Homemade crystal set radio receiver with headphones

Made:: 1922 in United Kingdom

Broadcast receiver. Generic crystal set, well finished in polished wooden box, with a pair of headphones, unknown maker, 1922.

The crystal set was a simple radio receiver which did not need any power to make it work. It only received AM, amplitude modulated, signals. The crystal, with a point contact, called a cats whisker as that was what was sometimes used, on its surface, created a diode action rectifying the carrier wave so making it possible to hear the audio signal which was modulated onto it.

Details

Category:: Television

Collection:: BBC Heritage Collection

Object Number:: 2012-5118/855

Materials:: mahogany (wood), brass (copper, zinc alloy), metal (unknown) and glass

Measurements:: headphones (on stand): 280 mm x 290 mm x 75 mm,
set open: 290 mm x 180 mm x 180 mm, 1.4 kg

type:: radio receiver

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Parts

Homemade crystal set radio receiver

Broadcast receiver. Generic crystal set, well finished in polished wooden box, unknown maker, 1922.

Crystal sets were some of the first available radios. They do not need electricity to work, but the signal they pick up is very weak. The weak signal means you can’t increase the volume and so need to wear headphones to listen in.

Many people built their own crystal sets, but they could also be purchased ready built. Inside, a thin metal wire called the cat’s whisker touches the radio’s crystal, transforming radio signals into sounds we can hear.

It was not until valve radios became available in the mid-1920s that people could listen to radio out loud and in groups without buying multiple pairs of expensive headphones.

Materials:: mahogany (wood) , brass (copper, zinc alloy) , metal (unknown) and glass

Object Number:: 2012-5118/855/1

type:: radio receiver

Headphones

Pair of headphones for generic crystal set.

It was not until valve radios became available in the mid-1920s that people could listen to radio out loud and in groups without buying multiple pairs of expensive headphones.