Crystal radio logo

Crystal Radio

About Crystal Radio


The App


crystal radio logo

Our aim is to produce the most simple to use and intuitive radio player. It is design and optimized to run on any device and screen size.

The radio you picked can play on the device you are in front but you can also use a different equipment to play or to control the player. If you are not in front of the computer connected to the speakers, you will find on your phone the exact same controls over the remote player. Simple.

What is a Crystal Radio?


galena crystal viewGalena crystal
Cat whisker in a galena detectorCat whisker in a galena detector
Arrow Germanium Crystal RadioArrow Germanium Crystal Radio 1970's toy
Crystal radio diagramBasic crystal radio diagram

Crystal Radio or Crystal Set refers to a century old minimalist passive AM radio receiver setup. Crystal stands for Galena crystal, which is a mineral sulfide mostly composed of metals, mainly lead, but also silver. This crystal is the first semiconductor substance ever discovered and used.

In nowadays, if you want to give it a try, you would rather use an off-the-shelf diode, rather than doing your own with a hard to find crystal and a "cat's whisker", which despite not involving any pet, still requires some care. But the contemporary setup is still dubbed crystal radio.

Whether it be a crystal or a diode, this component is named the detector with the role of extracting the audible sound waves from the higher frequency carrier radio waves

Crystal radio is the most simple radio receiver one can build with as few as 6 components and no other power than the one of the radio emitter. It matches our project, the most simple radio receiver!