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README.2ND
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1993-10-20
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A SHORTWAVE RADIO FOR UNDER $5??? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!!!
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Yes, you can construct a decent shortwave receiver for a total expenditure of
less than $5.00, with a little luck and a halfway decently stocked "junk box"
of components. Here's how it can be done.
Refer to the enclosed files CONVERT.TXT and AMRADIO.TXT. They describe how
to build a shortwave converter and then install it into just about any old
AM table radio or clock radio. Unlike the car radio installation, you will
need no external power supply or speaker, saving you more than half the
expense of components. The capacitors needed for the converter are common
types, and likely scavengeable from your own parts box or available for only
pennies each at a Ham show. Likewise, the miscellaneous parts, connectors,
IC socket, wire, etc. The NE602 IC would cost you about $2 at the same Ham
show, if you can find someone selling them (they are becoming more easily
available all the time). A green IF transformer for the converter could be
had for $0.50 - $1.00, or maybe you could (carefully) salvage one from an
old transistor radio PC board if you had specialized desoldering equipment
and a skilled hand. A 5.1 or 6.2v zener diode should be no problem, costing
you maybe another quarter if you needed to buy one. Frequency crystals can
be purchased for as little as $.25 - $.50 each, with some judicious
shopping, and you need only one to start. If you need to buy EVERY component
for the converter at a Ham show, you might still squeeze under the $5 limit.
Maybe.
If you can't make it to a Ham show, or can't find all you need there, well
then, order it by mail from DC Electronics or some other good supplier
(see READ.ME file), where you will have to pay an extra $3.50 or so
shipping/ handling charge, bringing your total cost within spittin' distance
of $10. Sorry about that. That would mean you'd have to save an extra week's
allowance before you could enjoy shortwave.
I recently converted a dusty old GE AM-only clock radio to short wave. The
conversion consisted of bringing the receiver circuit ground and +V out to a
mini-jack mounted on the radio's case, and of finding and running the tuning
capacitor "tap" point out to a banana jack, likewise case mounted. The SW
converter sits atop the radio and plugs into the jacks. I had to mount a
polarized plug onto the power cord in order to keep the AC "hot" line away
from the chassis. [See the enclosed file AMRADIO.TXT for more details.] The
entire procedure took a little over an hour. The total cost to me was $0.50
for the polarized power plug, since I happened to have everything else on
hand from previous projects. The converted radio is almost as good a short
wave receiver as most of the converted car radios I have worked on in most
respects. Keep in mind that car radios are usually built to a higher quality
standard than table radios, with smoother tuning, less sensitivity to noise
interference, etc.