[Boatanchors] Re Fox Hole Radio

[J. Forster]

You needed more than that. You needed some wire and a form to make a coil, and an
earphone. It was a standard crystal set circuit, perhaps with a tuning cap and
perhaps it used stray capacitance. I assume tuning, if any, was very crude. The
detector was the razor blade and pencil lead. The blue oxide layer is non-linear and
is a crude point contact diode sort of thing. The safety pin was used as a spring to
hold the pencil lead against the blade, as I remember.

-John

Duane Fischer, W8DBF wrote:

> I have heard the stories of WW2 soldiers making a radio from a razor blade, some
> wire, a lead pencil and a safety pin. My question: precisely how?
>
> Perhaps one of you who made one can enlighten the rest of us?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Duane Fischer, W8DBF
> dfischer@usol.com
>
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