“Stolen Power” Transistor Radio Power from one local station can operate transistor amplifier to boost signals from the other stations IRANSMISSION and reception of elce- trical power without wires has been one ‘of man's dreams since the days of the first spark-gap transmitter. However, despite Jaboratory demonstrations, practical appli- cation of usable broadcast power had to await the era of the transistor. Because the transistor requires so little power, it can be operated from unusual voltage sources. ‘An ordinary recelving antenna can pick up several hundred microwatts of radio- ‘frequency energy from a station ina strong- signal area, If this rf. power is converted toa dc, voltage, it wil be suifleient to oper- October, 1958 By J. R. MACK ate a low-current-drain transistor audio amplifier. ‘This, in turn, can amplify the audio out put of a erystal detector receiver which can be tuned not only to the station being used for power, but also to other stations within its range. Construction. The stolen-power ear- phone radio can be built, with plenty of room to spare, in a 6" x 3” x 144" plastic ‘case. All drilling should be done from inside the cover, and with very little pressure, to avoid cracking the plastic. ‘Antenna coupling windings must be added to L1 and L2 as shown; leave endsfa PARTS List C2 86Sagld msltuce tanking capacitor aaa werologe ntalnd paper const tor (Acro Rl, CBI INDAK expat code 1, a toopae cate cell poe for eam ice, for use with eSyute. tug eapactor etaretn i239) ait My oP Jack Se ttsftate phone Jock TioMiniture” transl primary, 100000 limes secondary, 1000 ohm (Latayote TR3? or the eguivaleat) THACEI tanaistor 1Plastie case with removable cover 1 Crystat meadsot (Ustayete 1S 202) 1S length of 00 enamalcovered ice for (edged windings on Ui aed 12 HOW IT WORKS Dae receiver has wo ectinss (1) 8 tower section oie iinet ke woe neat salon tad cone Spel Seated tg tein aha ane Sid ample RD) cpl by ihe de sod ‘Pawer Sections The powetag ston is selected by radia opeck nde ed fone ce bac “Bini CH? reins the rf Ss Eee anes Becca menncere Sethi SIS ae ee eats cone he {tenine Sion. ‘The ‘sation tstened to need not Eee tlecewes oo ee ee SENG ge wa red proper match for a crystal Sbiaro. polarity’ when Rea about 4” long for wising into the circuit. One end of the new Li winding goes to Ji, while the other is soldered to one end of the antenna winding on £2. The free end of this winding Is then soldered to the Gnd Jack (J2). ‘The coils are fitted into the brackets sup- plied and the brackets are mounted with small 6-32 screws. Although the coils have tunable slugs, they do not require adjust- ment. ‘When the crystal diodes are installed, be sure to observe polarity and avoid over- heating. ‘The output transformer is a crystal mlcrophone-to-transistor type, con- nected backwards, Operation. A good ground connection to ‘a water or steam pipe is a necessity. The longer the antenna used, the greater will be the dc. power and the louder all stations will be. In strong-signal areas, this set has worked well with a good ground and the antenna clip con- nected to a tall metal lamp or metal kitchen cabinet. For best re- sults, an outdoor antenna from 50 to 100 feet is recommended. ‘Tuning the receiver is a little tricky since both the power and re- ceiver tuning capacitors must be individually set. Slowly tune both Ct and O2 through the broadeast band. When a station is picked up, leave the receiver set and “sweep” the power tuning slowly across the band until you hit the point where the received station comes in ‘at maximum volume, Leave the power kknob set and retune the receiver to the de- sired station. ‘The receiver is most effective within a few miles from the station used for power, depending om your antenna length and effi- ciency. Further away, there may not be sufficient de. voltage output to power the transistor audio amplifier, but again, this also depends on your antenna. a POPULAR ELECTRONICS