@rugster Rather exciting!.Looking forward to seeing it.
I guess you figured out whatever the issue you were having with the proccessor conflict.. did you move it or what? If it's a clone why wouldn't it sound as good as the original? Maybe you could build a better onboard proccessor for it?
You still have you homemade antenna for it? Or just going with the wire?
@richpowers - without going into too much detail, the processor issue I was having turned out to be connected with grounding and screening. It's taken care of now, thankfully!
It's not an exact clone. Although I am using the same circuit, I am not using the original PCB, but have constructed it Manhattan-style over a ground plane, on a copper-clad board. It's a good method of construction that often works well for circuits at radio frequencies. Because I am not using the same physical layout and method of construction, there's always the chance that it won't work as well as the original. Looks as if that didn't happen in this case though. Phew!
I'm toying with the idea of designing custom front and back panels to be printed on vinyl overlays. I did design a custom front panel in black anodized aluminum, with white lettering. To have it manufactured was going to cost me around $70 though, which seemed a bit steep for a little homebrew project like this. Thus I came up with the idea of vinyl overlays, as Jim Wood has done with the SW200 and SW300. They will be considerably less money. I may just stick with the Dymo labels, which don't look at all flashy, but they're functional. We'll see. If I go with the vinyl, it will be another week or so, as I have to design the basic panels (my graphic design skills are not very advanced) and hoof off to Fedex Office to print them out.
On the other hand, if I stick with the existing Dymo labeling, I might have it all done in the next few days. I am looking forward to putting this project behind me, so I can spend more time hanging out in local coffee shops! 😊
@rugster Curious to know if your crystal radio can pick up your part 15 station.
For those who dont know of Dave's crystal set: https://aa7ee.wordpress.com/2023/08/28/a-crystal-set-impedance-matchbox/
I wanted to publish full details on how to build that crystal set. It was a beta build of a kit that a very talented feller was producing. My proposed post was very detailed, and he wasn't keen, as there were some parts and building details that he considered to be proprietary information. I was disappointed, as I had put a lot of time and effort into describing the build, but I needed to honor his wishes. My feeling was that most readers wouldn't have wanted to put the time and effort into replicating it, and would rather pay for his kit. Therefore, my detailed pictures and descriptions would act as promotion for the kit. I do understand how he felt though.
It's a great performing little crystal receiver.