Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio

News Flash!!!
The Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio and Mrfixitrick are now featured in a PC game called "Tesla".  Monsters and bats are battled, while helping Mrfixitrick find the seven parts of the Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio. Intriguing background music. From GODD Games at: www.goddgames.com/tesla.html

Have a look at the Crystal Quantum Radio devices of EJ Gold that helped inspire this instructable:  http://www.yoyodyneindustries.com/

"My first observations positively terrified me as there was present in them something mysterious, not to say supernatural, and I was alone in my laboratory at night"
- Nikola Tesla, 1901 article "Talking With The Planets" 

The Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio is more than just a crystal radio circuit in a jam-jar. It's a sound maker that plugs in to a computer, and makes awesome spooky sounds by responding to electromagnetic fields or light sources in real time.

Athough Tesla used different parts, this radio's basic L-C (Inductor-Capacitor) circuit uses a similar schematic to what Tesla experimented with in his early days. The versatile 1N34A crystal germanium diode used here, substitutes for the tricky rotating nickel detectors and sensitive relays, used by Tesla in the late 1800's. 

You can listen to AM broadcasts with this radio, but it was made to have fun with in other ways. (Besides, AM radio wasn't exactly what Nikola Tesla was interested in...in fact, he believed it was a waste of energy to transmit and receive Hertzian waves!) 

By using a program like Audio Hyjack Pro (Mac), the radio's output is tweaked at the computer to give some great real-time sound effects...and you can record them at the same time. 

In the following accompanying movies, I show how the Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio reacts to lightning, radio frequencies, the light spectrum, the computer screen, RF pulses, electromagnetic fields and more!





In the following video, the Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio is used to give voice to a Mac Hyperspace screensaver! The simple crystal circuit is apparently sensitive to the screen synchronization RF frequencies, and so it provides awesome background sounds...check it out:





The next movie shows "Spooky", the radio, beside a Dancing Ghost homopolar motor. The motor emits electromagnetic waves that are picked up by Spooky's antenna coils, and we hear the results translated through computer software in real time...spooky!!






Here's a movie of the action in the new PC game "Tesla", featuring the Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio;

Step 1 Parts List And Schematic Diagram

List of Materials

1- Small Jam Jar, (Mason Jar) with large mouth
1- 3 1/4 inch dia Plexiglas (or polycarbonate) cover lid, 1/8 inch thick
1- C1 - 60/160 pf Variable Capacitor (ComtrolAuto #VAR160-1)
1- Extension Shaft and Knob for above (ComtrolAuto #ExtKnob-1)
1- L1 -  680 uh Ferrite Loopstick Antenna (ComtrolAuto #LSA680-1)
1- D1 - Germanium 1N34A Diode (*Allied Stock#: 935-0301) $2.16 ea
1- C2 - .001uf Capacitor (marked 102) (*Allied Stock#: 507-0822) $.21 ea
1- R1 - 47k Resistor (*Allied Stock#: 296-6641) $.05 ea
1- Chassis Banana Jack Red - (*Allied Stock#: 528-0158) $.53 ea
1- Chassis Banana Jack Black - (*Allied Stock#: 528-0159) $.53 ea
2 - (or more for each antenna) Banana Plug (*Allied Stock#: 528-0302) $1.21
2 -3.5 mm Mono Chassis Jack (*Allied Stock#: 932-0260) $1.16
a few inches of 20 gauge hook-up wire
solder
1- Audio Patch Cord, 1/8 inch plug ends

Total Cost less than $30.

Note1: Most of the above crystal radio parts are available in kit #SC-Kit-1 from ComtrolAuto 
Note2:Complete crystal spirit radios that can be adapted are available from EJ Gold at YoyodyneIndustries. 

Note3: For Each Spiral Pancake Antenna,
6 feet of #14 gauge solid copper wire
Banana Plug

Note4: For the Football Style Antenna,
4 feet #10 gauge solid copper wire.
40 feet of #30 gauge coated magnet wire.
Heavy Paper
Scotch Tape
Hot Glue
SuperGlue
Banana Plug

Tools
Needlenose pliers
Wire Cutter
Soldering iron
Computer w/ Audio Hijack audio software (Mac), or equivalent

Crystal radio parts and kits available at http://comtrolauto.com/

Comments

[kmysterio]

hii dude..!!!!
this 1 s awesome...but can i know wat is the software u used..???

[mrfixitrick]

The software I used for Spooky is "Audio Hijack Pro" for Mac computers:
http://xhttp://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

If you have a PC, you can try "Audio Mulch" at
http://www.audiomulch.com/

[Stefhan Albayaty]

If i modified this design a little do you think i could use it as a Microphone for my Ham Radio,or my Spark Gap transmitter? I'm trying to make a cool looking nice microphone and instead of using a Morse code key in my spark gap transmitter replace it with a microphone so i can transmit voice instead of Morse code.

[mrfixitrick]

Although I have demonstrated the use of the Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio as a microphone,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oCI9XvFU_M I can't say my configuration would be the best choice for your application. It may work with the addition of a sounding board with larger magnetic coil...then you would be starting to duplicate a microphone.

Is there a circuit you have seen for converting Tesla coil output to music/voice ?

[redyellow]

Scott's electronics only sells 60/141pf variable capacitors now. What if any effect will this have on the radio? Thanks.

[hawhaw]

what voltage are the caps?

[electrowizard]

hmmm,now,how could you get this to work with a regular set of ear buds? It was kind of hard to tell if you are using a crystal or a vfo,which are you using,and I don't see why it could be that hard to get it to work with a regular set of ear buds,what exactly did the computer do? please explane.

[mrfixitrick]

The signal from the circuit is very weak and will not drive a set of regular earbuds. You must use crystal radio earphones, (which are high-impedance), or use an amplifier. Then you would be able to hear a scratchy local AM station...if you are lucky.

The Mac with Audio Hijack acts as both an amplifier, and as a pitch (frequency) changer in real time. This enables one to hear what would normally be static, for example, as enhanced sounds with deep texture and ambiance.

Signals we might not normally hear get amplified and "translated" by the software. This requires an extreme gain (volume) increase and a shift in frequency, otherwise the subtle sounds are lost.

[artemmishin]

I've built it per instructions. But, instead of "spooky" sounds I get strong broadcast of local radio channels.
I needed it for sound effects for a horror movie I'm working on.
Any suggestions what mods I can implement to achieve the "spooky" effects?
Thank you!

[mrfixitrick]

You are on the right track by being able to receive stations.There are two things that come to mind to get spookier sounds from your radio... 

First, are you using the Audio Hijack Pro software for Mac OSX, or Audio Mulch for PC?  Audio Hijack works really well to alter sounds. The AUPitch control is one easy way of doing that. Even a strong broadcast can be made alien-sounding.
-My custom patch for Audio Hijack is here: https://files.me.com/mrfixitrick/6axuh4
-My patch for Audio Mulch is here: https://files.me.com/mrfixitrick/0f04x2

Second, the radio you have made happens to be overwhelmed by strong local stations. You need to be able to tune BETWEEN stations if possible. When you turn the variable capacitor do you hear only strong stations? Is there any place on the dial where there is not a station?
-You can try adding or removing a few coils from the 10-coil winding that goes over the induction coil. 
-If necessary, you can "re-tune" the radio to to other frequencies by using an antenna induction coil that has taps for different frequencies.
-A variable capacitor with more range will help too.

Some effects are done by resonance with the induction coil, such as running a drill close to it will produce a sound. Some effects are done with light played on the diode. The antenna is less necessary in those cases, and so it could be shorted with a piece of wire to ground, which should stop the reception of local stations. Or, try removing the antenna altogether for those type of effects!

[artemmishin]

Thank you so much mrfixitrick!
I will try all the suggestions and report back!

PS Trying to use both Mac and PC.
PS 1 These links don't work anymore, by the way:
-My custom patch for Audio Hijack is here: https://files.me.com/mrfixitrick/6axuh4
-My patch for Audio Mulch is here: https://files.me.com/mrfixitrick/0f04x2

[mrfixitrick]

Ok, for some reason those patch files did not stick. Instead, you can select Go/iDisk/ Other User's Public Folder, user "mrfixitrick", and find the patch files, or this link: https://public.me.com/mrfixitrick

[electrowizard]

ok, sounds like if I could somehow make it work with earbuds I need volume and a vfo, ok

[electrowizard]

Now,are you using a crystal for the jam jar then on your computer changing the frequency? all I really want to do with it is hear lightning like in your vid,if the computer is doing what I think it is doing,that could be accomplished with a simple synthesizer,yes?

[mrfixitrick]

You can hear lightning in an AM radio, if that is what you want. Hook up the radio to your synth, and then amplify and modify the sounds.

Otherwise, to get the sounds that I got, you need to try what I suggest with the crystal circuit and a computer. A PC computer with the program AudioMulch can also be used, but it doesn't work so well as a Mac and Audio Hijack.

[nerd7473]

this is so cool i want one

[electrowizard]

you say that you changed the sound with the computer,what dose it sound like without any of that?

[mrfixitrick]

Without the computer, if you are able to hear it at all, you will get static sounds and maybe a feeble local radio station.

[alcurb]

I was going to look at your parts source: http://comtrolauto.com/ but the web site is no longer active. It's a dead link. Can you mention other sources for the var cap and ferrite antenna?

[mrfixitrick]

Try the following and let me know if it works. If not, just search E-bay for "crystal radio" to find parts and kits.

For my browser, http://comtrolauto.com does an automatic referral to Scott's electronic page here:  http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/index1/index.html

[alcurb]

Thanks for the other source. From there I ordered the diodes and a substitute for the variable cap. I ordered the Dual 266/266pf Variable Capacitor. I figure that with the substitution I can explore lower frequencies. I also ordered their ferrite antenna coil which is 680 uH but it has a 470 uH tap. Can I use the tap instead of the 10-turn external hand-winding? In your project you wrapped it 10 times with a thicker gauge wire while the tap is 20 wraps of the fine-gauge.

[doesdeer]

My living room subwoofer some times picks up the local am radio station despite there being no input, that is, from the receiver's output. I have yet to be able to predict lightning from it.

[JuCo]

i stepped on my guitar cable that was coiled up on the floor once (at the time, i was using a really cheap cable with no shielding) and all of a sudden i started hearing a korean woman's phone conversation coming out of my amp. she was probably using a cordless phone,

the weird part was that it didn't sound like the mother of the korean family that lives next door, so i don't know how far off the the signal came from.

[imagigadgets]

A friend of mine had a chair attachment with speakers, and if you plugged the speakers into the adapter included halfway, it would bring in some radio station through the speakers... not sure which, though.

[mrfixitrick]

Apparently, some peoples teeth do the same thing!

[mazoo]

Just not sure of how to wire up the "football' antenna start ,ends,loops etc
please advise?

[mrfixitrick]

I'm not sure how to "properly" wire the football coil either!

There seems to be three basic styles...

1.) Wind the coil starting from one end and right through to the other end, all one piece of wire. that will give a connection point at each end of the coil.

2.) Wire one end clockwise and the other anti-clockwise, join them in the middle.

3.) Same as 2 above, but don't join the wires in the middle.

The original Tesla football coil used high voltage to activate it, so the purpose here as a crystal radio antenna is different...therefor, there's certainly room for improvisation.

Besides, by experimenting, you may come up with something interesting that has been overlooked!

[mazoo]

Thanks very much. I will certainly give it my best shot!
all the best!

[mazoo]

10 gauge wire is impossible to find in my area...<2.59mm>for pancake ant.
can I use 2,5mm or 2,65mm also the wire is coated...also unable to get uncoated!
14 guage I am able to get 1.6 mm only
much appreciated!

[mrfixitrick]

The wire you have should work ok. I stripped my household wire of its plastic coating.

[ninja_joey]

Any advice on how to process for the pancake antenna? My team and I have a bit of difficulty doing them!

[mrfixitrick]

I hand-wound the first pancake antenna without a form...but it was not easy or perfect.

Then I made a form using 2 of 4 inch diameter round pieces of clear 1/4 inch polycarbonate plate. Drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the middle where I inserted a bolt, with nut and washers.

Bolt the two halves of the form together with the bolt after beginning to wind on TWO pieces of stripped 14 gage wire about 5 to 6 feet long.

Leave a gap between the two plates equal to the exact wire thickness, and then wind the two wires around the bolt simultaneously. When finished winding, you are left with two intertwining perfect coils that can be removed after separating the plastic plates.

Hope that helps!

[ninja_joey]

Yes. It does.

Would you happen to have any images that show the plates you used to coll the pancake antennas?

Thanks!

[mrfixitrick]

Here are some pics of the pancake antenna/coil winder form I made:

[mrfixitrick]

The two wires go through the two holes first, then the plates are bolted together.

Two wires are used, as one is the spacer for the other. Then two antennas can be removed from the form when finished winding and then separated.

Or they can be wound in a Bi-filar way, and then remain together.
 
The completed antenna or coil can either be left in the form, or set loose.

[doesdeer]

Do you know if Tesla had run across what is known as a "whistler" in today's world?

[mrfixitrick]

"Whistlers" result from lightning travelling along the Earth's magnetic field lines. I'm sure Tesla was listening to whistlers in his Colorado Springs experimental receivers. Listening to lightning was one of his main activities there.

[freyes4]

have you a tutorial in spanish? i can't translate every word :C i need build this radio ps: sorry my english is very bad

[ndeclares war]

Hey, si tienes paciencia yo lo puedo traducir, ya que tengo todas las ganas de hacerlo!!

Hey, i can translate it for i would eventually going to make this instructable!

=D

Do you agree? The only thing i crave for is patience.

[freyes4]

Gracias Thanks, tengo paciencia, te esperaré