Non-kit DIY radios

[Jolly 7]

Hello all radio enthusiasts and tinkerers. I thought of starting this thread to share our experiences of building radio circuits or complete radios from the scratch without using kits. Please contribute if you are able to.

 

[Jolly 7]

I was referring to projects such as this one:

It would be good to know if anyone here has made this or a similar radio circuit, either FM or AM.

 

[Subbu68]

I was referring to projects such as this one:

It would be good to know if anyone here has made this or a similar radio circuit, either FM or AM.

Is that your video?

I did a couple when I was a kid - not with ICs or complex ones. And the best for me was just the OA79 with a tank circuit and connected to the aux in of a valve radio my dad made. The sound was phenomenal compared to the Bush Baron transistor radio we had. It still rings in my ears.

I did modify my AM kit as I posted earlier in my thread. The tuning went off by 100kHz on the dial. The overloading reduced though. Need to tinker further.

 

[Jolly 7]

Is that your video?

I did a couple when I was a kid - not with ICs or complex ones. And the best for me was just the OA79 with a tank circuit and connected to the aux in of a valve radio my dad made. The sound was phenomenal compared to the Bush Baron transistor radio we had. It still rings in my ears.

I did modify my AM kit as I posted earlier in my thread. The tuning went off by 100kHz on the dial. The overloading reduced though. Need to tinker further.

Hi. The DIY FM radio video isn't mine but I posted the link just to share it.

In relation to your Elenco TRF AM kit, my suggestion for you would be to connect your DIY loop antenna, which you built previously, to it in parallel to the kit's ferrite antenna. That might improve the tuning range so as to cover the entire MW band. If you couple it without a physical connection, chances are that it may amplify some stations but probably won't extend the tuning range of your kit radio.

I have built a few DIY radios based on TA7642 and they all cover 531 to 1600 kHz.

 

[Subbu68]

Hi. The DIY FM radio video isn't mine but I posted the link just to share it.

In relation to your Elenco TRF AM kit, my suggestion for you would be to connect your DIY loop antenna, which you built previously, to it in parallel to the kit's ferrite antenna. That might improve the tuning range so as to cover the entire MW band. If you couple it without a physical connection, chances are that it may amplify some stations but probably won't extend the tuning range of your kit radio.

I have built a few DIY radios based on TA7642 and they all cover 531 to 1600 kHz.

I will try that this weekend.

You are right that with just magnetic coupling of the AM loop, the tuning range of the radio only will come into play. Frequencies out of that range even if amplified by the loop will not be received.

I have an interesting book on old radio circuits. I will share through Google link on PM