Homebrew
Broadcast Band
Regenerative Radio
This is a homebrew radio which I recently built. It is made to
tune the BCB frequencies with a regenerative input stage. It has
all brass hardware and rf wiring and everything is handcrafted using
phenolic materials. This is a fun little radio to operate and is
built in the style of early 1920's breadboard sets.
The tubes are "replicas" made using a handcrafted base and tinted
glass. Inside there is a conventional tube in a socket. The
glass is held in place with silicon sealant and can be removed should
the tube ever require replacement. The tubes utilized are 1T4,
1S5 and 3S4 all of which are common tubes utilized in battery sets of
the 1950s.
Regeneration is controlled with the varicoupler. There are two
audio jacks for listening with high-impedance phones from the 1st or
2nd audio stage. The radio also has an onboard output transformer
for use with an extenal speaker on stronger local stations.
Two antenna inputs are provided to accomodate various antenna lengths
and different frequencies.
Batteries are required. 1.5 volts for the filaments and 45-67
volts for the B+. Common modern batteries can be utilized for
powering the radio.