Transitioning to RF

**You can learn a lot and very inexpensively.

It's the first step towards gaining a feel for what RF is all about.

The OP is clueless enough to need it.

... Phil

My first crystal radio is what got me hooked on radio. I learned a lot by d oing it and there is a lot to be learned still...but I got too anxious and wanted to move up quickly. I have an article lying next to my bed titled "A Great Teacher: The Crystal Set" by Phil Anderson WØXI.

I'd like to think of myself as a bit older than a 2 year old with radio and electronics. I have poured so many hours over electronics and radio books (beside school work but that was almost worthless). But maybe so in compari son with people who have been building and learning and experimenting for d ecades.

I'm having fun so far, even with the heavy study. I'm not sure if it's wort h it on the long run, since it's probably too late to be a career, but I'll keep doing it while I'm having fun and learning. And who knows maybe it wi ll serve me in the future.

Thanks for the inspiration.

"M. Hamed"

** Its a lot like illegal drugs really.

Crystal sets regularly lead on to the much harder stuff.

Transistors, valves, ICs...

... Phil

My MFJ-956 (multipurpose VSWR bridge, counter, sig generator) uses a

1N34A germanium diode in the "front end". I used the same diode model in 1961 when I built a crystal radio per Alfred Morgan's "Boy's First Book of Radio and Electronics".

The 1977 ARRL Solid State Design book was good, but is out of print. I see one copy on Ebay.

--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is 
enough left over to pay them. 

   Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week. :(

** You and I must be close to the same age.

My very first crystal set used a Galena crystal plus cat's whisker.

That was not too successful so the next one used an OA91, IIRC.

... Phil

Thanks for the pointer. I ended up picking a copy off Amazon for double the eBay price. It's the 1994 print and claimed to be in a better condition. That's how desperate I am. Now I need 80 hours a day to indulge.

eBay price. It's the 1994 print and claimed to be in a better condition. That's how desperate I am. Now I need 80 hours a day to indulge.

I do have experimental methods. I am still not convinced it's a good replacement for Solid State Design. But I'm still a beginner.

replacement for Solid State Design. But I'm still a beginner.

It covers solid state analog, power supplies, classes of amplification, feedback, superheterodyne, regeneration, etc. Plus DSP, direct conversion receivers. It still tells you about Dead Bug and Manhattan Style construction. I don't remember a dim bulb tester, but nobody's perfect.

replacement for Solid State Design. But I'm still a beginner.

I opened the Mixers chapter today and I take back what I said :) In any case I own both books now and I plan to read them both.

replacement for Solid State Design. But I'm still a beginner.

'dimbulb' was tested and found to be 'Always Wrong'.

--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is 
enough left over to pay them. 

   Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week. :(

Found 1n34a very cheap at