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    Foxhole Radio

    Uploaded by

    Susanoo12
    This document provides instructions for building a World War II foxhole radio that does not require electricity. It describes how soldiers during World War II would construct simple radios from scrap materials to receive news and music while isolated from their barracks. The instructions outline obtaining materials like wire, screws, and a razor blade to act as a crystal. Coils are wrapped around a cardboard tube and connected to clips to serve as a tuner slider and detector contact for listening to radio signals through a crystal earphone.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Foxhole Radio

    Uploaded by

    Susanoo12
    689 views6 pages
    This document provides instructions for building a World War II foxhole radio that does not require electricity. It describes how soldiers during World War II would construct simple radios from scrap materials to receive news and music while isolated from their barracks. The instructions outline obtaining materials like wire, screws, and a razor blade to act as a crystal. Coils are wrapped around a cardboard tube and connected to clips to serve as a tuner slider and detector contact for listening to radio signals through a crystal earphone.

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    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

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    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

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    This document provides instructions for building a World War II foxhole radio that does not require electricity. It describes how soldiers during World War II would construct simple radios from scrap materials to receive news and music while isolated from their barracks. The instructions outline obtaining materials like wire, screws, and a razor blade to act as a crystal. Coils are wrapped around a cardboard tube and connected to clips to serve as a tuner slider and detector contact for listening to radio signals through a crystal earphone.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    689 views6 pages

    Foxhole Radio

    Uploaded by

    Susanoo12
    This document provides instructions for building a World War II foxhole radio that does not require electricity. It describes how soldiers during World War II would construct simple radios from scrap materials to receive news and music while isolated from their barracks. The instructions outline obtaining materials like wire, screws, and a razor blade to act as a crystal. Coils are wrapped around a cardboard tube and connected to clips to serve as a tuner slider and detector contact for listening to radio signals through a crystal earphone.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6
    At a glance
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    The key takeaways are that foxhole radios were simple radios built by soldiers in WWII to receive news and music without electricity. They worked using the principle of radio waves and could be built in under an hour with basic materials.

    The foxhole radio works without electricity by using a coil of wire to pick up radio signals from the antenna. The signals are then detected by a crystal, such as a razor blade, and transmitted to the earphones.

    The main components needed are a coil, wire clips, a slider, a safety pin, a razor blade, earphones, antenna and grounding wires.

    8 BUILD A WORLD WAR II

    FOXHOLE RADIO

    It’s not quite an iPod, but in the field it will make


    you feel very civilized!
    Believe it or not, it’s easy to build a working radio that doesn’t use
    electricity in less than an hour. Offering instant gratification, World
    War II foxhole radios are simple, ingenious gizmos that reflect sound
    moving through airwaves. Best of all is the pleasure of listening to
    music under starry skies on an apparatus you built!
    I did this project with my uncle, Dr. Richard Lanza, a nuclear engi-
    neer at MIT’s Nuclear Engineering Department. Rolling out antennae
    wire attached to a toilet paper roll in the halls of one of the most pres-
    tigious institutions was beyond comical. Oddly enough, many of the
    scientists who walked by smiled and made comments like, “I remem-
    ber making one of those when I was a kid.” Who knows—making this
    radio could be your first step toward MIT.
    During World War II, GIs were often isolated from hearing the
    day-to-day news of what was happening beyond their barracks. A few
    clever radio-deprived GIs figured
    out that they could use miscella-
    neous scrap metal and junk to
    construct a simple radio. Word
    spread, and soon scores of soldiers
    were creating their own radios.
    Amazingly enough, these radios
    did not require electricity or any
    other power source. Here is a
    chance for you to take a step back
    in history.

    024-39972_ch01_6P.indd 63 3/19/09 3:17:25 PM


    Making a World War II Foxhole Radio
    64

    GEAR LIST
    EXPLORER TOOL BOX

    • Vintage-style fahnestock clips or paper clips


    • 10 wood screws or thumb tacks
    • 10 washers for the screws
    • Needle-nose pliers
    • Wire hanger
    • Wooden board (a 1⁄2-inch-thick pine board is best)
    • Coil form (you can use a cardboard toilet paper roll that’s at least
    13⁄4 inches in diameter—2 inches is best)
    • Number 2 lead pencil
    • Single-edge safety razor (preferably “blued”; see step 13)
    • Geranium diode—1N34A (from Radio Shack), optional
    • 40 feet of #22 AWG coil or magnet wire
    • 1 foot of #26 wire
    • 100 feet of antenna wire or an antenna kit
    • Sand paper
    • Crystal earphone
    • Safety pin
    • Screw driver
    • Spray lacquer

    STEP 1: Cut the wooden board to which your radio will be attached.
    The exact size is irrelevant, but it should be at least 6 × 6 inches to ac-
    commodate all the parts.

    STEP 2: Create coil form. This is the tube around which you are going
    to wrap about 40 feet of copper wire. A toilet paper role will do, but it
    might be a bit flimsy. If you can get your hands on thicker tubing, such
    as the type used for gift wrapping paper, it will be more solid. In my
    set I used a 4-inch wide tube.

    STEP 3: Punch four tiny holes in the tube. The two holes at each end should
    be about 1 ⁄2 inch from the end and about 1 ⁄4 inch apart. The two holes on
    each end should run width-wise to the ends. (See illustration on page 65.)

    STEP 4: Wind the wire tightly around the coil form. This may be ac-
    complished in many ways, but ultimately wrapping it by hand is best.
    It is very important that the coils be wrapped neatly next to each other.

    024-39972_ch01_6P.indd 64 3/19/09 3:17:25 PM


    65
    Build a World War II Foxhole Radio
    Allow for about 6 inches of excess wire on the right side of the tube. I
    used magnet wire, which is a copper or aluminum wire covered with
    thin insulation. If you go to a place like Radio Shack, ask for #22 AWG
    (American Wire Gauge). It should be between 100 and 125 turns.

    STEP 5: Tighten the coil manually by gripping it between both hands


    and rotating your hands in opposite directions.

    STEP 6: Spray the coil with


    lacquer to help keep the
    form wrapped tight. Allow
    it to dry.

    STEP 7: Attach the coil to


    the board. Use either two
    thumb tacks or two small
    screws. The excess coil
    wire should protrude from
    the front side of the tube,
    closer to the board, rather
    than from the top of the
    tube (see illustration).

    STEP 8: Attach four wire


    clips to the board—two on
    each side of the board below the coil. They should be about 41 ⁄ 2 inches
    apart from each other width-wise along the coil and about 11 ⁄ 2 inches

    024-39972_ch01_6P.indd 65 3/19/09 3:17:25 PM


    apart from each other on each side of the board (see illustration). The
    top clips should be about an inch below the coil.
    66

    TIP: You can substitute paper clips for the clips and thumb tacks for
    the screws. The idea is to be as innovative as the GIs in the field!
    EXPLORER TOOL BOX

    STEP 9: Make the tuner slider by cutting 7 or 8 inches of wire from a


    wire coat hanger. If the hanger has any type of coating on it such as
    paint, lightly sand it to improve contact points and reception.

    STEP 10: Using needle-nose pliers, bend a loop around the bottom end
    of the tuner slider. This loop will be wrapped around a screw and washer,
    so bend it accordingly. You may want to attach a knob or ball of tape at
    the top end of the slider as this is where your fingers will move the
    slide later for tuning. About 3 inches below the coil, in the middle of
    the board, attach the slider to the board by placing it on top of two
    washers. Then screw it to the board firmly but not so tight that it in-
    hibits the movement of the slider. The hook-up wires should go under
    the washers for all contact points. (See illustration.)

    STEP 11: Attach the safety pin, which will be the detector contact, to
    a 2-inch piece of bare lead by bending the pin open about 90 degrees
    (on the clasp side—see illustration) and wrapping the pin side with #26
    wire. Sharpen the end of the lead with a razor.

    STEP 12: Attach the safety pin to the board, using a washer and screw,

    024-39972_ch01_6P.indd 66 3/19/09 3:17:26 PM


    in the lower right-hand corner. Attach a wire between the safety pin
    head and board with a washer and screw and wrap wire to the lower

    67
    right clip, which will ultimately be one of the headphone attachments
    clips. The tip of the lead will ultimately come in contact with the side

    Build a World War II Foxhole Radio


    of the razor. (See illustration.)

    STEP 13: Attach the razor blade, which will act as the radio’s crystal.
    If you use a standard single-edged razor, it will need to be “blued” or
    heat treated. To do this, attach it to some pliers in a vise and heat it
    with a torch. (If you don’t have a torch, you can purchase one that’s
    ready to go from a hobby shop.) Bend the safety pin so that the tip
    touches the razor’s surface.

    FYI During World War II, standard-issue razors were blued because
    they remained sharper longer.

    The crystal is the trickiest and most important part of this set. If
    you want better reception, you might consider purchasing a Germa-
    nium crystal detector from Radio Shack or from a radio hobby store
    like Borden’s (Borden Radio Company, 138911 Kensington Place,
    Houston, TX, 77034, www.xtalman.com).
    I found that it was easier to work out the kinks in my set by using
    the crystal detector before trying out the razor blade crystal.

    STEP 14: Attach the rest of the wires according to the illustration. If
    any of the connections or contact surfaces are lacquered or painted,
    sand them lightly.

    STEP 15: Attach a long wire to use as an antenna to the lower-left clip.
    The longer and higher, the better—use between 50 and 100 feet of wire
    of any type. Radio Shack sells some really great antenna kits for very
    little money. I have found that it works fairly well to attach the antenna
    high up on a tree.

    TIP: If you want it really high, attach a weight and toss one end as high
    up in the tree as possible.
    Your radio must have a ground wire. Plumbing pipes work as do
    flag poles. Experiment with different metal contacts. Attach the ground
    wire to upper-left clip.
    You are now ready to operate your foxhole radio! Don’t be frus-
    trated if it does not immediately work. I found that I had to experi-
    ment a lot with gently moving the tuning slider back and forth along

    024-39972_ch01_6P.indd 67 3/19/09 3:17:26 PM


    the coil. The antenna and grounding wires made a big difference in
    how they were placed and how well they were connected.
    68

    I remember the first time I actually heard an AM station being


    tuned in. It was a bit of a mind-blowing experience listening to a radio
    EXPLORER TOOL BOX

    on a device with no electrical parts.


    I felt like I was listening to the propaganda DJs Tokyo Rose or Axis
    Sally as the GIs did during World War II. It was the most fun I have
    ever had with a radio. Enjoy listening to your new set.

    024-39972_ch01_6P.indd 68 3/19/09 3:17:26 PM

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