Crystal set radio.

By
Joe Philpott

What it is.
A crystal radio set is a simple radio
receiver that picks up radio signals from
most major radio networks. It has no
battery because it gets its power from the
radio waves it receives.
It is named after the main component
which is a crystal detector.
The crystal detector is a very early version
of the diode and was made with a
crystalline material such as galena.

The crystal detector.

The crystal detector also known as a cars whisker
detector is the main part of the crystal set radio.
It is a very early version of the diode a be used
crystal materials as the semiconductor.
It is made out of crystal materials like galena but
diodes now have glass coverings instead of
crystal materials.
However the use of the crystal in the crystal
detector was used by having a thin wire which
brushes up against the crystal which creates a
rectifyer which is what diode is.

How it works.
The crystal set radio works based on the radio
waves that are being sent from radio station.
The antenna which is often made of a copper
material which trasmitts the wavelength into
sound and also uses the waves as a power
source.
Because it works with simple components it can
be made at home with just the wires, a
capacitor, crystal diode, copper tuning wire and
a pair of headphones.

Advantages.
The crystal set radio doesn't need a
power source as it uses the
electromagnetic waves to convert into
power.
It can be quite compact so its easy to fit in
small cupboards or draws.
Its a cheap and easy to make because the
components are easy to get hold of.

Disadvantages.
The crystal set radio is not very portable
due to the fact that it needs to have a
grounding wire to the earth.
It is a fragile piece of equipment so if you
sit on it its going to break.
It might not work if the signals coming
from the radio stations are not strong
enough.

Summary.
To summerise the crystal set radio is a
simple cheap and inexpensive way to listen
to music.
It has good points like it needs no power
supply and bad points like the lack of
portability.
The practicality of the crystal set diode is not
very high because it has to be rooted to the
earth.
Depending on the person will decide
whether its good or not.