Trying It Out

At this point, the radio is ready to go. Insert batteries and turn it on. Adjust the tuner (the knob on the variable capacitor) and the volume (the knob on the potentiometer) to find listen to your favorite radio stations.

When you tune into a station that you want to find again, mark the position of the tuning knob on the face of the radio. If you’re not getting the signal you thought you would, here are the obvious things to check out:

Check that all the batteries are fresh and tightly inserted in the battery pack, all facing the right direction.

Check to see that no wires or components have come loose.

Rotate the radio.

When one end of the antenna points at the radio station’s transmitting antenna, the signal from that radio station will be stronger.

Taking It Further

Many people get bitten by the radio bug and want to get into ham radio in a big way. If you’re one of these, here are some variations on this project to keep you going:

You can build an FM radio to get those high-frequency stations. The TEA5710N IC can be used to build a radio that can receive both AM and FM signals.

Build a radio that will receive signals from ham radio operators. Go to QRP/SWL HomeBuilder (www.qrp.pops.net/default.htm) for some ideas for ham radio projects, or visit www.arrl.org.

Mount an external antenna connected to the ferrite rod to boost the power of the signal if you live in the boondocks where signals are hard to come by.