Crystal Detector Radio Receiver One Transistor 3 Volt Audio Amplifier Headphone Set

OddMix TECHNOLOGY NOTES - CRYSTAL RADIO

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Crystal Detector Radio Receiver One Transistor 3 Volt Audio Amplifier
Headphone Set
OddMix.com - Technical Note - Crystal Radio - TN080821 - Karl Nagy
A major problem in crystal detector radios is that selectivity and available sound volume can't have
together. A high Q (quality) tuned circuit has a narrow pass-band. This high Q makes it possible to pick
out one radio station of many that is equally strong. A lower Q tuned circuit has a much wider pass band.
It allows more than one station through and makes listening to either station's frustrating. Higher Q
resonant circuit can be made with a low resistance coil that is made with short and thick copper wire and
a low loss capacitor. The capacitor is always the better of the two circuit elements (for Q), as it usually
has air for dielectric with good insulation.
Coil resistance for tuned circuit's can be further reduced if a ferrite core is used. The increase in
inductance allows using a shorter copper wire with less resistance resulting in a higher Q coil. When a
tuned circuit is in resonance the higher the circuit's Q the higher is the available RF voltage for the diode
detector. The problem is that the diode is loading the tuned circuit, degrading its Q and reduces this small
available voltage. For this reason, the diode is connected to the lower tap on the coil. Many taps are
better because each tap allows a selection of slightly different loading, but too many are difficult to
handle. Two taps in a third of the coil works out just right.
Figure 1. One Transistor Crystal Detector Radio
To restore some of this lost
audio volume this crystal
detector radio uses a single
transistor audio stage that
amplifies the input signal by at
least a factor of ten. The exact
amount of amplification is
mostly dependent of the
transistor gain. The resulting
amplification is also a function
of the type of headphone set
being used. A one or two
thousand K headphone in this
set must works fine. This
amplifier does not work with crystal headphones. Remember that when trying it out.
This radio allows higher volume reception even in areas with weak stations without using much power.
The point contact diode D1 is germanium. Detector radios produce louder sound, using a germanium or
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Crystal Detector Radio Receiver One Transistor 3 Volt Audio Amplifier Headphone Set
silicon ransistor amplified audio stage than what is obtainable by the single diode crystal sets. The
higher audio volume requires some extra work and components.
The schematic diagram for the basic crystal detector radio is on Figure 1. This set uses a 200 uH coil
wound on a 1/4-inch coil form with a tunable ferrite screw in it. Ferrite has higher magnetizing losses
than air, but an air core coil would use a lot longer wire that has a higher resistance. Using ferrite in the
coil will increase the overall receiver efficiency. C1 is a good quality, air dielectric rotary capacitor.
Parts list for this one transistor crystal detector radio:
B1 - Two AA 1.5 Volt cell - any kind - Carbon Zinc is fine
C1 - Rotary Capacitor 15-500 pF
C2 - Antenna Capacitor, 100 pF, mica, 200 VAC - or better
C3 - Electrolytic Capacitor - 1 uF, 10 VDC, Tantalum
C4 - RF Filter Capacitor 0.01 uF, Disc 6-10 VDC
D1 - Diode - Germanium, point contact
L1 - Coil 1 - 200 uH - taps at 1/3 and 2/3 turns
Q1 - Transistor - germanium or silicon, high gain, small signal
R1 - Resistor, 20K, 1/4 Watt, CC
R2 - Resistor, 270K, 1/4 Watt, CC
Magnetic headphone, or a small high impedance speaker
Use long wire, high antenna, tune in a station and set a tap to position "B" to produce a stronger sound.
If another strong station is interfering, use tap A. This radio may be connected to a two-transistor
amplifier described by another OddMix Crystal Technology article.
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