Crystal Radio Antenna (Shortwave Also)

Three basic antennas for crystal and shortwave radio reception.
MATERIALS
- Copper wire
- Insulators
WARNINGS
- Appropriate lightning protecting is necessary, this video does NOT cover adequate lightning protection.
- Working at height is dangerous, take proper precautions
- Never run wires over or near power lines, it can lead to electrocution
- As always, if you do not know, learn first or don't do it.
VIDEO: Best/Easiest DIY Crystal Radio - No Batteries, No External Power (4K)
• Best/Easiest DIY Cryst...

[@tsbrownie]

RELATED CRYSTAL RADIO VIDEOS: Best/Easiest DIY Crystal Radio - No Batteries, No External Power (4K) kzbin.info/www/bejne/nH25dKSQfNWpabc My New Favorite! Crystal Radio with Antenna Tuner: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5mYfKt5pceEa7c Crystal Radio, Capacitive Tuning - WORKS GREAT!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHubYYGjbrCGoac Crystal Radio & Resonant Coil Design: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKiclpVjlqdgjrc My Crystal Radio Does NOT Work (FIXES for common problems): kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXTbgmufhbaratU Good Crystal Radio Connection Points: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWTUm6WImq2FZ80 Crystal Radio, Connect A DC Audio Amplifier: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIiWh5ukr8ydqqM Three Upgrades For Your Crystal Radio: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnaxlKJplM-JldU Crystal Radio Wiper Upgrade: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2LSpXewaJ6hotk Popular Crystal Radio Design That's a Waste of Time - And Why: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGqyn6iYZ72jsMU New Crystal Radio Design - "Modified-Pickard": kzbin.info/www/bejne/laLbeZt8gM9_d8k Crystal Electric Generator RF Energy Harvesting Exp 5 - Full Wave Rectifier: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIXYkHqAgM-Co6M

[@johnmckee7937]

Thank You for all your help. I don't know if I can tell you how I feel about electronic nowadays. It's kinda like a kid eating all the chocolate he can and getting sick. I really going to keep as simple as possible and make as much as from scratch as possible.

[@tsbrownie]

@@johnmckee7937 My pleasure. I understand, hobbies are one thing, work is another. The designs in my videos have 2 main features: ease of construction, and highest probability of success for a beginner.

[@johnmckee7937]

@@tsbrownie your videos are excellent. Glad you still enjoy it and able to teach others.

[@spongerobert]

The really sad part about these kind of radios/antennas is that more and more electrical devices don't have proper copper wire in them and it's actually really hard to scrounge or repurpose transformer wire since they're all copper clad aluminium wire. It's real hard to find proper copper wire in modern electronics and most home purpose cabling (extension cords, audio cable, etc.) are also aluminium wire.

[@skybot9998]

I get it from amazon.

[@jimdawes7261]

Very helpful, I'm in the process of building my first crystal set, grounding rod is in the ground (79" down) next is the antenna. I have a 50' roll of copper wire and plastic insulated eye screws (like for tv antenna). I won't be keeping anything connected while not in use so lightning shouldn't be an issue (I will keep the feed and ground lines outside). Your tips about the feed line connections are most helpful. Waiting on delivery of some vintage high impedance headphones then I can do a mock up of the set for testing.

[@jessferrera3155]

Well done. Thanks for putting this together

[@stealthop]

thanks for going over this . cheers

[@toml.8210]

I like to use 1 inch PVC pipe for insulators. I cut off 1 inch slices, then put 4 holes in it. 2 holes are for the antenna wire, and 2 holes for the paracord I use to tie it to a tree or pole. It's too bad you can thread a wire through the inside of some paracord.

[@johnmckee7937]

Excellent Ideas!

[@tsbrownie]

Thanks. I put together my first one as an 8 year old cub scout with zero financial means.

[@johnmckee7937]

@@tsbrownie I was a bit older, maybe 12? I remember I did shellac the toilet roll like the book said to. It turned out it was a foxhole radio From an old library book.

[@tsbrownie]

@@johnmckee7937 My first one lasted until the toilet roll got crushed. :( Now I recommend PVC blue water pipe, which is pretty crush proof. With your background, you might want to jump right to the more advanced version. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5mYfKt5pceEa7c

[@johnmckee7937]

Might I add a suggestion from someone who has driven more than one ground rod in his life. Plan ahead, start watering the ground where it's going. Dig a small hole and keep filling with water. Makes it much easier to drive ground rod.

[@tsbrownie]

@@johnmckee7937 Or you can do this! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmSqe4B3msyFp7M

[@arnikumbh1]

Dear Sir thanks for sharing Very useful information about antenna for Cristal radio. Can you please make video for how to make coil for Cristal radio., Please explain what SWG/AWG ENAMAL WIRE TO BE USED, NO OF TURNS FOR SINGLE COIL/ ANTENNA COUPLR COIL, DIAMETER OF PIPE ON WHICH COIL TO BE WOUND. THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE

[@tsbrownie]

I have a video on making a crystal radio that explains much of this. Also a lot of data is in the description.

[@tomvanthienen3716]

Cool video.. Should the inside of my garden house work for an antenna? 6m x 3m with shingles on the roof?

[@tsbrownie]

If there's not a lot of metal or cement in the construction then it should be OK. Avoid running it near electrical wiring and such.

[@hobbyrob313]

Aluminum wire not electrically conductive? Aluminum wire not good for antenna? ?

[@tsbrownie]

It is higher resistance and harder to make a low resistance connection. But it will work.

[@Bankable2790]

Hello sir two questions: 1. How do you avoid coming “close to the house” if you are running in the attic? 2. I was hoping to run from the attic to my room through a metal central air duct vent. Is this just stupid? How else can I get the wire into my room?

[@tsbrownie]

1. In the attic you have no choice. If you have a metal roof it will block the signal. 2. That will not work well through a metal duct without a lot of fancy wire work. You can start with a temporary wire antenna in the room until you figure it out.

[@Bankable2790]

@@tsbrownie how about coming through a coax cable through the attic into my room? That should work shouldn’t it?

[@tsbrownie]

@@Bankable2790 That's really hard to explain. Antenna matching is a difficult thing. Coax comes in different impedance and unless it happens to match your radio and antenna it would likely work weakly or not at all. I need to make a video on making an antenna matcher. I've got something that might get you going in the right direction: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5mYfKt5pceEa7c

[@Bankable2790]

@@tsbrownie Thank you so much man! I am about to rewatch some of your crystal radio videos I have saved. Do you have any good resources on keeping an under-eave antenna grounded for lightning? TIA

[@tsbrownie]

@@Bankable2790 Not specifically. Ham radio guys have a lot of info on that because of their long wire antennas and such. I just disconnect and put the wire outside.

[@abrahanpinedo]

Thanks for the video, is it better than to use magnet wire instead of one with plastic insulator?

[@tsbrownie]

Enamel wire is best. Plastic insulation would be very hard to work with.

[@abrahanpinedo]

@@tsbrownie We try enamel, but the best was just to connect to the TV antenna, which in a way is the same. I saw another video were you said that the model with a capacitor and inductor its not okay, and actually we are getting trouble to catch more than two AM stations. We'll try the radio you showed. We (my students and I) are very grateful for your help.

[@tsbrownie]

@@abrahanpinedo If you are going to build a crystal radio, this is my new favorite. A bit more complex, but has the best results by far. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5mYfKt5pceEa7c If you have questions, let me know.

[@adnacraigo6590]

Is there an ideal length to shoot for?

[@tsbrownie]

Yes if you only want to tune 1 frequency there are formulas for full wave, half wave, quarter wave ... antennas, but for general reception, the longer the better.

[@chrismead1464]

would a slinky work as an antenna?

[@chrismead1464]

My roof is metal, how does that interfere with an inside antenna in the attic?

[@tsbrownie]

Interesting question. Yes it would work, the question is how well it would work. That I don't know. If you try it, let me know how well it works.

[@tsbrownie]

@@chrismead1464 The metal roof, or even metalized insulation in a roof will significantly diminish the ability for radio waves to penetrate.

[@chrismead1464]

@@tsbrownie I was afraid of that...