How to Make a Foxhole Radio

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17 жыл бұрын

During World War II, GIs in the field built really amazing simple radios to listen too. These were made with materials that they could get their hands on and were small enough to carry around in a big pocket. You can modify this design if you want to set it up so that it's tuneable too! To see all the plans, go to makezine dot com slash podcast!
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@Themaxleydog 2 жыл бұрын

jesus i watched this video in 2007 once..... remembered it.... and found it again 14 years later

@sallycarroll6329 2 ай бұрын

What does JESUS have to do with this?

@greg2818 2 ай бұрын

@@sallycarroll6329a lot of

@transcendbeing 2 ай бұрын

@@sallycarroll6329wow you're truly a very intelligent individual

@duaneritter3932 Ай бұрын

@@sallycarroll6329 Alright Sally, time for arts and crafts...

@yoramstein 9 жыл бұрын

Heating the razor blade creates a dioxide layer on the blade (2 materials) which turns the razor to a detector (diode). I think kind of that layer is also being used at the gate of mosfet transistors.

@GGWalace 4 жыл бұрын

12 years and the quality of the video is amazing

@berkozkaya8365 4 жыл бұрын

We did it with my friend when I was 12 years old. Although we cannot get sound from the radio, I am an Electronic engineer candidate right now :)

@AliasUndercover 3 жыл бұрын

I bet you could get one to work now.

@25_26 2 жыл бұрын

i made one when i was 8. It is not a big deal.

@berkozkaya8365 2 жыл бұрын

@@25_26 congrats mate im happy for you

@dudewithout_a_face5573 Жыл бұрын

How did it go? Your uni I mean

@ethancobb4002 10 ай бұрын

Just a candidate? Not even an engineer?

@DarkenedCrux 9 жыл бұрын

This was the very first KZfaq video I ever watched, oh the memory's

@texaselite1355 6 жыл бұрын

Hahahahaha

@UpcomingJedi 5 жыл бұрын

I watched Me at the zoo. Gives me the willys to know what you watched. Its so interesting. Im going to like this comment and have my followers all like it too so you get money from KZfaq.

@arthurmead5341 4 жыл бұрын

@@UpcomingJedi what lol

@bubbythebear6891 4 жыл бұрын

I actually had to check the upload date. The production value is so high!

@AninoffsMagister 2 жыл бұрын

Did you watch it while you had the movie “Hart’s War” on pause…. Like I do now? 😂😂

@AdamEbelgccengineering 8 жыл бұрын

This video is over 9 years old, becoming a great classic crystal set project video.

@dixiegracebrown 3 жыл бұрын

13 now 😂

@agostinodublino1387 3 ай бұрын

@@dixiegracebrown SIXTEEN NOW 💯🔥

@johnblackmore2067 2 ай бұрын

@@agostinodublino138722 now! 😅😳

@lunhil12 3 ай бұрын

Learned to make them in the scouts back in the 70's.

@OurInfiniteFuture 12 жыл бұрын

The problem you had with the Razor blade was the rust resistant coating that comes on modern metal to make it last longer. you can burn it off or scratch off the coating with sand paper

@Reubenhubert 15 жыл бұрын

This is exactly the kind of plan I was looking for. Years ago I found plans in a real old boy scout manual that used the cardboard tube and cats whisker, but it used a galena crystal. I think it also used varnish coated wire and the varnish was removed from an arc that the tuning arm traveled.

@kyCap222 13 жыл бұрын

I love the emergency siren in the back ground wile your heating the rasor

@pierre5325 8 жыл бұрын

Great Brie, Another project to do with my great grandson. Thanks so much. pierre from New Mexico I like how clear and easy to understand your vid was with a bit of history thrown in.

@merrittorius 3 ай бұрын

They did this in Masters of the Air! Awesome video.

@GeneSavage 13 жыл бұрын

That sound quality's pretty impressive! It's a shame you weren't able to get a music station. People don't know AM can sound GREAT because radio manufacturers use really cheap components and roll off the lows & highs. Great job!

@sheriefelghandour2760 9 жыл бұрын

Just wonderful

@StuPadazzo 14 жыл бұрын

Props for showing the entire learning curve, failures and all. It helps us understand the diagnosis process better. Thanks.

@JohnBerthoty 12 жыл бұрын

I made one just like this over 50 years ago. Fun to see it resurrected! The reason the 'blued' blades work better is because they have a selenium coating. You can put the point of the safety pin directly on the blade with those... no pencil required. Thanks for this vid!

@nbarrager 10 жыл бұрын

2:33 they found you, bree...

@CubejamF1 9 жыл бұрын

All you need are these.... Later in the video.. and these and these and these and these and these and these.

@rogerdodger8415 6 жыл бұрын

Cubejam And in your case... You'll need a brain.

@texaselite1355 6 жыл бұрын

Cubejam LMFAO

@shahzad612 17 жыл бұрын

Great Job. Your dad, McGyver,would be proud. I really like the fact that you actually go through some mistakes and show people it's not a one shot deal. Thanks for sharing. Great Post.

@fastmoni 15 жыл бұрын

Hey, we love your video! My son and I enjoyed it very much and the best part, it worked! Keep up the fun stuff. Many thanks!

@ksarnaszek4436 8 жыл бұрын

Like a MacGyver! AWESOME!!!

@kyleburns3925 10 жыл бұрын

Haha sound like mike francesa when he played the radio station!

@CassetteMaster 15 жыл бұрын

AWESOME! It works good! It's neat how the heated blade makes it work as a diode.

@Parlay007 16 жыл бұрын

I made one of these once when I was in grade school. I bought a kit and put it all together. I was super proud of myself!

@natemcgraw3690 10 жыл бұрын

better product than the makerbots

@harmlesshawk1794 15 жыл бұрын

XD trying calling in and say "I'M USING A RADIO DONE BY GI'S IN WWII!" "Who is this guy?" "I CAN'T HEAR YOU,THIS RADIO IS SOFT!" "...-,-"

@2passnthru2 9 жыл бұрын

it is the rust spots that make the good connections.. different size rust spots get different stations. you can get blue blades from crystal radio parts supply.

@thinkingjohn2099 4 жыл бұрын

I built that today and it worked ! Thanks for posting

@ufoengines 9 жыл бұрын

Heard the toilet paper companies are getting rid of the tubes. Then what?

@3dgamerman 9 жыл бұрын

buy a radio

@28YorkshireRose12 5 жыл бұрын

Easy, measure up an existing tube while you can, and make a replica tube out of printer/copier paper. Or, there is nothing to say you can't use plastic waste pipe, or even a small medicine or drink bottle. The tube doesn't even have to be of any specific material. You could even get more adventurous and dispense with the paper tube altogether and build a simple frame antenna, but I digress.

@archangel20031 8 жыл бұрын

Page not listed or has been moved?!?!?! Learn nothing there!

@nb4032 5 жыл бұрын

late,but:cdn.makezine.com/make/wp_foxholeradio.pdf

@MikeGervasi 17 жыл бұрын

I tried to make one of these a while back with a kit and couldn't get it to work. Really tough for some reason. Bre I'm glad that you actually showed some "failures" along the way on this one. Keeping it real and showing that electronics aren't always a perfect science :)

@dogboymalone11 Жыл бұрын

HERE HERE, WELL SAID.

@IamFatnickc 17 жыл бұрын

Great story & project! Thank you Bre!

@kevoice 10 жыл бұрын

Warning: This may turn out to be a Fox Talk Radio :)

@Xposse 9 жыл бұрын

That's still a FOX Hole radio... Not to be confused with an Ass Hole radio...

@GratefulCraig 13 жыл бұрын

Real cool! I watched it twice and that looks like a real cool weekend project.

@DrLlamagon 15 жыл бұрын

That's so great! what a great thing to use your time on!

@rjy8960 15 жыл бұрын

This is really, really nicely done. I've not seen a razor blade used as a detector before. Thanks!

@user-dt6ws7yv5o 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you really, I finally understand the simple radio structure.

@Zecastronomo 3 жыл бұрын

I and my father did it when I was young, in the sixties. Very nice to see it again.

@drew6017 11 жыл бұрын

Great video. One of the best I've seen about the foxhole radio.

@purplemutantas 14 жыл бұрын

Nice! Glad to see you had a fire extinguisher on hand.

@canuma100 15 жыл бұрын

I made this 14 years ago when i was a child. It really works. I used slightly different things but the principle is the same. Its fun and sometimes usefull in certain situations

@willyb7353 4 жыл бұрын

Sounds suprisingly good.

@irishdevil 17 жыл бұрын

bluing is a process of heating and cooling that not only strengthens the metal but also does something to the internal electron configuration.

@onijujitsu 15 жыл бұрын

Good information! You could probably set up simple hand crank device to wind the wire around the tube, using the free hand as a guide - similar to a device used by smiths to coil steel wire for chainmail.

@855h0le 14 жыл бұрын

Yes u were correct about the type of Metal Treatment. I think its called "negative resistance". The coil is the antenna. The razor blade is the oscillator.

@malgray2 14 жыл бұрын

Yes the number of coils will affect the tuning frequency. Using a ground maximizes the potential difference between the radio wave and ground. In other words it makes the signal bigger.

@kcmazdaguy 13 жыл бұрын

@yasowhatup it is the air capacitance of the air coil. it is very low, however, the inductance of the open air coil is also very very low. thanks for you question

@trevormckay677 2 жыл бұрын

Him lighting the torch with sirens in the background is absolute comedy gold

@johnnywad7728 3 ай бұрын

You MUST have a CRYSTAL earpiece/ headphones! This is crucial to the functioning of the foxhole radio!!!!

@AshsArtwork 14 жыл бұрын

Nice! I made one of those for my History of Broadcasting class back in college.

@ADDICTEDTORADIOS 13 жыл бұрын

I'm a radio collector, thanks! I'll try this. Cool stuff.

@kcmazdaguy 13 жыл бұрын

@lukasm14 this device shown is an AM radio. 102.6 MHZ is in the comercial FM band, where transmissions are in a different format. That Format is Frequency Modulation. Amplitude Modulation is "detected" by the diode action of the "cat's whisker" or, razor blade/pencil tip combination. Frequency Modulation, is deteted by a more complex method, and requires more complex equipment.

@joycepalm9190 4 жыл бұрын

My brother did this when I was a little kid ,and it worked! 5-yr old learned electronics! Gotta love big brothers (even when they hit you for touching their stuff).

@bleddyuffles 11 жыл бұрын

That's actually really awesome! :D

@clyde5057 15 жыл бұрын

the razor blade and the cat-whisker or in this case the pencil "rectifies" the signal that is received. You can use an old Diode that just about anything electronic has a number of. The part usually has a symbol on like this →⊢

@RolandArnedo 4 жыл бұрын

what a nice project, i will try this sometime.

@field16 14 жыл бұрын

The pencil lead / razor blade combo is a basic diode, allowing the current to flow in only one direction.

@doccpu7 3 жыл бұрын

The razor blades had to be rusty or corroded so the contact point ( a bent wire or safety pin) becomes a diode. A very good diode was a green penny or other corroded coin. I finally did it with a galena crystal which is like the tiny crystal in a 1n34 diode. Which works very well.

@brianemory1593 3 жыл бұрын

great video, reminds me of my younger days and just getting started. you also wear you shirt the way i did then...and well now.

@0rip0 15 жыл бұрын

I did too, in the 4th or 5th grade, except I used a diode as a detector. I was always trying to improve the thing. Ironically, I lived on the east coast then but I live near Mesa now.

@nicholasgonzalez 14 жыл бұрын

nice yesterday i started making this, my dad had some old world war 2 german razor blades so i took one. I made my coil with 300 turns, and used my washing line as an antenna and it works GREAT!

@vancouverizer 6 жыл бұрын

The drill press will work really well, just reduce the speed. You don't show the entire press, but it looks like the type that has an adjustable drive belt. If it is, just move the belt to a lower speed (a speed you would typically use when drilling metal).

@cornej92 16 жыл бұрын

Great video. Thanks for making it.

@andersonsds 14 жыл бұрын

Maneiro, já conhecia mas não lembrava! Parabéns!

@nathanallan1 13 жыл бұрын

Very cool project!

@outslider1 13 жыл бұрын

Cool project, have to do this!

@Team-fabulous 13 жыл бұрын

Very well done. Super video....

@candr 14 жыл бұрын

@gomenaros One; safety, built up static electricy, two, its part of the antenna that uses ground radio frequencies (RF) to improve your signal.

@1ukjunglednbraver 12 жыл бұрын

@youngdrjung i think it works to amplify the signal might be wrong a longer antennae will do that for sure

@giulioluzzardi7632 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks for video.I did what you did and all I can get is a pretty loud earthing sound like a zzzzzz . I have salvaged copper wire from a transformer which is thicker. shall I use a rusty razor and blue it ? Thanks

@DaveTadlock 12 жыл бұрын

Cool project. Easy to make tunable. Just move the paper clip on the right to the center of the coil and stretch out the paper clip so that it rests on the coil with spring like tension. Make the coil almost twice as long. Use the edge of a metal file and remove about an 1/8" strip of enamel coating from the magnet wire. Tune by moving the paper clip across the coil to tap the coil in different places. :)

@franzyland 16 жыл бұрын

I did some research and found out you can change the length of the antenna or coil, or install a tuning capacitor.

@timberwolves100 12 жыл бұрын

@fifthStitch The ground wire is for preventing you from getting shocked from static electricity. You COULD run it without one but it you could get electrocuted or at the very least zapped when the electric components built up enough electricity. You could just attach the ground wire to anything metal that will absorb the electricity.

@Scott-kc5fg 6 жыл бұрын

I am a WWII history buff, however I never knew how the GI'S and resistance built the field radios

@fletcher0102 16 жыл бұрын

you are the man! a "macgyver" radio...that it!i finally found my jota-joti project topic! thanks!

@josephisaacs78 6 жыл бұрын

You can also extract the coil wire from old speakers

@Mindraker1 16 жыл бұрын

Totally awesome and simple. Beginner hams would totally dig this. Perhaps a safer substitute for the burned razorblade, but otherwise, I totally dig it.

@bruhmania7359 3 жыл бұрын

This is so high quality for 2007 damn

@redheadmaddy 11 жыл бұрын

The magnet wire has a coating on it that will prevent it from making the connection. If you still want to use the wire to connect the paper clips, take a lighter and hold the end of the wire over the flame until you see the coating burn away. It only takes a few seconds.

@lhmcfield 11 жыл бұрын

You can use pipe for tap water, you can use a gas pipe, you can dig a whole in your garden and dig in a big metal plate to which you connect the ground lead wire.

@TomMcRand 14 жыл бұрын

i like how, as you were getting ready to fire up the torch to heat up the razor blade, the sirens got closer.

@QuantumMechanic_88 8 жыл бұрын

Fascinating and thanks .

@mikaeloification 8 жыл бұрын

nice video...nice project ...tnks

@AnimationShorts1 14 жыл бұрын

Holy crap this is so cool!

@team222badbrad 17 жыл бұрын

That is soooooo kool! I built a superheterodyne radio in high school and that took days in class to solder up. I didn't know that this was possible though! Oh well back to my 3d printing duties

@bodunchar 14 жыл бұрын

lol great have to come back to these vids another time!

@nicholasgonzalez 14 жыл бұрын

btw also if you use an audio jack and connect to + and - terminals you can use your computer speakers. Which is way more convenient as you can adjust the volume and you dont have to use the earphone

@TAC19jm 14 жыл бұрын

It was a wonderful lecture!!!

@conoba 16 жыл бұрын

I build something similar to this when I was starting out with electronics. But I used a germanium diode and added a tuning capacitor. I am an electronics engineer now and I did not know that it is possible to make a rectifier from graphite and iron oxide.

@w1wcn 12 жыл бұрын

Nicely done! By the way, the talk radio is Mike Francesa of WFAN in NYC. One of the smartest sports reporters ever. He's syndicated, so not sure what station it was.

@rhoula 14 жыл бұрын

Amazing, thank you for sharing... I m definably subscribing to your videos :)

@StephenCooteNZ 13 жыл бұрын

Cool !! I had heard of 'cats whisker' detectors but up until seeing this I had no idea what they were. Thank You.

@JolicoeurAbear 3 жыл бұрын

what could be a good alternative ground (don't have visible water pipes or metal heaters)

@andrewschaefer5065 8 жыл бұрын

I wish you would slow down and take things step by step, but I definitely want to do this sometime. was there a power connector in there somewhere?

@Ashish-zx4uc 7 жыл бұрын

its a great thing i saw thanks BRE

@CuriousEarthlings 16 жыл бұрын

Dude that rocks!!

@ms.chocolate3470 7 жыл бұрын

what is the differenect between foxhole and Crystal radio? if you have a razor blade diode, do u need a capacitator?

@MrUnidyne 13 жыл бұрын

"Blue" razor blades had a silicon coating so they wouldn't rust. This was in the days before stainless steel was cheap enough for blades. You can still find a few in antique shops and on-line.

@kcmazdaguy 13 жыл бұрын

@Tcosp Assuming the AM station is transmiting in stereo, if two of these devices where made, each with its own antenna, razorblade/pencil lead combo..etc, with earpieces....and one was tuned slightly above the frequency chanel in question, and one slightly below, then yes....stereo effect could be achieved! It would have poor stereo seperation specs due to the poor selectivity of this design, however, it would technically work.

@eottoe2001 8 жыл бұрын

We use to make them when we were kids. A good ground and good antenna are important. Could you make an electric motor using standard hardware store parts? TY