Build a radio that needs no artificial power source. You use the natural power of radio waves to power your radio, and you can easily construct your own homemade radio in your home, office or backyard. Challenge yourself to pick up weak signals with the simplicity of your homemade crystal radio circuit. With just a few handmade parts, create your power-source free radio and erect an antenna to power your radio and receive radio wave signals.
Instructions
1. Turn your cylinder container so that the open side is facing you. You can use a poster holder, paper coffee tube, oatmeal container or other nonmetallic tube for this.Poke two holes in the container about 1/2 inch down the length. Insert your wire through the right hole. Run the wire back through the left hole. Allow at least 1 foot of wire to protrude from the side of the cylinder container.
2. Tape the inner wiring to the inside of the cylinder container with electric tape. Wrap the protruding wire around the cylinder container five times.
3. Carefully strip some of the shielding from the coat of the wire, about 1/2 inch. Twist the bare wire into a loop with a twist near the insulation of the wire. The result will be a twisted wire with a loop protruding out from the side of the cylinder container.
4. Continue to wrap the wire around the cylinder container five times. Strip the wire again, at about 1/2 inch, and twist the wire into a loop. Repeat this procedure until you have 40 turns.
5. Make two holes at the base of the cylinder container, and insert the wire into one hole. Allow a foot of the wire to protrude out of the second hole. Secure the inside wire with electric tape.
6. Build your ground wire. Hammer a metal rod 2 feet into the ground outside. Tie one end of 100-foot wire to the metal rod, and stretch the other end up, tying it to a tree or something high up in the air. Avoid power lines, and do not use this device during lightning storms.
7. Set your cylinder container in the center of a square board of plywood. Make sure you have enough room for other components to fit onto the wood.
8. Place four Fahnestock clips on the board. Mark their locations on the board with a pencil, then drill holes over these marking points. Attach the clips to the board by using the provided screw that came with the clips.
9. Grab the protruding wire from the top of the cylinder container and tie it to the furthest clip on the plywood board. This clip is where you will hook up your antenna when you have completed your assembly.
10. Grab the protruding wire from the base of the cylinder container and tie it to one of the other clips on the board. This is your clip that leads to grounding wire. Run a portion of the wire to the adjacent clip, which will contain your resistor and partial connection to the earphone.
11. Attach your resistor between the third clip, the grounding wire clip, and the last clip. Connect the diode to the fourth clip on the board. Attach the protruding end of the diode to a screw and drive it into the board with a power screwdriver/drill. Leave enough space between the screw and the board to allow for wrapping your next wire hookup.
12. Take a new shielded wire and strip the ends at about 1/3 to 1/2 inch with a pair of wire strippers. Wrap one end of the wire around the screw that is connected to the diode. Run the other end of the wire into an alligator clip and squish the connection between the naked wire and the clip with a pair of pliers.
13. Wrap one of the wires from the ceramic earphone to the resistor clip, and run the other wire to the diode clip. Secure the connection by twisting the wires. You do not need to solder the parts. It is easier to repair broken or burnt-out diodes if you do not solder them. Just wrap all of your wiring for simplicity.
14. Connect the alligator clip’s teeth to one of the loops protruding out of the cylinder container. Make sure to connect your alligator clip to one of the loops near the middle of the cylinder container.
15. Hook up the antenna to the antenna clip. This is the first Fahnestock clip that you mounted on your board. Connect the other end of the antenna wire to a high place, such as a light pole or tree.
16. Place the ear piece in your ear to listen for a signal. Turn off your radio by disconnecting your antenna. It is that simple. No power supply is needed.
Tags: cylinder container, about inch, wire into, alligator clip, clips board, protruding wire
