Hello Out There
I have a young fellow down the street that has shown a strong
interest in antique radios and has asked me to help him build
his first Crystal Radio I am starting him off with a Foxhole Radio
the first one I made many years ago and I have plenty parts to
share with this young fellow as he moves along to bigger sets.
I will have him use a Crystal Diode instead of the razor blade ,
my problem is the antenna ,when I put up my antenna in the
attic I got the kit from Radio Shack they are no longer in Canada
they are now called the Source and don,t have the same products
Radio Shack had ,where could I get an antenna kit like they sold
it came with all you needed the antenna wire and the lead in wire
from the antenna with insolators enough for a good AM antenna.
Could I use the Cable that comes for the TV or could I run a length
another type of wire in the attic that would work as good as Radio
Shack sold,I will be very thankful for any help on this.
All The very best Rick

You can probably find some NOS radio shack antenna kits on ebay.

But, to begin with, any wire will 'work'. Within reason, though, the larger the gauge the better and, because of the skin effect, I believe stranded is better than solid and untinned better than tinned. Bare is probably better than insulated but unless you're entering a DX contest such esoterics won't matter.

For a learning exercise I wouldn't worry too much about it, because any wire will 'work', and cost might be a bigger concern. 'Speaker' wire might be a good choice because it seems to be least expensive. It's twin lead but is easily separated so a 50 ft spool would give you 100 ft to string a 75 footer, leaving 25 ft for lead in. Then make your own standoffs.

If the antenna was going to be mounted outdoors, I would suggest 14 gauge (stranded), but if just in the attic, 18, 20, or smaller gauge would be fine.

For insulators, any two non-metallic (wood, plastic) items would work. In fact, you can use the spool(s) the wire came on. Either the antenna, or the wire used for securing to the building, would wrap around the race area used for the original winding, and the other would go through the center hole.

Use insulated wire for the lead-in. Gauge, length, etc, are very forgiving for BCB and SW.

Oops, didn't see Flipperhome's post before I gave mine, but we are both pretty much of the same mind here.

Hey Rick,

It seems that you have enough info about the antenna. Don't forget to have a really good ground too (FULLY metal cold water pipe,etc).

Thank goodness you had the wisdom to (initially) LOSE the razor blade in favor of a diode.Razors are fun to play with AFTER the radio is proven working with a diode.

K