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Regen Radio Kit

I have just completed a kit for a valve radio – a regenerative detector type. I bought the kit a few months ago from www.6v6.co.uk and with Serena and Grace both at the hairdresser’s this morning I had a few hours P&Q to fill so out came the kit, soldering iron and tools.

It’s quite novel in that it only uses a 12v power source – possible to run from dry cells if you’re feeling extravagant – but that’s the highest voltage in the circuit – so it’s very safe; no need for caution when touching contacts tracing faults with my soldering. Yep – there was a dry joint somewhere – I suspect on the variable tuning cap, but once sorted much sound came from the speaker, notably the sound of the vuvuzela horn.

Some confusion when troubleshooting – the engraved legend on the front panel has somehow got the “Vol” and “Regen” transposed!

Edit: After mentioning the issue to the kit’s creator he’s pointed out that I didn’t follow the instructions and that I should have connected the pots with wires instead of directly to the PCB. It’s still a great little kit, though.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 19th, 2010 at 15:00 and is filed under Hacking, Radio and Electronics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Regen Radio Kit”

  1. Greg Siddons Says:
    September 11th, 2010 at 21:01

    I’m thinking of getting that valve radio kit. What is the sound quality like? Obviously I understand it’s not going to be “hi-fi” as it’s AM only. Also, do the valves glow?!?
    Regards, Greg from Leicester, England

  2. Himself Says:
    September 11th, 2010 at 21:54

    Hi Greg
    Quality and volume were both pretty good, actually. I was pleased with the result. Once I had fixed the dry joint I made on the variable cap. it worked just fine. Setting regen was easy, and I could easily listen to a bunch of UK MW stations with no hassle and about 10 yards of wire draped in the garden.
    As the valves are 1.5v filament types it’s very hard to see the glow (it is there, but they are not bright) and you have to look into the envelope from the right angle to see the filament anyway. Pay attention to the wiring instructions for the potentiometers if you use the kit’s own panel – you have to use wires or the turn direction is inverted. I’m sure it’s a design blooper, but in no way at all does it detract from the set.
    Go for it, and HAVE FUN.

  3. Greg Siddons Says:
    September 12th, 2010 at 22:10

    Thank you for your reply Nicholas, that’s very helpful. I’ve ordered a kit and I’ll make sure I pay close attention to the pot wiring. Very exciting and I can’t wait! Looks a beautiful radio to build…