7 Transistor AM Radio Kit

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Most all FM sets old enough to be knob tuned ARE superhetrodyne type receivers only with a different detector circuit.

The AM/FM kit above is based on this IC http://kearman.com/images/YD9088.pdf

I suppose if you look at the data sheet, it does work by the same principal as a conventional superhetrodyne, i.e. Rf --> IF --> Detector --> Audio, but it's a super crappy radio on a chip integrated circuit with poor online reviews performance wise, minimal external components, and very little user adjustment/optimization

I picked the AM set because the conventional discrete superhet design looks a little more likely to perform well than the crappy all in one IC solution. Plus building it take longer and be a little more fun.

Originally Posted by Electronic M

If you want a good radio for air travel, and foreign lands look for a good AM-FM-LW-SW portable...Something Like a Sony (some will also tune the Japanese FM band), Grunding, Sangune (spelling), etc. The better SW portables tend to be real good on AM, and some countries have extra bands, or different frequencies for their bands so the more versatile the radio the more you can hear.

Agreed, I have a digital tuned sony ICF-XXXX (I don't remember the model off hand), which is just fantastic for said purpose, and even sounds great with stereo FM and my Grado SR-60 headphones. But sometimes when I travel I like to avoid taking anything I have any sort of attachment to, and for some reason I am always a little more curious about what's happening on medium wave, than FM.