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RETRO CONSTRUCTION - One tube AM radio
Phil Dodd
Posts: 3,975 Forum Member
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This thread is of interest to radio constructors and historians - if this isn't you, apologies...
Of interest to forum followers with an interest in electronics construction, a design has just been published in "Instructables" for a one-tube AM radio covering the medium wave band. The project can be seen here :
http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Tube-AM-Radio/
This takes us back to the 1920s, when the AM band in the states had been extended from 1610 kHz to 1710 kHz; the original design didn't cover this, but the author of this project has done so.
This project is a huge historical learning curve. "Netzener" has made an incredibly brilliant job of including lots of history about AM radio, as well as full details about the design and construction of the radio, with plenty of PDF files and parts lists.
If you can solder and can hunt down the parts in the UK, then this is something that you can build and become highly knowledgeable about the subject. The radio will be an attractive discussion piece for your visitors.
The author "Netzener" is quick to point out that the radio is only suitable for receiving local AM stations in the daytime, but as an educational retro project, it is 100% perfect. He must be congratulated.
This is not the only one tube retro radio design on "Instructables", as doing a search for "one tube AM radio" shows.
Of interest to forum followers with an interest in electronics construction, a design has just been published in "Instructables" for a one-tube AM radio covering the medium wave band. The project can be seen here :
http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Tube-AM-Radio/
This takes us back to the 1920s, when the AM band in the states had been extended from 1610 kHz to 1710 kHz; the original design didn't cover this, but the author of this project has done so.
This project is a huge historical learning curve. "Netzener" has made an incredibly brilliant job of including lots of history about AM radio, as well as full details about the design and construction of the radio, with plenty of PDF files and parts lists.
If you can solder and can hunt down the parts in the UK, then this is something that you can build and become highly knowledgeable about the subject. The radio will be an attractive discussion piece for your visitors.
The author "Netzener" is quick to point out that the radio is only suitable for receiving local AM stations in the daytime, but as an educational retro project, it is 100% perfect. He must be congratulated.
This is not the only one tube retro radio design on "Instructables", as doing a search for "one tube AM radio" shows.
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Comments
It is on an American website as the references to Radio Shack show.
Yes. The majority of postings on "Instructibles" are submitted by American contributors, although there are healthy numbers of UK people too. The Americans are enthusiastic about their radio heritage, taking an interest in how it evolved- perhaps to do with their need to identify a history for their continent.
I was impressed by the professionalism of the contributor of the "One tube radio" , in that every last detail was included, making it an ideal project for constructors who want to create something a little bit different that will be a talking point in their home, or indeed people who just want to extend their knowledge of Radio fundamentals - more to do with the natural world than electronics.
There are no end of designs for Bluetooth speakers or Raspberry Pi devices on the website, so it is good to find the occasional variation.
I have a few "thermionic valves" still in my junk draw from a wartime Pye radio, and happily refer to them as that, but as the subject of the thread is American inspired, far be it for myself to change it !
Have a good week !
The Americans have a AM revitalisation plan to stop the decline in AM use, but seems to have allowed small AM stations to get FM relays so the decline continues.
Will be interesting to see if Caroline gets a full time AM licence for the Ross Revenge as it and Radio Seagull might become the only AM stations left in Europe in a few years time?
I went in a Radio Shack not long ago. It was a desultory experience. One staff member trying to run the place single-handed. In fact when I arrived at the shop at 3pm it was locked up, presumably the guy had gone for a comfort break. He did his best to help me find a not particularly obscure cable to connect a smartphone to a mixer, but had three other customers to deal with at the same time, all complaints.
In the end I found the cables to do the job, while the manager/assistant/whatever stood with one ear pressed to the phone to another branch and the other ear listening to another customer's woes. Meanwhile the fourth customer was advising the third to give up and go to T-Mobile. Kind of depressing.
Maplin's are probably the nearest to Radio Shack / Tandy that is still around the UK.
The trouble is that type of programme see an old radio just as a novelty item that can be sold to furnish somewhere, always feel that when the novelty wears off then it is possibly going to end up in the bin. They are also the sort of people who might rip out the innards and with replace with a modern radio or even use for something completely different - drinks cabinet etc.