The Ferrite Ferret
TRF AM receiver
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The Ferrite Ferret.
This is a great AM radio, built around a TA7642 AM radio chip.
Its name is a play on the "Ferrite Fox". (see below) |
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It's small and portable. If this web page were a
radio magazine from the
1930s it would say you can take it camping, or take it on your
bicycle. |
It ferrets out radio waves very well. It even
picked up the digital
camera when it came close (sounds like a whistling tea kettle).
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From the top. Doesn't look like much here but it works
very well. I can take it camping and on my bicycle. |
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View from the back.
The coil is the simplest part, but one of the most important parts of
the radio. This one is wound on a plastic cap from a highlighter.
Why not just wind it directly on the ferrite rod, and what's that little
white thing on the left side of the coil? Stay tuned.
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This project started with the building of a
Ferrite Fox. What is a Ferrite Fox?
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The Ferrite Fox, version #5 built by
"Night Flyer" of The Radio Board.
This is the most serious rendition of a TA7642 or MK484 based radio
I've found.Built on a printed circuit board
and mounted in a plastic enclosure, you can take it camping or on your
bicycle. |
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This kid in Popular Mechanics magazine has a Ferrite Ferret on
his bicycle! |
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Bare chassis. (If you want to call that a
chassis.) |
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For anyone interested in building a TA7642 or MK484
based radio, the next few pages
will show some of the building of this one, and a few tips on the
construction. |
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