- 1). Use a nail to poke four holes into a sturdy plastic bottle such as the bottles that contain hydrogen peroxide. Make two holes near the top and the bottom of the bottle, parallel to the edge. Create the holes 1/2 inch apart from one another.
- 2). Push the magnet wire through one hole at the top of the bottle and pull it through the other hole. Leave approximately 8 inches of loose wire at the end. You may loop the wire through the holes an extra time to secure the wire if it is loose in the holes.
- 3). Loop the long end of the wire around the bottle five times in neat rows. With a pen or pencil, create a small loop, which is called a "tap," that extends from the bottle.
- 4). Wrap the wire around the bottle five more turns and create another tap. If using a pen, you can keep the pen inside the first loop and create a second loop around the pen, adjacent to the first. Continue wrapping the wire around the bottle and making a tap every five wraps, until the wire reaches the two holes at the bottom. Your pen will be secured to the bottle, inside the taps.
- 5). Thread the remaining wire through the holes at the bottom of the bottle. Cut off the remainder of the wire, leaving 8 inches free (similar to the top of the bottle). Loop the wire through the holes once more, if it is loose.
- 6). Remove the pen from the row of loops so they are free standing. Use sandpaper or paint remover and a cloth to remove the enamel coating from the wire loops and the ends of the wire.
- 7). Attach the Germanium diode to the loop at the bottom of the bottle with an alligator clamp or attach one clamp to the loop and remove the other end of the clip. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from the alligator wire and secure it to the diode wire by soldering.
- 8). Attach an alligator clip between the free end of the diode and one end of the resistor. Attach another alligator clamp between the free end of the resistor and the loose wire at the top of the bottle. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from the wires that extend from the ceramic earphone and connect one wire to each alligator clip on either side of the resistor.
- 9). Ground the crystal radio set by attaching another wire to the top wire. Connect the free end of this wire to a water pipe or a metal pipe that extends 2 feet into the ground.
- 10
Connect the 50- to 100-foot wire to the wire at the bottom of the bottle by an alligator clip. String the wire as high into the air as possible, without letting it touch trees or shrubs.
SHARE
