Building and Designing Transistor Radios: A Beginner's Guide

This book describes and illustrates the design and working characteristics of the basic electronic 'blocks' from which radio receivers can be constructed. It also shows how to incorporate additional simple circuits, such as volume and tone controls, automatic gain control etc., in order to improve the basic design. No excessively complicated circuitry has been included, and mathematical calculations have been kept to a minimum. The author details the various combinations possible for producing simple sets with good performance characteristics. Each 'building block' is dealt with separately - aerials, circuits, detectors, amplifiers, to output stages powering loudspeakers. Basic receiver designs are also included, up to superhets with AM or FM detectors. Where appropriate, it is shown how straightforward calculations can be made to determine values of various components - such as resistors, capacitors and inductances - for optimum results. Special attention is paid to the most important component, the transistor, including details of Field Effect Transistors (FETs). Easily understood descriptions are given of how they are made and how they work, and (most importantly from a radio constructor's point of view) a further chapter describes their operating characteristics and how to devise circuits to get them operating most efficiently. The eighty diagrams in this book play a vital part in explaining its text, as well as providing numerous practical circuits to construct. It is with the help of these that the amateur can hope to build successful - and satisfying - circuits.