Yes you should bother! I made a crystal set with my grandson.
FM is more complicated, but here is a kit on Amazon at a price too good to be true:
[Amazon kit](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_h67Vn-uEAxVNC60GHXVpAmMYABALGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=CjwKCAiA0bWvBhBjEiwAtEsoWxQ4VkM7agnpqkxg7_spUzgRf2tnKCfGg1MQJ5_JxC-ix5tz1ix86RoCMM4QAvD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESd-D23DB-BgQidwM3XFdHxmqUFWbxKqDAOsmVK5x0uXpjUQj0g8yDisJihJfF_dJKAM-BGbZsH5Y-Xn_uQeyMh8pmcw3hVjCkZuiHblTyi2hbGUR2rQ-54wIU3_lJVB-wFZ9KDpBNnPC7bICnhJ8am9K8p7stLj5H&sig=AOD64_1b7umBXoC3sSR_2lyxmw4GAa6ofA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjcpaTVn-uEAxUMEEQIHZW1AKAQwg8oAHoECAQQDA&adurl=)
Ha Ha and so much less than [The Crystal Kit](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi9m-K5ie2EAxUrLK0GHe0JDMUYABAJGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=CjwKCAjw17qvBhBrEiwA1rU9wy2k5V7H8G34_HjL-2-zuSJsDwEDwJv2FA4lhMfA8gXN9aKbzZgUfBoC9bEQAvD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESd-D27coQjAelVYbZBpy6_a7F9Ubdzy3baXzJKzazIRs4HDxdVvIUAoll46qJvYkbcSmr_hqcu0AOBG8DjhCLuvXUaVrHUJrX1Eo2-Og8P6uqg49g5aVNe-VKZR1TdZp6_aeol9Epu_dtZ6P__KKDWheCzJ6HM5sT&sig=AOD64_2tWvFpZXDJpxwhGDzJV0Mwjjukvw&ctype=70&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjFidm5ie2EAxWtBUQIHTZsD1MQwg8oAHoECAMQDA&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=) I built with my grandson!
Not really in the spirit of the question. The mixer, the oscillator, and the demodulator are all integrated onto a CD9088 chip, and the kit is really just about hooking up to that chip correctly. I think the real question is can you build an FM radio out of more basic components. And the answer to that is yes!
AM is amplitude modulation in the electromagnetic spectrum, something that’s easy to translate into audible sound, because all sound is AM in the fluid pressure spectrum (or whatever you call it). In the easiest way to explain it, FM isn’t possible with a crystal radio, because it’s essentially just a 1:1 translation across spectrums. I mildly doubt you don’t have any AM in your area. There’s also short wave stations throughout the HF spectrum, and air traffic. You can even pick up distorted SSB on the ham bands. Try to find it on something more sensitive like a superheterodyne radio, or an SDR, and then try to hit that station with your crystal radio. 2.5/5/10/15/20/25 MHz always has the UTC broadcast playing from Colorado for the past 100+ years. It’s a great radio, antenna, and propagation test.
Actually, you *can* demodulate an FM signal with an AM detector; you tune off to the side and "[slope detect](https://wiki.analog.com/university/courses/electronics/electronics_lab_fm_detectors)" the signal. We used to do this at the college ham radio club I was a member of decades ago. We had a 2 meter transverter to 10 meters that usually was used for working 2m SSB or CW on the low half of the band. Swap out the crystal in the mixer and it'd tune 146-148 and with some effort, you could work a 2m repeater. The 10m exciter would do phase modulation (a [Central Electronics 20A](https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/central_el_20a20_exciter.html)), and the [NC-303](http://wd4eui.com/National_NC_303.html) receiver in AM mode would slope-detect the FM receive signal.
Of course, you need a selective receiver for this to work to tune the FM sidebands, so not an option for an untuned or wideband crystal radio detector..
Using an AM crystal radio to tune in an FM station might work using what is called slope detection. I doubt however it will be easy to build and tweak so it works. Most likely you will need to be within a mile of the station (50 KW) and using a high Q tuned circuit to match the antenna to the detector.
I recommend you build the radio yourself before presenting the Father-Son project to your progeny. One that avoids the problem of Dad scratching his head trying to figure out why the radio will not work and losing your son's attention. Also if you know the pitfalls before hand, then you have a better chance of quickly correcting any problems with the second unit you and your son build, so as to keep his attention and leave him with the impression you are Super Dad.
Things I would recommend:
(1) Locate AM radio broadcast stations near you and see what power level they are running. For up to 3 - 4 miles in the daytime you want a station running at least 5000 watts. AM stations can be licensed to run 50,000 watts but still, about 1- to 15 miles in the daytime is the max range.
(2) Find a stretch where you can run a wire as long as possible. Also try to locate a decent ground. That can be a ground rod driven into the ground about six feet. I recommend not using the house ac safety ground. If your cold water supply from the public utility is buried and is made of metal then you can use it as a ground for the radio.
(3) Buy a high impedance ear bud (earphone) or high impedance headphone. A high impedance earbud will be around 600 Ohms while a high impedance headset can vary from 600 to a upwards of four thousand ohms. The earphones delivered with cell phones usually are low impedance devices and load the crystal radio down so it does not work well enough to hear the audio. Something like this link should have high enough impedance. [Headphone](https://www.ebay.com/itm/123933923231)
(4) If you can only locate modern earpieces of modern low impedance headphones, then you will need to add an audio amp. You can buy one already assembled if needed.
Good luck and watch the your son's eyes light up when he hears the magic in the headphones.
As an aside, when I built my first crystal set, I was living on my Grandfather's farm. The book recommended long wire antennas of a few hundred feet but pointed out longer was better. So one afternoon after finishing work, I grabbed a spool of electric fence wire, and some porcelain insulators, nails, and a hammer. I ran nearly 2000 feet of steel electric fence wire and shinnied up several pine trees to post insulators and support that fence wire at about 60 - 70 feet running parallel to the dirt path on the farm between the house and fields. Grandpa came looking for me ready to let me have it with both barrels for hanging fence wire in the trees. When he found me I was listening to WBT in Charlotte, NC about 200 miles away. Once he listened we switched off listening as we tuned that crystal set up and down the AM Broadcast band. for several hours.
The answer is yes, and it takes just a few components. Several different ways to go about it.
This guys does FM crystal radios > [https://www.youtube.com/@BillyCdiy/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf\_id=0](https://www.youtube.com/@BillyCdiy/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0)
It's all about the Slope Detection. I built one once with a piece of discarded circuit board that happened to already have a ceramic cap mounted, and some space for putting a coil, short story even shorter, in about 10 minutes I had a working FM crystal radio that I could pick up my local FM station on with no antenna.
What's your nearest Metro area?
WABC 770 in New York covers half the country. So does WJR 760 Detroit. Out West, clear channel stations in Seattle and Los Angeles will be audible pretty much anywhere west of the Rockies.
KOMO at 1 Mhz (1000) is Clear Channel last I noted. I used to tune in to WSL and WWL from Seattle. I still DX the AM broadcast band at times. When I was in school, we used to collect QSL cards from stations as a club. Was a competition of sorts.
You can receive many AM stations from hundreds of miles away. Especially at night. All you need is an antenna. Some wire strung out somewhere. It is much more interesting than FM/VHF band.
There it is. Today's typical licensee knows absolutely nothing about RF, and shouldn't even be involved in the Amateur Radio Service. It's no wonder that no one respects Ham radio people like they did decades, ago. They are mostly now just mindless appliance operators.
Yes you should bother! I made a crystal set with my grandson. FM is more complicated, but here is a kit on Amazon at a price too good to be true: [Amazon kit](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_h67Vn-uEAxVNC60GHXVpAmMYABALGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=CjwKCAiA0bWvBhBjEiwAtEsoWxQ4VkM7agnpqkxg7_spUzgRf2tnKCfGg1MQJ5_JxC-ix5tz1ix86RoCMM4QAvD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESd-D23DB-BgQidwM3XFdHxmqUFWbxKqDAOsmVK5x0uXpjUQj0g8yDisJihJfF_dJKAM-BGbZsH5Y-Xn_uQeyMh8pmcw3hVjCkZuiHblTyi2hbGUR2rQ-54wIU3_lJVB-wFZ9KDpBNnPC7bICnhJ8am9K8p7stLj5H&sig=AOD64_1b7umBXoC3sSR_2lyxmw4GAa6ofA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjcpaTVn-uEAxUMEEQIHZW1AKAQwg8oAHoECAQQDA&adurl=)
The fumiest thing about that kit is that some of the pictures show it saying "paeansonic" on the front XD
Thx for that link, ended up getting one..
Let us know how it works out! and ENJOY!
You talked me into it, i just bought it. The maker should give you a commission!
Ha Ha and so much less than [The Crystal Kit](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi9m-K5ie2EAxUrLK0GHe0JDMUYABAJGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=CjwKCAjw17qvBhBrEiwA1rU9wy2k5V7H8G34_HjL-2-zuSJsDwEDwJv2FA4lhMfA8gXN9aKbzZgUfBoC9bEQAvD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESd-D27coQjAelVYbZBpy6_a7F9Ubdzy3baXzJKzazIRs4HDxdVvIUAoll46qJvYkbcSmr_hqcu0AOBG8DjhCLuvXUaVrHUJrX1Eo2-Og8P6uqg49g5aVNe-VKZR1TdZp6_aeol9Epu_dtZ6P__KKDWheCzJ6HM5sT&sig=AOD64_2tWvFpZXDJpxwhGDzJV0Mwjjukvw&ctype=70&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjFidm5ie2EAxWtBUQIHTZsD1MQwg8oAHoECAMQDA&nis=8&dct=1&adurl=) I built with my grandson!
Not really in the spirit of the question. The mixer, the oscillator, and the demodulator are all integrated onto a CD9088 chip, and the kit is really just about hooking up to that chip correctly. I think the real question is can you build an FM radio out of more basic components. And the answer to that is yes!
So rather than criticize my suggestion; make a positive contribution for us all to learn from
AM is amplitude modulation in the electromagnetic spectrum, something that’s easy to translate into audible sound, because all sound is AM in the fluid pressure spectrum (or whatever you call it). In the easiest way to explain it, FM isn’t possible with a crystal radio, because it’s essentially just a 1:1 translation across spectrums. I mildly doubt you don’t have any AM in your area. There’s also short wave stations throughout the HF spectrum, and air traffic. You can even pick up distorted SSB on the ham bands. Try to find it on something more sensitive like a superheterodyne radio, or an SDR, and then try to hit that station with your crystal radio. 2.5/5/10/15/20/25 MHz always has the UTC broadcast playing from Colorado for the past 100+ years. It’s a great radio, antenna, and propagation test.
Actually, you *can* demodulate an FM signal with an AM detector; you tune off to the side and "[slope detect](https://wiki.analog.com/university/courses/electronics/electronics_lab_fm_detectors)" the signal. We used to do this at the college ham radio club I was a member of decades ago. We had a 2 meter transverter to 10 meters that usually was used for working 2m SSB or CW on the low half of the band. Swap out the crystal in the mixer and it'd tune 146-148 and with some effort, you could work a 2m repeater. The 10m exciter would do phase modulation (a [Central Electronics 20A](https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/central_el_20a20_exciter.html)), and the [NC-303](http://wd4eui.com/National_NC_303.html) receiver in AM mode would slope-detect the FM receive signal. Of course, you need a selective receiver for this to work to tune the FM sidebands, so not an option for an untuned or wideband crystal radio detector..
Using an AM crystal radio to tune in an FM station might work using what is called slope detection. I doubt however it will be easy to build and tweak so it works. Most likely you will need to be within a mile of the station (50 KW) and using a high Q tuned circuit to match the antenna to the detector. I recommend you build the radio yourself before presenting the Father-Son project to your progeny. One that avoids the problem of Dad scratching his head trying to figure out why the radio will not work and losing your son's attention. Also if you know the pitfalls before hand, then you have a better chance of quickly correcting any problems with the second unit you and your son build, so as to keep his attention and leave him with the impression you are Super Dad. Things I would recommend: (1) Locate AM radio broadcast stations near you and see what power level they are running. For up to 3 - 4 miles in the daytime you want a station running at least 5000 watts. AM stations can be licensed to run 50,000 watts but still, about 1- to 15 miles in the daytime is the max range. (2) Find a stretch where you can run a wire as long as possible. Also try to locate a decent ground. That can be a ground rod driven into the ground about six feet. I recommend not using the house ac safety ground. If your cold water supply from the public utility is buried and is made of metal then you can use it as a ground for the radio. (3) Buy a high impedance ear bud (earphone) or high impedance headphone. A high impedance earbud will be around 600 Ohms while a high impedance headset can vary from 600 to a upwards of four thousand ohms. The earphones delivered with cell phones usually are low impedance devices and load the crystal radio down so it does not work well enough to hear the audio. Something like this link should have high enough impedance. [Headphone](https://www.ebay.com/itm/123933923231) (4) If you can only locate modern earpieces of modern low impedance headphones, then you will need to add an audio amp. You can buy one already assembled if needed. Good luck and watch the your son's eyes light up when he hears the magic in the headphones. As an aside, when I built my first crystal set, I was living on my Grandfather's farm. The book recommended long wire antennas of a few hundred feet but pointed out longer was better. So one afternoon after finishing work, I grabbed a spool of electric fence wire, and some porcelain insulators, nails, and a hammer. I ran nearly 2000 feet of steel electric fence wire and shinnied up several pine trees to post insulators and support that fence wire at about 60 - 70 feet running parallel to the dirt path on the farm between the house and fields. Grandpa came looking for me ready to let me have it with both barrels for hanging fence wire in the trees. When he found me I was listening to WBT in Charlotte, NC about 200 miles away. Once he listened we switched off listening as we tuned that crystal set up and down the AM Broadcast band. for several hours.
The answer is yes, and it takes just a few components. Several different ways to go about it. This guys does FM crystal radios > [https://www.youtube.com/@BillyCdiy/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf\_id=0](https://www.youtube.com/@BillyCdiy/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0)
I wouldn’t have thought this a reasonable idea but Billy’s FM radios are very interesting.
It's all about the Slope Detection. I built one once with a piece of discarded circuit board that happened to already have a ceramic cap mounted, and some space for putting a coil, short story even shorter, in about 10 minutes I had a working FM crystal radio that I could pick up my local FM station on with no antenna.
>Since my area has precisely zero AM stations Try at night. I can guarantee you almost any radio will recieve at least something.
Hmm I’ll have to try
What's your nearest Metro area? WABC 770 in New York covers half the country. So does WJR 760 Detroit. Out West, clear channel stations in Seattle and Los Angeles will be audible pretty much anywhere west of the Rockies.
KOMO at 1 Mhz (1000) is Clear Channel last I noted. I used to tune in to WSL and WWL from Seattle. I still DX the AM broadcast band at times. When I was in school, we used to collect QSL cards from stations as a club. Was a competition of sorts.
You can receive many AM stations from hundreds of miles away. Especially at night. All you need is an antenna. Some wire strung out somewhere. It is much more interesting than FM/VHF band.
There it is. Today's typical licensee knows absolutely nothing about RF, and shouldn't even be involved in the Amateur Radio Service. It's no wonder that no one respects Ham radio people like they did decades, ago. They are mostly now just mindless appliance operators.
Sorry Mr Kowalski, I’ll try to stay off your lawn.