Wound on a 3 foot length of PVC pipe, the long loopstick antenna was an experiment to try to improve AM radio reception without using a long wire or ground. It works fairly well and greatly improved reception of a weak station 130 miles away. A longer rod antenna will probably work better if space allows. The number of turns of wire needed for the loopstick can be worked out from the single layer, air core inductance formula: Inductance = (radius^2 * turns^2) / ((9*radius)+(10*length)) where dimensions are in inches and inductance is in microhenrys. The inductance should be about 230...

In this circuit, a 74HC14 hex Schmitt trigger inverter is used as a square wave oscillator to drive a small signal transistor in a class C amplifier configuration. The oscillator frequency can be either fixed by a crystal or made adjustable (VFO) with a capacitor/resistor combination. A 100pF capacitor is used in place of the crystal for VFO operation. Amplitude modulation is accomplished with a second transistor that controls the DC voltage to the output stage. The modulator stage is biased so that half the supply voltage or 6 volts is applied to the output stage with no modulation. The...

This is basically a crystal radio with an audio amplifier which is fairly sensitive and receives several strong stations in the Los Angeles area with a minimal 15 foot antenna. Longer antennas will provide a stronger signal but the selectivity will be worse and strong stations may be heard in the background of weaker ones. Using a long wire antenna, the selectivity can be improved by connecting it to one of the taps on the coil instead of the junction of the capacitor and coil. Some connection to ground is required but I found that standing outside on a concrete slab and just allowing the...

Please note that it is illegal to operate a radio transmitter without a license in most countries. This circuit is deliberately limited in power output but will provide amplitude modulation (AM) of voice over the medium wave band. The circuit is in two halfs, an audio amplifier and an RF oscillator. The oscillator is built around Q1 and associated components. The tank circuit L1 and VC1 is tunable from about 500kHz to 1600KHz. These components can be used from an old MW radio, if available. Q1 needs regenerative feedback to oscillate and this is achieved by connecting the base and collector...

This is a compact three transistor, regenerative receiver with fixed feedback. It is similar in principle to the ZN414 radio IC which is now replaced by the MK484. The design is simple and sensitivity and selectivity of the receiver are good. [b:17e2d7caaa]Notes:[/b:17e2d7caaa] All general purpose transistors should work in this circuit, I used three BC549 transistors in my prototype. The tuned circuit is designed for medium wave, but the circuit will work up to much higher frequencies if a different tuning coil and capacitor are used. I used a ferrite rod and tuning capacitor from an old...

The current draw for this tracker is 3.7mA, so the 1.5V button cell will last awhile. What the heck am I suppose to hear you ask? When your circuit is working you should see the LED flash quite fast. Take your FM radio and search for the low-beat 'humbe-humbe-humbe-etc' equal to the flash of the LED (probably around the 100Mhz). Found it? If that position is interferering with a radio station you can fine-tune it with the variable capacitor. If you like to have the tracker around the 88Mhz you can do that by spreading the windings from the home-made coil just a bit (1/2 a millimeter or so)....

This circuit will transmit a continuous audio tone on the FM broadcast band (88-108 MHz) which could used for remote control or security purposes. Circuit draws about 30 mA from a 6-9 volt battery and can be received to about 100 yards. A 555 timer is used to produce the tone (about 600 Hz) which frequency modulates a Hartley oscillator. A second JFET transistor buffer stage is used to isolate the oscillator from the antenna so that the antenna position and length has less effect on the frequency. Fine frequency adjustment can be made by adjusting the 200 ohm resistor in series with the...

Mini FM transmitters take place as one of the standard circuit types in an amateur electronics fan's beginning steps. When done right, they provide very clear wireless sound transmission through an ordinary FM radio over a remarkable distance. I've seen lots of designs through the years, some of them were so simple, some of them were powerful, some of them were hard to build etc. Here is the last step of this evolution, the most stable, smallest, problemless, and energy saving champion of this race. Circuit given below will serve as a durable and versatile FM transmitter till you break or...

Here is a simple radio that is easy to build and inexpensive. In fact, you probobly have all the parts you need in your junk box. You'll be suprised at the great reception with this little set. [b:f4287f9cad]Notes:[/b:f4287f9cad] 1. The antenna can be a piece of wire or a telescoping antenna. 18 inches is a good length for in the city. 2. The tuning capacitor is a regular broadcast band tuning capacitor. I got mine from a junked AM radio. I got the loopstick antenna from that same radio. 3. You can change L1 and C1 to recieve different bands (eg. Shortwave). To recieve shortwave, try...