Only hearing static

Questions about "Build Your Own Crystal Radio" project and kit. (http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-f ... l?from=AAE)

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ninoschkabaca
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:07 pm
Occupation: QA Engineer
Project Question: Cyrstal Radio: I only hear static. Should I be able to clearly hear 810am in the SF Bay Area?
Project Due Date: April 15, 2013
Project Status: I am conducting my experiment

Only hearing static

Post by ninoschkabaca »

Hi,

My daughter who is in 3rd grade put together the crystal radio. Her project is due on April 16th (Tues).

Question: Should we clearly hear the local AM radio station (KGO Newstalk radio 810)? We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, zip code 94030, area code 650. We ask because we only hear static.

Question2: We are not sure which one is the diode vs the resistor. Unfortunately these items were removed from the baggies before I could make a note.

- One item is mostly beige with lines

- Second item is clear with 2 red/pink colors and a green color (that is not centered)

Thanks,
Nina
k4gfwgerry
Former Expert
Posts: 70
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:35 pm
Occupation: Retired Electronics Engineer from Motorola Solutions
Project Question: n/a
Project Due Date: n/a
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: Only hearing static

Post by k4gfwgerry »

The resistor is the one with the red, red, green bands. It's value is 2200 ohms (see color code chart at http://www.elexp.com/t_resist.htm). The other one is the diode. The anode (+ side) is the one without the stripe. Current flows from the anode to the cathode which is the end with the stripe. I hope that helps.
Gerry Gruenbaum
Science Buddies "Ask an Expert" Volunteer
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