So I clicked a thumbs-up as soon as I heard the words "I'm an analogue guy". I like Paul. He's a good egg. --- and we're back here at the Group W bench! I have that Grundig loop, although it's sold under a couple of different names too.
Radio was, and is a wonderfull tool for many posible activities, from security, comunity integration, information, humor, music, health, you name it! Even more fantastic were radio people!!. We should save both, as not only high art state of radio arts and techs, but as advanced mental persons in our world. Keep the art alive and the most younger people tuned to all of this. We use to listen to a lot of AM radio in the north of Mexico from the US. A huge important developing influence in the 50s. Greetings, and thanks a lot, from Chihuahua, some 250 miles south of El Paso . 👌🏻🌟🤗
Hi Luis, Thank you for your kind comments.. I love AM radio and was very discouraged to hear that some car manufacturers were going to stop putting AM into cars. I am glad that didn't become law!! W1VLF
Well their are not up to the caliber of the W1AEX videos I have watched.. but I guess they will do.. Thanks do much for watching and comment . Best of 73's Rob W1VLF
I've built a 60khz antenna for the MSF signal in the UK, not as long as yours but I didn't have a secondary coil on it. It's 7.6mH with around 925pF cap. Some exciting work to be done. Please keep it up
Hi Paul. Pretty sure it was my comment you referred to. Yep, I'm really enjoying BCB dxing. I've been playing around with a wideband untuned loop I cobbled out of some speaker wire and a little LNA module from eBay. Kind of a real poor man's Wellbrook. I'm about 40 miles south of St Louis, and with my cheap Retekess V-115 radio/recorder and my loop, I'm getting all kinds of dx. Regularly enjoy a number of Canadians and Cubans, and everything inbetween. I've also got an AN200 loop and with a diode and an old pair of Trimm Featherweights I regularly listen to my neighbors KREI (800KHz) about 3 miles to my south, and KFMO (1240KHz) about a mile to my west. Yep, I think this might be the most fun you can have with your pants on. Thanks again, and keep 'em coming. '73
Yup Carl you are correct. I am not sure if can mention names yet on YT... As you can see I am new at this. BTW no one wants to see me with my pants off LOL.. Not even my wife!!!! Thanks for the comments.
When you learn how to use these passive loops, they work well. Digital TV is one thing, but radio is an important tool for the survival of the country!
@@W1VLF eye-phone owners will disagree! Let's see how they get emergency comms when their eye-phone doesn't work- or even turn on! The rest of us will be digging out the hams, or stringing up long-wire antennas. I've been listening to SW live from the Ukraine, since the wart started there.
I like to old-school o-scope! Forget the LCD and plasma screens! If you ain't burnin' retina, then you ain't using a REAL o-scope! Great YT channel, great info.
3:27 thats just the plastic ring that holds the wraps of wire. I thought the same thing, but the plastic ring is halved and the part you're seeing is the step of the two halves so that they'll hold together.
That was fun! I had a 17 project electronic circuit kit as a child (1971). It had a simple rectifier receiver circuit. I was amazed! Still am! 73 K4nal
This video threw me for a loop ;-} I watched a few of Paul's other ones and now I know how to wind and unwind them to hit sections of the band. I was going to go with plans on the internet but now I will get creative! I need a generator and scope like his so will keep his advice on those in mind. 73's AA8IB.
In the 1970s I was playing with unpowered AM receivers and made what I believe is the least complex receiver possible. I had a straight length of wire, a germanium diode and a single lead to my headphones. The headphones had no ground connection. I was able to hear WEAM-1390 in Falls Church, Virginia, the strongest signal at my house 5 miles away in Arlington. I agree that it would be sad if the US one day lost AM radio. I found this video in a fruitless search of the web, looking for documented examples of radio reception in plumbing fixtures and fences.
got one easier than that, I took an old CB antenna & clipped it to the hot mic input on a laptop & using the media player to monitor the mic, was able to pick up my local 5kw AM station (transmitter about 5 miles away). No tuning capacitors, no diodes, no electrical components, no software, just antenna into the mic input, using the laptop as an amplifier. But of course this only works because of 2 things: 1) being close enough to a strong AM transmitter, & 2) dumb luck that the cb antenna is able to resonate close enough to the strong local station's frequency. Give it a try some time
Great video Sir! Respect! I have the AN-200 (branded Tecsun) and a Tektronix Osciloscope bought from a HAM Flea market. I will try this for sure! When I was a kid I had a galena stone between a longwire and the grounding wire. In parallel a small speaker. I was listening Radio România. I think also on Medium Wave. Thanks for your work. Keep safe!
Paul, simply sensational! won a subscriber! I'm passionate about radio, especially WM, LW and VLF...I'm looking for how to change MW to VLF but I can't find anything on the internet...I want to change one radio or make a receiver... I have a Kenwood thf6a. it takes me up to 100khz...and I want to go lower....help me
Thanks, enjoyed this video. Is that a type-o in the end? 1N43 vs 1N34? Seems 1N34's are hard to come by these days. Folks talk about fakes and receiving silicon diodes instead.
This Is The Best Video On This Exact Subject Onm RU-vid, Soo Coool! Learned Actually SOmething :) I Have BUNCH Of Old USSR Diodes, Transformers, Transiostors, Everything, Thats So Crazy, I have Selenium Electric Parts And Ohh, I Have Mountains Of USSR Stuff, Vaccum Tubes N Stuff
HaHa I`m good in the call book :) I havent seen a callbook in years Neat call w1 very low frequency I have never experienced loops The tuning is pretty darn sharp sharper than I would have thought I have built very simple crystal sets The high q of the coil there does make an undoubtedly big improvement 73
Yes .i does... In small antennas, fractions of wavelength, I like to say "it all about the Q". Also I figured there would some OM out there who got the joke!!! Thank Frank
I have read about using a voltage divider to feed a silicon diode about 1/4 volt DC to get its larger forward voltage drop over germanium reduced. Have you tried this? Really like your videos
No Sir I have not tried that, but it does make sense. With weaker signal you may not have enough voltage to turn on the diode. Thank for the kind words.. I will keep on making them is people are enjoying them W1VLF
Very cool.. Question: Could the amp be replaced with a crystal radio earbud and diode inline, making it not need electric at all? Thanks ahead of time and keep up the cool work.
I know I'm commenting on this video a couple of years late, but can you *please* answer me a question? What circuit(s) did you clip those germanium diodes out of? I would like to find one in the "wild", so to speak, meaning salvage it from some piece of electronics. Are you able to tell me what would normally contain these? Thanks in advance!
If you find any older diodes, there is no warranty that the "crystal" will work, because for example in our country, on long waves in the amplitude modulation has not been broadcast for a long time. In addition, the crystals worked well at a time when the transmitters had power calculated in KW. Today, the situation is such that transmitters have power in fractions, ie in watts. But well, if you want a spare diode, make it from galenite according to old instructions, but you will not be satisfied with the functionality of the above causes. In the "wilderness" use an old cell phone that has a functional part of the FM. With a long coaxial antenna you can capture the signal and also have free radio. You can power the old mobile phone in the wild with a small solar panel. The video is not honest because it does not draw attention to problems. But it is possible that somewhere it is still broadcast in the amplitude modulation on long waves and the transmitter with great power is in sight. Then it could work.
you won't find these germanium diodes in anything modern that you can salvage, you may find one in an old radio circuit board but the leads will be too short to re-purpose & there's no point in ruining a good radio to make a crystal radio. You can find them online, also the old radio shack project kits always had them to teach beginner radio circuits.
Hi Ronny.. The area of the loop is what determines it ability to capture signal. If you used to 4" diameter instead of 8" the level of signal would drop by 6 db. 2" another 6 db approximately. If you halve the diameter of a circle, the area reduces by 4 times, the opposite if you double the diameter
I'm interested in building/experimenting with loops such as you had in the video. Do you or know of anyone who has a video on building such loops and determining their characteristics? Thanks.
John, dont be afraid to just go ahead an experiment. Look at this video.. then use these technique to find out where your loop is resonant ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r6o0s_0fKVY.html
Cool beans. My friend gave me a crystal set she had giffted her deceased husband. I assembled it. I plan to do more than the basics later before I switch to SolderSmokes direct conversion receiver. kc2wvb P.S. Neat loops. My most recent tx/rx loop was made with 4 inch diameter aluminum dryer vent tubing. 4 foot square with 23 inch per side square of 3/4 copper pipe as te drive/sense loop. Its sweet on 40 up to 20 meters.
I am amazed at the reception range i get with my loop. I live outside of Philadelphia and picked. Uo a station in NC. I w was a freaky right wing low power station spewing forth white hate speech in disguise. Is this what has become of AM radio, now hate radio, even the evangelicals are off the wall.