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The Voice of the Crystal: How to Build Working Radio Receiver Components Entirely from Scratch, by H. Peter Friedrichs. Crystal radio construction often means purchasing electronic components. Not anymore with this super new Xtal book! When we received our review copy here at the XSS we were pleasantly surprised. Peter, an XSS member, has been secretly building xtal sets parts in his basement…unbeknown to those around him or any of the XSS gurus. He now reveals his secret life with this book how to construct all of the parts from scratch. Everything had to be totally hand built, without special tools or materials and using technology that would be consistent with the early days of radio. Basic theory and analysis is combined with dozens of examples of historical practice, work by contemporary experimenters, and construction details. Inside are plans for 3 different homemade headphones, including one fabricated from cigarette lighter parts. Also included are detectors, fixed capacitors, and a rotary variable condenser. Plus there are coil plans for single layer, spider web, baskets, and a precision double-slider. Throughout, the author shares his thinking and practical experience, and includes over 120 photos and hand-prepared illustrations. Superbly written, and just plain fun to read. |
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Secrets of RF Circuit Design, by Joseph J. Carr. The best ways to design, build, and test today's radio frequency (RF) circuits can be found in this very thorough guide. It's filled with projects and experiments that make it easy to apply RF principles to real-life applications. Parts lists and component sources are listed for every project; these include building radio receiver circuits, RF bridges, amplifiers, and receiver preselectors. Also covered is the selection and repair of variable capacitors, the design of wind inductor coils for radio circuits, and the construction and grounding of simple wire antennas. If you want to learn more about RF circuits, this is a must have. |
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Radios that Work for Free,
by K. E. Edwards. Originally published in 1977, this book has been one of the most popular publications about crystal sets. Great for beginners or those needing a "refresh" of the basics. More than half of the book is introductory and includes a discussion of crystal set basics, with separate chapters on antennas, detectors, phones, coils, and capacitors. Also included is information on schematics, layout, and soldering. The last third of the book includes 3 crystal set projects with parts lists & directions. |
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The Robot Builder's Bonanza: 99 Inexpensive Robotics Projects, by Gordon McComb. Now, with the help of the Robot Builder's Bonanza, you can truly express your creativity. This fascinating guide offers you a complete, unique collection of tested and proven project modules that you can mix and match to create an almost endless variety of highly intelligent and workable robot creatures. There are over 99 different experiments that you can use in different combinations to create robots of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Rolling robots, walking robots, talking robots ... robots that can vacuum the floor, serve drinks, teach the kids, protect the family against fire or intruders ... anything is possible using these modules and a little ingenuity. Best of all, none of these projects will put a strain on your budget. The majority of the IC's you'll use in the circuits are budget-priced surplus parts. Geared to both novice and intermediate robotics enthusiasts, the projects include all the necessary information you need to construct the essential building blocks that go into the typical personal robot: the body and frame; power and locomotion; appendages; eyes, ears, and mouth; navigation; and electronic control (including radio!). Create your own original, custom-designed, personal robot! |
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1934 Official Short Wave Radio
Manual: Complete Experimenter's Set-Building and Servicing Guide,
edited by Hugo Gernsback and H. Winfield Secor. Build simple, high-performance old time shortwave radios! All of the secrets are here: the circuit diagrams, parts layout, coil specifications, construction details, operation hints, and more. Back in the 20's and 30's the only low-cost way of listening in on the newly discovered and fascinating short-wave radio frequencies was to build a set. Shortwave construction magazines flourished, even during the depression. This is a compilation of construction articles from the "Short Wave Craft" magazine. |
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How to Build
the Twinplex Regenerative Receiver, by T.J. Lindsay. Build three different hot performing shortwave regenerative receivers! Lindsay shows you how step-by-step. Great directions, photos, and figures. One vacuum tube, battery powered, stunning performance, classic appearance, and easy to build. 1934 Doerle Twinplex, 6SL7 Twinplex, and Solid-State Twinplex. Lindsay calls this a "Bonehead to Genius in One Step" book. |
| Pager Handbook for the Radio Amateur, by Philip N. Anderson, W0XI. The purpose of this handbook is to introduce paging technology to the radio amateur. It describes the Radiopaging Code No. 1, also known as POCSAG, investigates the inner guts of a typical pager - both the FM receiver board and the decoder board, suggests where to purchase pagers for amateur use, outlines procedures for recrystalling pagers for 2-meter and 70-cm use, describes how to set up an amateur station for paging, and describes the paging commands and paging capability added to the Kantronics KPC-9612 packet modem. If you want to learn how to assemble and operate an amateur radio paging station, this book is a must read. | |
| Homemade Lightning: Creative Experiments in
Electricity by R. A. Ford. Build your own Wimshurst and Van de Graff generators and other creative, hands-on electrostatics projects. If you're not sure you are interested in electrostatics, check out the woman on page 160 with her hair straight out. The caption reads, "Author’s version of a room-temperature SUPER conductor." One of the best books on electrostatics for the hobbyist, inventor, or experimenter with great stuff on electrostatic generators and complete instructions for building various types, including Wimshurt and Van de Graaff generators. You'll find information and projects covering electrical anomalies, gravitation, cold light, and electric tornadoes, and a great easy-to-read history of high voltage generation. |
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To learn more about the books, radio
parts, and radio kits available from the Society, please visit one of the links below:
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The Xtal Set Society. All rights reserved.
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books for radio builders