"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Dec 2007 03:09:42 GMT, George wrote:



Can you still get germanium diodes? Haven't seen one for many a year.

http://store.americanmicrosemiconductor.com/1n34a.html

http://tinyurl.com/yucevt
Before pre-packaged diodes, what you really wanted was a galena crystal and
a cat's whisker, if you were rich enough to afford them. Could cost as much
as a dollar! Otherwise use one of Dad's old Gillette Blue Blades and a bent
safety pin holding a piece of pencil lead. The other status symbol was a
real pair of high impedance headphones, which cost a couple of dollars;
otherwise you could perhaps scrounge a receiver from a junked telephone. You
could get plenty of good wire by cutting open old car ignition coils but the
secondary wire was too fine to be usable.

Don Young