighbbor Said, So Thats How You Grow Copper? I Bursted Into tears :D
This is my favorite crystal radio video now. Thank you for these experiments, I will try it too when spring comes.
MIKROWAVE channel has a good video on a shortwave crystal set
@@youtubeaccount931 yes, he does. But this experiment he hasn't done. :)
Years ago I was trying to make an earth battery. You can use a bare #12 copper wire and a Galvanized nail , water with Epson salt water and gives the best voltage. BTW, I love your out of the box thinking. Good video
Very interesting Peter, it goes to show there isn't anything new. Amazing the work arounds they came up with back then.
Fascinating, I had never considered that method of forward biasing the diode. Something I have seen with the glass encased silicon diodes is their light sensitivity, i was working on a detector circuit and found the output was varying as I moved my hands close to it, the desk lamp was affecting the diodes. I just put them in sleeving because it was not a random project but it makes me wonder what the effect of light would have in your crystal set. I know that in light metering applications they operate them reverse biased but it might be interesting....
Going to give this a try with my 10 year old, hopefully it gets her into radio. Thanks Peter 👍
Obviously, it does use a battery, just not one bought at a store, but one made out of various materials to generate the needed bias
Surely you would want to use a potato for pedestrian mobile :)
It's quite interesting seeing old discoveries put to the test. If I had to guess, a very small DC bias just under 0.6v might be ideal? Ideas to keep in the back of the head for when I get into receivers...
I would think so too. Just enough bias to overcome the forward voltage of the diode. So 0.3 Volts for a point contact germanium diode.
Nice!
I also found the No No No QRP No QRP funny
Very informative as per usual! That sound snippet at the end of the video always gives me a laugh as well!
One of my favorites! Thank you!
I wonder if more stakes in the ground can be done in a way to make more power, like adding batteries in series.
You may get a better result by using a copper pipe as the positive electrode.
Appears you can get 2 volts with one as magnesium and the other as graphite.
I use a loose coupler design with 2 tuned circuits. works much better.
Yes, a loose coupler gives better selectivity but it does cost you a little sensitivity. My experiment with a tuned loop antenna showed that very little is given up if the antenna side is also made resonant to the station.
Very good, thank you Peter.
You could try a lemon with copper wire and zinc elecrtodes (made from old dry battery casing or galvanized clout nail).
Very informative Peter.
Ingenious. It is possible to swamp a diode detector with excess bias so this may be a better combination than zinc and copper, which would give you nearer 1.2 V. There are, of course, more traditional ways of watering the earth...
"Bruce! Pete next door is p***ing on a radio in the garden again! Please make him stop!" 😂
That is what they would do in WW 2 to get a good ground for their radio equipment that need a good ground in an emergency.
Thanks Peter! Great set of experiments with a crystal radio!
This was a WONDERFUL experiment, VERY FUN! 👍👍👍 AND, I think you can experiment with it even more!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm thinking of making the earth battery a second time ( X 2 ) and controlling the power supply with a potentiometer?
( I'm thinking of: biasing ) And Perhaps you can also use one(1) diode as a varicap varikap instead of A tuning Capacitor?
Healthy and friendly greetings from the Netherlands!
RadioRob
Crikey, no slugs in the back yard this year, great video Peter
Excellent video Peter. Back to basics, I love the simple experiments. Every once in a while its nice to try some simple crystal radio circuits...David M0DAD
Great video!!
I would have liked to seethe performance of a schotki diode.
Many people have been disappointed with they used schottky diodes.
I made a video on the topic if you are interested.
ruclips.net/video/5y7I7G_a3Qo/видео.html
Cool. I was wondering about this some time a go. I think aluminum and carbon pair in small closed water container might be better. There is less galvanic effect and it's more controlled. You could also use another crystal set on strong channel just for additional power.
Yes, great idea. Use a flame thrower radio station for power source.
DC biased crystal radio with earth probe antenna - earth battery?
I maded TRF receiver 1-V-1 with earth battery - earth probe antenna.
Grow some "Geraniums" and mike diodes out of them
Salt & Vinegar Dirt. Yum!!!
As soon as you added the salt and vinegar , you created an electrical cell. Hello ??
Yes, the whole point of the exercise.
Hey there!
I'm thinking urine would work great as a electrolyte.
What was the length of wire used for the antenna? What was the height of that whip?
About 25 metres of wire.
4.7k resistor
WHAT FUN ! - .... .- -. -.- ...
use hot carrier diode
1N5711 works but you do need about a 2K loading resistor across the headphones to make it work well.
and large diode tends to have too much capacitance and high voltage ones tend to also have a higher forward voltage.
I think it is a battery.
Very observant.
Schottky diodes are supposed to work better, or an n channel fet.
Long experience tells me, in general, no.
Schottky diodes don't have a very linear response, so might sound very distorted.
@@franzliszt3195 ruclips.net/video/5y7I7G_a3Qo/видео.html
Short term experience with small signal Schottkys tells me yes
✋73's🎙KD9OAM🎧📻📡 🚧
OMG put brain in gear !
#1 move the antenna tap down on the coil .
#2 put a cap across the grounds 470nf maybe … ( audio path )
Hey, VK3YE, I WOuld Be SO HAPPY To Send You SOem Of My USSR SUrplus Radio Things, Maybbe I Can Send You Them So You Can Show Them In Your Videos, I Have Hard Time To Make My Shack And Everything, Maybe Will Die Sooner Then Make It There So I Would Be Happy To Send You Some Parts, Like, Some Russian Vacum Tubes, Other DIodes And Some Radio resistors All From The Horrible Horrible USSR's Past Relic Times :)