Projects In Metal

One-Tube Regenerative Receiver

I built this One Tube Regen Receiver from a article that was originally published in "Radio News" magazine from the early 1920's. The original article described how to build it using a bread-boarded type construction.

Of course, I could not live with that, and I decided to use a old model T coil box that I had lying around in my shop. I mounted the type 30 tube that I sourced on the Internet on the top of the housing along with the spiderweb-coils that I cut fron fiber sheet and wound with magnet wire.

The Regen Receiver is beautiful in its simplicity. I used a type 30 tube, because of the fact that it has a filament drain of only .06 of a amp, making it easy on the "A" battery which is a 1 1/2 volt "D" cell. For the "B" battery, I use three 9 volt batteries connected in series, giving 27 volts that is sufficient to operate the receiver.

The batteries are housed in the box that resides on the right side in my photo that includes a knife switch for turning on the power to the receiver

The headphones required to operate the receiver are high impedence magnetic headphones in the form of a set of "1920 Brandes" originals. Operating this receiver in a darkened room with the tube filament glowing while listening through the Brandes is wonderful, and it takes you back to a time when the Regen Receiver was King.

Expand the photo for a closer look.......