Midnight Science Books Catalog

Volume I and II of the Society Newsletter

Don't miss out on these great Originals! Now in our sixteenth year, the original 6 issues still hold their own. Included in Volume One is a complete set of plans for a "Modern Day Crystal Set," including pc layout and audio amplification. Why did the sets of the 1920's work anyway? Read about crystal sets and wireless from 1905-1928 and a barebones crystal set, compact! Learn how to match your antenna and set for maximum signal reception. Volume II includes, The Lead Pencil Detector! What's the minimum detectable signal? Information on detector biasing for improved sensitivity. Double-tuned circuit crystal sets. The Universal Crystal Set. FM crystal sets? The electrolytic detector. The coherer revisited. The Miller '595' Tuner revisted.

The Crystal Set Handbook & Vol III of the Xtal Set Society Newsletter
by Phil Anderson

There is nothing else out there like this handbook. It takes the reader beyond the basics and discusses the math and mechanisms behind the mystery of the crystal set. "This book is written for crystal set enthusiasts, radio amateurs, first-time radio experimenters, and electronics students. I wrote it to encourage design, building, & experimentation" —Phil Anderson. Contents of the book include an introduction to the crystal set with a simple oat box project, formulas for coil inductance and coil Q, a procedure for measuring coil capacitance, introductory and advanced chapters on L-C circuit matching, and Volume III of the Xtal Set Society Newsletter (issues 13-15).

Volume IV of the Society Newsletter

This book contains 6 great issues of the Xtal Set Society Newsletter from 1994. The topics include hints on measuring coil capacitance, two building projects using Quaker Oats boxes, broadcast and short-wave notes, how to make home-brew headphones and curve tracers, how crystal earphones work, and a description and schematic of 10 crystal sets.

Crystal Sets: Vol 5 of the Society Newsletter

These reprints of the Society newsletter from 1995 are a lot of fun. They include a three part article on the design of unpowered AM receivers made from rocks, which includes plans for building test equipment such as an impedance meter and a Q meter. Also covered is a radio outfit in a headset, Marconi type 107-A tuner, the matching secret, and a great ground-noise powered receiver. Get a copy for yourself or for a fellow radio friend!

Crystal Set Building & More, Vols 6,7

Comb bound in 8.5 by 11 format. Great titles in this compendum of volumes 6 & 7: An FM Xtal Set, A Crystal Set Headphone from a Cat Food can, The Den Two Crystal Set, From Crystal Set to Superhete, The Simple TRF Set, Flame Detector, The Foxhole Set, TRF Receiver using the ZN414, WWII Underground Xtal Radio, Capacitance of the Parallel Plate Capacitor, How to Make a Double Crystal Receiver, A J-FET Shortwave Regenerative Receiver, The Cigar Box Set, A Capacitive Transducer Receiver, Grid Lean Detector One-Tube, and correspondence tibbits.

Crystal Set Loopers, a 3 Tuber & More, Vol 8

The best volume yet!  Build a shortwave looper, Mike's "Super Duper AM/SW 3 Tuber," an antenna tuner/AM trap, a loop with a new twist, a Frisbee crystal radio, a radio from a deodorant stick, a 1920's wave trap reproduction, and find many more fun building ideas.   Learn about biasing effects on diode performance, variocouplers and variometers, and some molybdenite crystal detector experiments.  Discover crystal set secrets by reading correspondence from our members all over the world.  The Xtal Set Society Newsletter just keeps getting better and better every year.  Volume 8 was a lot of fun!

The Crystal Set Bonanza: Vols 9,10,11

You’ll find 20 complete projects in this great Crystal Radio book! Each project has step-by-step instructions, parts lists, photos and schematics. Build a simple radio from a closet rod, or a more complicated TRF, 1-Tube Radio. Also included are projects modeled after old radio articles, like the Radio in a Greeting card that you make a and then mail it to your radio friends. Many of the projects have templates for coil forms and front panels. You’ll find plans for Gilligan’s Radio to make a receiver out of stuff around the house such as tin foil, mailing tubes, and wire! Included are simple projects that are fun to build with kids, like the little radio based on the “Knight” kits from the 1950’s Allied Radio kits. In addition there are increasingly harder projects for those wanting to build more complicated sets including circuits with series/parallel antenna tuning, full broadcast band tuning, and a tuneable wavetrap. There are projects based on Alfred P. Morgans 1918 book, “The Boys First Book of Radio and Electronics,” along with more advanced sets like the AM Loose Coupler that was used by the Navy in the early days. You’ll also find other articles showing how to build radio components like capacitors out of modern CD’s and headphones out of shoe polish cans. Build a big loop antenna around your doorway like they did in WWII to hide their radios from the authorities...also learn how to fix up those old antique headphones you bought. All these projects were originally seen in our newsletter volumes 9, 10, and 11, so whatever level you are at you’ll find more than a few projects to keep you busy!    Get a copy today!  8 ½ x 11 paperback, 226 pgs   Cat# XV11  $14.95

Crystal Radio Projects from Newsletter Vols 12 & 13

You’ll want to see the many wonderful pictures of in-process and completed sets, including Dan’s “Modern Morgan,” featured on the cover, and Mike’s version of the famous “Oat Box Crystal Set.” Here’s just a taste of the articles, subjects, and projects included: a regenerative receiver, receiving condensers, a band-pass loop stick radio, a short-wave crystal set, “Build Your Own Cats Whisker Detector,” “Doing the Doerle,” a super selective set, “Queen Rebecca’s Got a New Loopy-Loop,” “A CD-ROM Radio,” developing an inductance formula for the spiral wound square loops, and more. One aspect of being a crystal radio hobbyist is making radios from things simply lying around the house. Alex Jueschke’s article, “Quality Headset from a Magnet, a Relay, and a Can of Peanuts,” described on pages 60-61, nicely represents this part of the hobby. 8-1/2 by 11 inches, 135 pages, perfect bound, $15.95

Crystal Radio: History, Fundamentals & Deign

This book was written by a long-time member of the Xtal Set Society, Mr. Phil Kinzie. It chronicles the fascinating history and development of the crystal detector, including the reasons for its brief dominance of the radio market after the turn of the century. Starting with the discovery of solid-state rectification and then through the development of the crystal detector the reader learns about great inventors such as Pickard, Braun, Dunwoody, and others. Radio fundamentals such as antennas, ground, lightning protection, tuned circuits, and detection are covered for the beginner. The unending compromise between selectivity and sensitivity is discussed for the crystal set designer. Advanced topics such as the use of multi-tuned circuits and wave traps follow for the serious experimenter. Great background for any crystal radio enthusiast.

Radio-Craft: 50 Years of Radio, March 1938
edited by Hugo Gernsback.

In March of 1938 Radio-Craft magazine commemorated the 50th anniversary of radio with a special "Jubilee Souvenir" issue, now highly sought after by collectors. Its look back at the first 5 decades of radio is priceless, featuring articles on the beginning of commercial broadcasting, technical developments in the evolution of the home radio receiver, the history of the vacuum tube, and of course, the famous Hugo Gernsback predictions of what the future of electronics would bring. A special 11 page feature story entitled "Reminiscences of Old-Timers" carries interviews with all of the radio pioneers who were alive at the time, including Lee DeForest, David Sarnoff, Frank Conrad, Powell Crosley Jr., McMurdo Silver, and others. This reprint preserves the fervor and enthusiasm which characterized radio’s golden years. It contains over 100 advertisements for early radio products, as well as the landmark articles which recounted the early history of radio in the U.S. This reprint is hard to put down. It's just plain fun to read. Sonoran Publishing has done a beautiful job of recreating this 1938 landmark issue.

The Radio Logbook 

Now all radio enthusiasts have a logbook that fulfills their needs. Ham radio operators, Short wave listeners and Crystal set experimenters can all use this Radio Logbook. With this logbook, ham radio operators will find columns for date and time along with the standards for recording. Additional columns include antenna tuner settings or type of antenna used, rig used, and blank space for remarks/settings for complicated rigs with multiple control knobs.. The short wave listener and the xtal set experimenter will find columns for their individual and particular use too, including the ground and tap columns as well as a power column.  The means by which this log accommodates all of the intended uses is unique.  It has over 750 entries on 52 pages.  HLB $7.95.

Radios That Work for Free
by K. E. Edwards.

Originally published in 1977, this book has been one of the most popular publications about crystal sets. Great for beginners or those needing a "refresh" of the basics. More than half of the book is introductory and includes a discussion of crystal set basics, with separate chapters on antennas, detectors, phones, coils, and capacitors. Also included is information on schematics, layout, and soldering. The last third of the book includes 3 crystal set projects with parts lists & directions.

Crystal Receiving Sets

In this British book you will find beautifully illustrated how-to-guide to building crystal sets and their components. Chapters include a simple and efficient receiving set, a single slider set, set with semi-circular tuner, receiving CW signals on a crystal set, and much more. LCR $ 10.95.

The Voice of the Crystal: How to Build Working Radio Receiver Components Entirely from Scratch
by H. Peter Friedrichs.

Crystal radio construction often means purchasing electronic components. Not anymore with this super new Xtal book! When we received our review copy here at the XSS we were pleasantly surprised. Peter, an XSS member, has been secretly building xtal sets parts in his basement…unbeknown to those around him or any of the XSS gurus. He now reveals his secret life with this book how to construct all of the parts from scratch. Everything had to be totally hand built, without special tools or materials and using technology that would be consistent with the early days of radio. Basic theory and analysis is combined with dozens of examples of historical practice, work by contemporary experimenters, and construction details. Inside are plans for 3 different homemade headphones, including one fabricated from cigarette lighter parts. Also included are detectors, fixed capacitors, and a rotary variable condenser. Plus there are coil plans for single layer, spider web, baskets, and a precision double-slider. Throughout, the author shares his thinking and practical experience, and includes over 120 photos and hand-prepared illustrations. Superbly written, and just plain fun to read.

Theory, Design & Operation of Crystal Receivers
by  K.G. Kott, W8ROG.

Originally published in 1953 by Mr. Kott, then found in her father's attic by his daughter Nancy, WZ8C, this book is once again available to us.  With hand typed pages and nicely done hand drawings, Kott takes the reader from basic electronic theory, to capacitors, antennas, grounds, coil windings and coil design including how many turns & wire diameter, coupled circuits, detectors, and headsets. Booklet. 8X11 66 pgs.             KTD $11.95

How to Build the Twinplex Regenerative Receiver
by T.J. Lindsay.

Build three different hot performing shortwave regenerative receivers! Lindsay shows you how step-by-step. Great directions, photos, and figures. One vacuum tube, battery powered, stunning performance, classic appearance, and easy to build. 1934 Doerle Twinplex, 6SL7 Twinplex, and Solid-State Twinplex. Lindsay calls this a "Bonehead to Genius in One Step" book.

Instruments of Amplification
by H.P. Friedrichs

Are you interested in building sensitive audio amplifiers from magnets, a shoe-polish tin and a couple of carbon rods? How about a working triode vacuum tube built from candle holders and old glass ashtrays? Perhaps you'd like to construct your own transistor from plumber's fittings, glass beads and a tiny crystal.  If so, you've come to the right place. Instruments of Amplification, written and illustrated by H.P. Friedrichs, is jam-packed with nearly 300 pages of history, science background, basic theory, and hard-to-find hands-on details pertaining to the construction of an amazing array of homebrew amplifying devises. Rooted in the same "build-it-from-scratch" philosophy that made his first book, Voice of the Crystal, a success, Instruments of Amplification reduces complex devises to their essential elements and then shows how they can be constructed from commonly available materials. 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 paperback, 297 pgs. FIA $19.95

Impoverished Radio Experimentors volumes 1-6
editied by T.J. Lindsay

The  Impoverished  Radio  Experimenter  vol 1. Although we are all Xtal radio builders, we know you guys are also secretly building tube radios in your basements. Admit it! And if you aren't you secretly want to try it, probably intimidated about where to get those old tubes and sockets. TJ lists tube substitutions, using more modern stuff in place of the expensive antiques, and they work just as well. Old time radio building for pennies. 5-1/2 X 8 1/2 booklet and typically about 48 pgs.            Cat# LRE $6.95

The  Impoverished  Radio  Experimenter  vol 2& 3
Volume 2 of this great series focuses on a Grid-dip oscillator, a measurement devise. The third volume of Lindsay's series includes a simple impedance bridge that will allow you to measure inductors and capacitors. Great value.   Cat# LR2     Cat# LR3 $6.95

The  Impoverished  Radio  Experimenter Vol 4
Lindsay is still at it with  another great volume. Some people think store bought is always better, even when talking about radios. Some guys think you could never build a regenerative receiver as good as the National's old SW-3, for instance. That's bunk. You should be able to build something every bit as good, if not better. And the ideas needed to do that are here.  Cat# LR4 $6.95

The  Impoverished  Radio  Experimenter  Vol 5
Here you get details on building a three tube superhet  This radio is an adaptation of a circuit that appeared in QST in August 1938. Then (and still today, I suspect) hams were terrified of superhets. The authors demonstrate how easy it is to build a superior receiver. Cat# LR5 $6.95

The  Impoverished  Radio  Experimenter  Vol 6
Lindsey has done it again.  Vol 6 of the Impoverished Radio Experimenter is now available.  In this book you can learn how to build a loose coupler, a power supply, a loop antenna, and other good stuff.  Cat# LR6 $6.95

1934 Office Shortwave Radio Manual

Complete Experimenter's Set-Building and Servicing Guide, edited by Hugo Gernsback and H. Winfield Secor.
Build simple, high-performance old time shortwave radios! All of the secrets are here: the circuit diagrams, parts layout, coil specifications, construction details, operation hints, and more. Back in the 20's and 30's the only low-cost way of listening in on the newly discovered and fascinating short-wave radio frequencies was to build a set. Shortwave construction magazines flourished, even during the depression. This is a compilation of construction articles from the "Short Wave Craft" magazine.

Secrets of RF Circuit Design
by Joseph J. Carr.

The best ways to design, build, and test today's radio frequency (RF) circuits can be found in this very thorough guide. It's filled with projects and experiments that make it easy to apply RF principles to real-life applications. Parts lists and component sources are listed for every project; these include building radio receiver circuits, RF bridges, amplifiers, and receiver preselectors. Also covered is the selection and repair of variable capacitors, the design of wind inductor coils for radio circuits, and the construction and grounding of simple wire antennas. If you want to learn more about RF circuits, this is a must have.

Oscilloscopes and Antique Radios
by Durell M. Roth

Durell introduces oscilloscopes using the historic single-trace scope, the Type 321A, as his example. Chapters include: Introduction to the Oscilloscopes, Becoming Familiar with your Scope, Experiments with Your Scope,  - DC, AC, and introduction to radio frequency (RF) measurements, Scope Probes, Using Your Scope, and Troubleshooting an Antique Radio. Comb bound, 8-1/2 by 11, 23 pages. $ 9.95.

How Radio Signals Work: All the Basics Plus Where to Find Out More
by Jim Sinclair.

Broadcasting, Mobile Comms, Television, Satellites, Microwaves, Radar, Short Wave, Aeronautical, Marine, Radio-Location, Beacons, Telemetry, Digital Radio, Radio Astronomy, Time Signals, Spark Transmission, Tropospheric Scatter, Underground Radio

Understanding Today's Communications--No Technical Background Required.
Radio waves power not only radios, but TVs. They make our cell phones work. They enable the airplanes we ride and the ships we sail to navigate in unfamiliar locales. Radio waves are even at the heart of our most powerful telescopes, permitting scientists their clearest look into deep space. Most of us use radio waves every single day--and most of us have very little idea of how they work. In a reader-friendly style requiring no technical or mathematical background, this concise and clearly-written book explains the basics of radio signaling. You'll learn how: Energy carries information, messages are imprinted on energy, signals move across space, signals are detected and amplified, and electrons, watts, amps, volts, and other "mysterious beasties" work. If you're curious about the phenomena that make modern communications work ... if you want a fascinating, across-the-board tour of the entire field of radio communications, including career possibilities ... if you want to buttress a radio license application, you've found the right book.