[Hallicrafters] Needed: Marlin Razor Blade

[Mark Shaum]

It doesn't have to be blue.  Its the pencil lead upon not-too-shiny
steel that forms a rectifier, intermittant as it is!  Waaay back, when I
was 10 maybe?  I built one of those foxhole radios with one of my dad's
used double edge blades. I do recall it was not blue, we had some of
those new but the article said to use a well used blade.  I recall an
oatmeal box wound with wire, the bent safety pin with a pencil lead
wrapped around the tip touching the razor blade and some sort of
headphone set.  A clip to the phone rotary telephone dial stop was
either the ground or antenna, I don't recall which.  A great amount of
gentle prodding around on the razor blade with the pencil lead tip
eventually yeilded a scratchy WJR on 760 kc (we lived in Detroit at the
time) with much softer QRM from other nearby AM broadcasters.

This lead to further library research, and an eventual trip to a radio
supply store where I nervously asked the clerk for a in34 diode.  He
corrected me in that it is a 1n34, and once in place replacing my razor
blade rectifier, my listening world expanded greatly.  I believe my dad
likely thought that was the best 25 cent investment he ever made in my
education for decades afterwards.

Good memories..  73! - Mark K9TR

>
> If memory serves, it was the bluing on the razor blade that enabled it
> to act as a diode. Any blued blade should work.
>