How to make the world's easiest Radio ! Do it yourself at home!

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  • Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025

Комментарии • 670

  • @pedromeza2398
    @pedromeza2398 3 года назад +536

    In the 1960s elementary schools a lot of your builds were common practice during science class, this built a hands on science foundation in many young Americans. It's sad to see that today's young students don't receive science hands on like it was done in the 1960s.

    • @bearwastaken6579
      @bearwastaken6579 3 года назад +29

      heck it took me 2 months of research to find one video about the spark gap radio (which i followed, built one, and made a video)

    • @ynrikotowers4374
      @ynrikotowers4374 3 года назад +16

      Yeah its sad that today we lack this things

    • @OnE61811301
      @OnE61811301 3 года назад +25

      But OMG it's soooo dangerous - what if your priceless spoiled brat child gets stabbed by those deadly sharp antennas? What if they get zapped? Can you imagine the trauma?

    • @MR.GECKO-i6h
      @MR.GECKO-i6h 3 года назад +9

      That's what happens when the military complex & tax cuts tanks the entire public sector

    • @w8lvradio
      @w8lvradio 3 года назад +12

      We got that science in the 60's in our schools for one and only one reason: Sputnik. They were determined to outdo the the USSR. And as a result? We got GREAT Science training. Were can a kid go with that? Well...you just never know ...;-) But I owe EVERYTHING to that training. 73 DE W8LV BILL

  • @kunasagaran5933
    @kunasagaran5933 3 года назад +340

    More of these simple experiments or projects are required to create an interest in young kids. You have done an excellent job. Thanks.

    • @TrangertoR
      @TrangertoR 3 года назад +7

      really man?! It is 21 century man.
      Maybe nobody told you but we know how earth become created.... It is not God...

    • @alansturgess1324
      @alansturgess1324 3 года назад +4

      @@1islam1 Enough of the evangelizing.. There's always someone who wants to quote the Quoran, bible, Tanakh etc. etc. as if some random quote is proof that a god exists and all we do is validate that through everything we do. What a load of YKW. Now let's just enjoy the creativity of this demonstration.

    • @mohamedmaishan5953
      @mohamedmaishan5953 3 года назад

      Yess im 12 and im realy interested and im think im pretty good at this

    • @kunasagaran5933
      @kunasagaran5933 3 года назад +5

      @@mohamedmaishan5953 it is a great start. Keep experimenting. Read more. Lay your hands on every book on electronics and science. Eventually, you will become a great man and I wish you success in all your endeavours.

    • @free-energy-systems
      @free-energy-systems 3 года назад

      Sadly "apps" have been replacing an interest in actually learning something.

  • @Dan-gk7ti
    @Dan-gk7ti 11 месяцев назад +17

    My brother and I use to buy Galena radio, very simple device you put a wire to ground, small earplugs in your ear, twiddle a knob who travel along the Galena stone, to find a station and you had a receiver.
    Then with old tech books, we build basic amplifiers, who needed a 3V battery plug the outlet to it and a speaker the other side and we had proper radio :o)

  • @jerryfacts9749
    @jerryfacts9749 8 месяцев назад +4

    In 1897 Hertz made the first spark gap transmission. He used a high voltage source with a spark gap in series with a coil forming a resonant circuit. He used an identical coil on the receiving end. Detection was with a coherer tube. He was able to transmit an electromagnetic wave pulse wave through the air to a distance of a number of meters across the room. This was actually the first man made radio frequency pulse. Very soon after different and much more efficient ways of detecting radio waves were innovated.
    It is interesting that with no resonant coil this experiment works. It is really a very crude inductive reactive transmission. It is like forming a capacative coupling using the air as a dialectic between the transmission and receiving antennas.

  • @gigmach
    @gigmach 3 года назад +8

    Best example of an amplifier I've seen on RUclips ever. Well done

    • @peteshugar7220
      @peteshugar7220 2 года назад +1

      but it is not an amplifier, it is a switch. comm 2nd class 50 + yrs

    • @rouxenophobe
      @rouxenophobe Год назад +1

      @@peteshugar7220 I know nothing about electronics, but the effect looks like amplification to me. He could receive a weaker signal further away and make the LED flash. He increased the sensitivity of his receiver, would you not class that as an amplifier?

  • @eventhisidistaken
    @eventhisidistaken 3 года назад +73

    This was the sort of thing that got me interested in engineering when I was a kid. Very nice! Another simple one, if you haven't already covered it, is a crystal radio. I used to make them as a kid and made them fit inside a ball point pen (except the earpiece, which stuck out the bottom) and sell them to class mates. ...that plus simple shockers made from nothing but a relay and a battery.

    • @radioheadluke
      @radioheadluke 2 года назад +1

      amazing! do you remember how you made those crystal radios to be so small?

    • @eventhisidistaken
      @eventhisidistaken 2 года назад +7

      @@radioheadluke I tore apart a small transformer from some broken something, and carefully coiled the wire around the ink tube until the local strongest AM station came in - basically the coil arrangement is a fixed tuner, meaning you only need the coil, the diode, and the earpiece to pull in that 1 station.

    • @johnstonesakwa1.0
      @johnstonesakwa1.0 Год назад

      I’m still a kid and I love engendering

  • @MuratIsikHome
    @MuratIsikHome 3 года назад +2

    I will use it to help my son's physics assignment. Thanks very much from Istanbul.

  • @OldGrayCzechWolf
    @OldGrayCzechWolf 11 месяцев назад +4

    Very nicely done spark gap radio build. To think that this was how it all started, early Marconnni sets worked this way. Even the signals sent from the Titanic were sent using a variation of this. Kudos!

    • @TorbenWelz
      @TorbenWelz 11 месяцев назад

      truly fanominal how far we've come isn't it, I can't wait to see how far we'll make it in my own lifetime

    • @OldGrayCzechWolf
      @OldGrayCzechWolf 11 месяцев назад

      @@TorbenWelz Phenomenal, not fanominal. Learn proper English and spelling and people will respect you more. English is the third language I learned and I think it is very disturbing that I have better English skills then 99% of Americans.

    • @iHeartAmySue
      @iHeartAmySue 11 месяцев назад

      @@OldGrayCzechWolfI notice that knowing three languages have not prevented you from being a jack ass.

    • @charliebrownn6622
      @charliebrownn6622 9 месяцев назад

      @@OldGrayCzechWolfslow down turbo… it’s a RUclips comment, not a tesis bato, pls seat, relax and learn some Spanglish too 😎

    • @markkinsler4333
      @markkinsler4333 9 месяцев назад

      In fact, if the Titanic hadn't had radio (owned and operated by the Marconi Co.) nobody would have known what happened to the ship.

  • @MatthiasLenardt
    @MatthiasLenardt 2 года назад +1

    Very simple but effective experiment

  • @the1cartoongame1vlog34
    @the1cartoongame1vlog34 3 года назад +1

    Omg i will subscreb know😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
    You are the beast

  • @johnwest7993
    @johnwest7993 2 года назад +3

    I like it. A modern day version of the experiments conducted by Hertz proving the existence of radio waves.

  • @patricktinkham
    @patricktinkham 3 года назад +10

    I love this re-creation of the Hertz experiment! Well done!!

  • @gabrielsantos19
    @gabrielsantos19 3 года назад +22

    Looked for this a time ago, but didn't found. Now, RUclips recommended me this video. Better late than never :). Thank you.

  • @michaelschmidt7014
    @michaelschmidt7014 Год назад +1

    I am 73 now however in the 1960's in the St. Louis area we had the St.Louis Post Dispatch Science Fair. The Post Dispatch was a local newspaper in St. Louis . All of the metro area school districts would hold their own fairs and the First Place winners would then go to the St. Louis Post Dispatch exhibiting at the Washington University Field House. It was very exciting for a young student I went 4 or 5 times.

  • @vmcv3284
    @vmcv3284 8 месяцев назад +1

    in my early school years in Spain we always had from primary school to all the way high-school a class about creating stuff, from art to modeling to electrical stuff , wood working and many more things..

  • @daemonwhitebeard6590
    @daemonwhitebeard6590 3 года назад +5

    Just like a Coherer Receiver minus the Coherer Switch. It is also like a tiny Spark Gap Transmitter. Cool video.

  • @DavidALovingMPF102
    @DavidALovingMPF102 3 года назад +56

    Spark gap transmitter. Very good. Same can be seen in a car if you use copper wires going to the spark plugs. You will hear the pop pop pop on the radio. Very early jamming technique too. Good job!

    • @alf3071
      @alf3071 2 года назад

      what kind of transmitter is used in anti aircraft radars?

    • @DavidALovingMPF102
      @DavidALovingMPF102 2 года назад +2

      @@alf3071 Holy Cow! LOTS! TOO big of a topic to discuss here and I don't know it all! I barely know anything.. 6 years only in USAF EW. Use google. There is Search radar, Track, Scan, Guidance, Radar for guns (AAA) on the ground, some on jets. Radar for SAMS. Lower frequencies for searching the skies. Higher freqs on missiles..Read up on ECM. Read up on CHAFF..cool stuff. research Range gate pull off and repeaters, traveling wave tubes and magnetrons. Viet Nam ECM pods. Ok, that's a HUGE assignment for you. and don't electrocute yourself!

    • @pianoguy5110
      @pianoguy5110 2 года назад

      @@alf3071 Anti-aircraft radars typically use a type of transmitter known as a magnetron. A magnetron is a type of vacuum tube that generates high-power microwave pulses. These microwave pulses are transmitted from the radar antenna and bounce off objects in the air, such as aircraft, and are then received back by the radar. The radar system uses the time delay between the transmitted and received signals to calculate the distance and direction of the aircraft. Magnetrons are commonly used in radar systems because they are capable of generating high-power microwave signals at a relatively low cost.

    • @geoffroberts1126
      @geoffroberts1126 Год назад +1

      Mmm.... I'm thinking this is not radio as such. It's a DC pulse that produces an EM field. But it's a great way to illustrate how it works for children.

  • @nicholasorro1105
    @nicholasorro1105 2 года назад +1

    this is a wonderful and perfect video. thanks a lot for sharing it. Am Nick from Kenya

  • @isabelleg.4294
    @isabelleg.4294 2 года назад +1

    Great to know as we might need this soon for survival!

  • @MT-in3tp
    @MT-in3tp 3 года назад +33

    The simple amplification circuit was very interesting, you have re-invented hertz radio :-) большой молодец

  • @CanadianSmoke
    @CanadianSmoke Год назад

    Excellent video... I remember hands on science in science class when I was younger.

  • @AzazeL-LCB
    @AzazeL-LCB 2 года назад

    You know what this reminded me of? Tesla's transmission of electricity through the air, its literally that and easily understood now.
    I like it 👌

  • @dalebenton3354
    @dalebenton3354 11 месяцев назад

    done that before,Remember doing this when I was still back at School in woodwork and technology

  • @WJCTechyman
    @WJCTechyman 2 года назад +1

    A spark gap transmitter and receiver, in essence. My have we moved forward from Guglielmo Marconi's experiment on Signal Hill in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada at the turn of the last century.

  • @emoryschley5546
    @emoryschley5546 3 года назад +40

    This is difficult to understand with TWO audio tracks competing with each other. The one in the background should be deleted so it doesn't interfere so much with the narrator.

    • @PatrykPonichtera
      @PatrykPonichtera 3 года назад +8

      In Poland for foreign movies we have a narrator reading over the original audio exactly like this, one narrator for all the voices, imagine having this for every movie on TV 😅

    • @diegoteclas
      @diegoteclas 3 года назад +1

      Autist hearing cannot separate the sounds and moreover all the sounds reverb in their head like hyper amplified and same intensity

    • @daisuki9296
      @daisuki9296 3 года назад

      You're a very old man I think

  • @verenagruber1890
    @verenagruber1890 3 года назад +10

    Grandios!
    Thanks a lot
    Kisses from Bern, Switzerland

  • @amfa7
    @amfa7 4 года назад +7

    Very informative.
    Spasibo
    Thank you

  • @peterchesko9537
    @peterchesko9537 3 месяца назад +1

    I wanted to hear some AC/DC! Thanks!

  • @imdadali4292
    @imdadali4292 3 года назад +3

    We have to take more care in order to keep fingers and/or hands away from antenna of the transmitter when pushing or releasing , otherwise a high voltage shock will welcome to experimenter due to dealing with 'high voltage spark gap generator'.
    But very good way of practical.

  • @stephanwerick5495
    @stephanwerick5495 Год назад

    Great demonstration

  • @ruismodok8860
    @ruismodok8860 Год назад

    Thank you so much of your content and your information. Now i'm understand about transmiter and receiver 😊

  • @pat3034
    @pat3034 3 года назад

    Awesome ... a mini Spark Gap transmitter!

  • @shundhem_electrick
    @shundhem_electrick 3 года назад +1

    Amazing video

  • @dhineshd94
    @dhineshd94 3 года назад +2

    Nice video😁

  • @Angelinuh2015
    @Angelinuh2015 2 года назад

    Thanks im going to have my kids work on this with me.

  • @justacook6858
    @justacook6858 3 года назад

    Did in joy and respect the skill.

  • @familyfungi
    @familyfungi 3 года назад +7

    Perfect project for homeschooling. Thank you very much!

  • @moosesnWoop
    @moosesnWoop 3 года назад

    Fun little project

  • @richardatanacio4049
    @richardatanacio4049 3 месяца назад

    0:04 Thanks for presenting the real transmission and reception of electeomagnetic waves..the application of the Theory of Magnetic Wave Propagation by James Clerk Maxwell lives on

  • @w8lvradio
    @w8lvradio 3 года назад +10

    An excellent modern presentation of Hertz's Classic experiment, but with dipole instead of loop, and lesson in amplification. My hat is off to you, Sir! All the Best! 73 DE W8LV BILL

    • @34leaderzal9incacucic5
      @34leaderzal9incacucic5 3 года назад +1

      Hi my friend William :) how are you :)

    • @w8lvradio
      @w8lvradio 3 года назад +1

      @@34leaderzal9incacucic5 Quite well, Thanks! Registered Nurse in the Covid Fight here, when I'm not working the Radio.

    • @34leaderzal9incacucic5
      @34leaderzal9incacucic5 3 года назад

      @@w8lvradio Very Well dear William, thank you an you know i watched every day a lot of videos talking about Covid from the begining to right now ;) and this is what i'm interested in

  • @meldwinadia6386
    @meldwinadia6386 3 года назад

    wow...very nice idea

  • @alaminyusuf3239
    @alaminyusuf3239 Год назад

    Beutiful demonstration

  • @pierpa_76pierpaolo
    @pierpa_76pierpaolo Год назад +2

    Interesting but I am interested in operation to cover a significant distance of at least 10 meters.

  • @jimparr01Utube
    @jimparr01Utube 3 года назад

    Ah-ha! Back to the original spark-gap transmitter - almost... Nice and useful clip Sir.

  • @doseboos
    @doseboos Год назад

    More of these simple experiments or projects please

  • @caderbavahmuhammadsiddick384
    @caderbavahmuhammadsiddick384 Год назад

    Thank lots for sharing 👍 💚 💙 ♥️

  • @gibriellaabturay2311
    @gibriellaabturay2311 2 года назад

    nice work

  • @neilfurby555
    @neilfurby555 Год назад

    Excellent….well explained and easy to follow.

  • @Peter-rz9ub
    @Peter-rz9ub 3 года назад

    GREAT JOB. THX TO SHOW US THIS. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE...

  • @ToddHofer
    @ToddHofer 3 года назад

    Classic Spark Gap transmitter. Nice job!

  • @EikottXD
    @EikottXD 4 года назад +3

    This is awesome also loving the new dubbing, or at least new to me haven't been here in a while.

  • @TechsScience
    @TechsScience 4 года назад +1

    I haven't ever thought of it

  • @andersklausen
    @andersklausen 3 года назад

    Very nice explained

  • @rameshnahin1091
    @rameshnahin1091 2 года назад

    Good Job 👍

  • @lorisvila8008
    @lorisvila8008 3 года назад

    It also helped me understanding how an antenna works !

  • @JonathanSantamaria-777
    @JonathanSantamaria-777 Год назад +1

    Great idea!

  • @theeronterranova7928
    @theeronterranova7928 4 года назад +2

    This was good video

  • @Estabanwatersaz
    @Estabanwatersaz 4 года назад +3

    Greatest video. Thanks 🙏🏼

  • @SimonDevScr
    @SimonDevScr 7 месяцев назад +1

    Is there a way to make the signal stronger without adding any other stuff? Thanks in advance!

  • @MuhammadDaudkhanTV100
    @MuhammadDaudkhanTV100 4 года назад

    Awesome arts and crafts fun and good fun

  • @user-decade4v
    @user-decade4v Год назад

    Nicely done 👍

  • @satyamtiwari9816
    @satyamtiwari9816 3 года назад

    good to see it works actually i to have tried it.. thanks man

  • @ducomaritiem7160
    @ducomaritiem7160 11 месяцев назад

    Hey, that's nice, thnx, I'll let my students make that!

  • @lacourarieeric7650
    @lacourarieeric7650 3 года назад +2

    vidéo très pédagogique et instructive la simplicité a l'état pure

  • @HumanBeingSpawn
    @HumanBeingSpawn 2 года назад

    I'm guessing the transistor outputs a small enough voltage for the LED?
    I remember burning an LED when connecting it to a 9V source

  • @jeffreykpan3544
    @jeffreykpan3544 2 года назад

    Genius experiment

  • @ryan200978
    @ryan200978 8 месяцев назад

    ' Wow! Simply explained concept practically .. 🙂

  • @starbravo672
    @starbravo672 4 года назад +3

    Great discovery....! Great idea...! Thank you for the video...!

  • @hencoburger
    @hencoburger Год назад

    very nice!

  • @cliveevrall1071
    @cliveevrall1071 3 года назад +5

    Very interesting. Thank you.

  • @richardatanacio4049
    @richardatanacio4049 4 месяца назад

    Great video and great discovery for piezoelectric lighter to he used as electromagnetic waves propagator

  • @wjjf1180am
    @wjjf1180am 3 года назад

    Pretty Cool

  • @lesics61Tiktok
    @lesics61Tiktok 2 года назад

    Thanks this video helped me

  • @fredsalter1915
    @fredsalter1915 3 года назад +3

    Fantastic video! Very motivating!

  • @wildwoodmiami
    @wildwoodmiami 9 месяцев назад

    The professor made a radio from clam shells and coconuts on Gilligans Island.

  • @LTV_inc
    @LTV_inc 9 месяцев назад

    Excellent work! 😊

  • @anilshirsat4406
    @anilshirsat4406 Год назад +1

    Very well demonstrated the concept of radio waves 👌👍

  • @MarkusWITH_a_k
    @MarkusWITH_a_k 3 года назад

    Great example of electrical noise

  • @-Gunnarsson-
    @-Gunnarsson- 6 месяцев назад +1

    speaking of radio. Iv noticed my TV cable was able to pick up signal without being plugged in. Kinda funny 😂

  • @williamdejeffrio9701
    @williamdejeffrio9701 3 года назад

    Cool idea!

  • @RodCornholio
    @RodCornholio Год назад

    Very clever

  • @keypo790
    @keypo790 Год назад

    LMAO instead of a paper cup with strings, this is what I'm going to teach my son.

  • @lawrencehalpin6611
    @lawrencehalpin6611 Год назад

    Very nice. Thank you. Kind regards.

  • @panchitomontero9051
    @panchitomontero9051 3 года назад +33

    Well, I was expecting a simple broadcast from a nearby radio station.

    • @sazurishin6688
      @sazurishin6688 2 года назад

      Same

    • @zeez3139
      @zeez3139 2 года назад

      @@sazurishin6688 still impressed

    • @Casual_laughter
      @Casual_laughter 9 месяцев назад

      Bro just made a switch, wasted 3 minutes of my life

    • @solocupp6120
      @solocupp6120 8 месяцев назад

      @@Casual_laughter Shut up.

    • @duaneritter3932
      @duaneritter3932 8 месяцев назад

      @@Casual_laughter ok? This is still considered a radio even though your not hearing sound..

  • @ed9763
    @ed9763 3 года назад

    Well done. Very useful expt. to illustrate radio transmission to school kids.

    • @jfrphoto01
      @jfrphoto01 3 года назад

      Also, outlawed by local laws (in USA: FCC) and international law!

  • @brandonlaragirl
    @brandonlaragirl 2 года назад

    Awesome, thanks for sharing!

  • @tanmuzik7821
    @tanmuzik7821 3 года назад

    Thank you and subscribed

  • @HibiscusAcademy
    @HibiscusAcademy 6 месяцев назад

    will it work better if i put two transistor

  • @stephenbrinckerhoff3510
    @stephenbrinckerhoff3510 3 года назад +7

    I'm not sure if this is the easiest. I do remember hearing about radios made by POWs during WW2 using a needle, a double-edge razor blade and an egg shell. And I know from personal experience that a thermostat with spiral coiled spring can produce nearby radio signals. It took me a few days to track this one down.

    • @clarencealexander1093
      @clarencealexander1093 3 года назад +2

      I am looking for a WWII version also.

    • @themartianway
      @themartianway 2 года назад +5

      Fox hole radio.

    • @hokep61
      @hokep61 2 года назад +1

      @@themartianway Correct! The hardest part could be finding an old, steel, double edge razor blade. Not sure if the more modern stainless ones would work. Would also need old style carbon or crystal earphones. Don’t think the modern earphones would be of the correct impedance.

    • @laulaja-7186
      @laulaja-7186 Год назад +1

      Eggshell? I thought lump of coal.

  • @Jemacaza
    @Jemacaza 8 месяцев назад

    Great experiment, also to spark children’s interest for physics

  • @Yarınki20
    @Yarınki20 2 месяца назад

    How was it? It was very good and beautiful. Take it again.

  • @ma3loma_lb
    @ma3loma_lb 2 года назад +3

    transistor 2n3904

  • @marekcm1882
    @marekcm1882 3 года назад +5

    amazing and so simple.

  • @rolandmousaa3110
    @rolandmousaa3110 3 года назад

    Thanks for the Ed..

  • @ayahsadam9817
    @ayahsadam9817 9 месяцев назад

    Nice sharing

  • @גילקיפניס
    @גילקיפניס 4 года назад +3

    A very good idea. Thank you

  • @VishnuSharma-ig7un
    @VishnuSharma-ig7un 3 года назад +1

    Nice ....Good project ....

  • @mukhtarahmad3532
    @mukhtarahmad3532 3 года назад

    *_Thank for the video I wanted this experiment_*

  • @MohdZain-q6l
    @MohdZain-q6l 10 месяцев назад

    Can we use an alternative in place of piezo ignitor? If so then which material should I use?

  • @Berghiker
    @Berghiker 3 года назад +5

    With a coherer, a distance of up to 3m is achievable with long wire antennas connected to each end of the transmitter and receiver.

    • @antonio-c.o.
      @antonio-c.o. 3 года назад +1

      The distance at which a spark can be detected by a coherer system would depend on the energy of the spark generated by the sender. The Calzecchi Onesti coherer could react to Lightnings many kilometers away…

    • @Berghiker
      @Berghiker 3 года назад +2

      @@antonio-c.o. As far as I remember, I used an ignition coil.

    • @greenaum
      @greenaum 3 года назад

      People stopped using coherers once thermionic valves aka "tubes" were invented, making amplification possible. Round about the First World War. Rather than a coherer, properly tuning the transmitter and receiver, and a properly designed reciever, would give a greater transmission distance. Or at least would do in 1915 or so when the airwaves were pretty quiet. Nowadays none of that ancient stuff would work, cos there's so much radio noise now.
      There are certain areas of the world, where all electronics are banned, because people want to use radio telescopes there. These are giant dishes that pick up the extremely weak radio waves emitted by stars, rather than their light. If you want to do that, you need quiet, so a few places have ordnances in place. Mostly nobody lives there, but you get the odd back-to-nature weirdo.

    • @antonio-c.o.
      @antonio-c.o. 3 года назад

      @@greenaum True enough, but by the same token people stopped using thermoionic tubes when the transistor became available... but here we are talking of the coherer. BTW, get a lead sulfide crystal, a battery, a piece of wire, a variable capacitor and an earpiece and you will get a tunable radio receiver without the need of a coherer, a thermoionic tube or a transistor :-)

    • @greenaum
      @greenaum 3 года назад

      The point of mentioning the thermionic valve is that it obsoleted the coherer there and then, right back in 1915 or whenever. Coherers were ridiculous. Right on the edge of functional. Really the issue is just an LED makes a lousy detector, but they're cheap and ubiquitous, often there's one in the same lighter you got the sparker out of.
      So trying to "improve" a circuit that was designed to be made from bits of scrap for pennies, with something as tricky and expensive as a coherer, doesn't serve any purpose. It isn't supposed to be a practical device, it's just a demo using the level of technology Herz had, without requiring a VDG generator, which is certainly old tech, but horribly expensive then or now.
      This thing is in the sweet spot historically and technologically, and most importantly, is made only of bits that can be found inside disposable lighters, and a bit of wire.