Eighty years ago this month, the February 1937 issue of Popular Mechanics showed how to put together this simple crystal set, noting that most of the parts could be found in the experimenter’s junk box.

The set was housed in a homemade wooden cabinet with the tuning dial, crystal detector, and headphone connections on the front plywood panel. The article noted that the set, which was sensitive and selective enough to pull in most local stations, “looks something like a regular tube-type receiver.”

The set’s circuit, as revealed by the diagram below, is a typical crystal set, although the switching arrangement for the coil appears a bit more complicated than necessary.  However, I guess the second switch makes it look more like a regular tube type receiver.

If you’re thinking of duplicating a crystal set such as this one, please check out my Crystal Set Parts Page for some ideas on where to track them down.