I work on vintage radios as a counterpoint to my professional career as a Field Applications Engineer for a major semiconductor company, as in sixty-four million transistors under your thumb nail.  It's refreshing to work on devices where you can actually see the individual components.  In between high-end communication-receiver restorations, I build crystal sets.  

Build a Pretty Good Crystal Set

A minature crystal set for urban areas:  The City Mouse

The PGXS Mark II 

Follow this link to some accumulated wisdom on crystal sets: CRYSTAL SET DESIGN 102

Coils can make or break a crystal set.  Here some thoughts on their design:   COILS

One of the weak links in many sets is the earphones. Check this out: HEADSETS

Here's my  Sound-Powered Telephone Spotter's Guide

The Search for Steel Galena

You can mount your own mineral crystals for use as detectors: MOUNTING CRYSTALS

Now you'll need a detector stand.  Here's one you can build:   DETECTOR STAND

A look at some vintage detectors: TWO WIRELESS DETECTORS

Here's one of my construction projects:   SkyWaves High-Performance Crystal Set

An experimental  SHORT-WAVE CRYSTAL SET

A simple but effective SINGLE-TUNED SET that rejects short-wave signals.

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