swamp_thing Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Some time back I posted about crystal radios and transistor or IC sets. I have now completed a three tube superhetradyne receiver with a one tube amp section and power supply. I plan to build an old style wooden cabinet for this one sometime later on. I receives many stations on the AM band at night, as well as a couple during the day even in my rural area. Sure was a long term project, but very rewarding when finished. Here are a couple of pictures of it in it's present form. swamp_thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 How far out does it receive? 1200 WOAI from San Antonio has a powerful signal. Could it fit in an old Zenith cabinet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Tony, I have not gotten San Antonio as of yet with it. It is funny with the am waves, certain times of the night different areas come in. I have gotten New Orleans, Des Moines, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and many others so San Antonio is a definate possibility during the right conditions and hours. As for the Zenith case, yes there are some Zenith cases it would definately fit inside. I have considered and will continue to consider going that route. Otherwise, I will build an old tombstone style case for it. My next project is going to be five tube I believe. It takes time to round up all the needed parts sometimes, just as with most other projects, but that is part of the fun as well. Thanks for the reply. swamp_thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Will the knobs line up with the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I have flexability with the knobs, since I built the chassis, poorly, but I did, I can move the knobs to whatever locations I would need to. They could even be moved externally off the chassis if needed. swamp_thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaco Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Nicely done, swamp_thing- Now all you need is an antennae. Years ago I built one, basically a frame of crossed 1"x2"s, IIRC, on which copper antennae wire is wound to make a square. About 3'x3', I think. It was directional--how cool is that?--and tunable. There was a capacitor to create what I believe is called a tank circuit. Isn't making things much more fun than arguing about politics? flaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I could use an attached antenna coil with fair results, but I run mine on a long wire antenna and ground system. The antenna is 216 feet and the ground rod is 8 ft. I gave up the politics stuff, got tired of the hard feelings that are always created. Much better to just tune in the radio and let the talk show guys hash it all out! Thanks for the compliment on the radio. On the next one I may well go with the loop coil antenna, although there are so few stations in the area it probably would severely limit reception. swamp_thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaco Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Okay, swamp_thing, I did a search. Here's a great page with instructions for building a tunable "Loop" antennae. The one I built resembled the 4' antennae described on the page. flaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Okay, swamp_thing, I did a search. Here's a great page with instructions for building a tunable "Loop" antennae. The one I built resembled the 4' antennae described on the page. flaco Great link flaco, I have researched some of these before, but never found that site. I appreciate the info and will have to give that a shot. swamp_thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 My deceased younger brother built a directional antenna originally for short wave but it worked better in the AM band. He could block out the powerful AM stations coming in south from Mexico and Central America. He used to cal it AM dx-ing I think and he claimed to have picked up some Canadian stations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_karlunity_* Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Nice work. Do you know anthing about short wave radios? I am thinking about getting one. I have had several but none were worth a darn. Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted June 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Thank you Karl. I must say that I have little knowledge with the shortwave stuff at this point. I am going to begin working with them and will be building a receiver. I have recently acquired a couple of HF radios. One is a transceiver and the other is an old Hammerlund transmitter. The tube radios do seem to have some real advantages from what I have learned and read. Of course, with the tube stuff there is very high voltages to deal with. I hope to continue on and get a ham license and transition into the world of transmission. There are many good sites on the web concerning short wave, but with each site comes very differing opinions as to what is good and what is not. I think the bottom line becomes what works out best for the individual user. If you are looking for easy operation and 100 watts of power are enough the Kenwood TS50, although discontinued, seems to be a real nice radio. It can be used as mobile or with a power supply as a base. It is one of the radios I have and covers 0.5-30Mhz. Here is a page link with info on it. They can still be readily found and are well liked by almost everyone that has or had one. swamp_thing http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0868.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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