More radio stuff

[Industrial Toys]

I had a simple Chryco AM/FM radio. No cassette or anything. That thing had a really HOT AM receiver.

A company called C Crane (sp?) apparently makes such radios.

 

[Oaktree]

For AM generally a long wire works if oriented properly. (like spread your arms facing the station)

Yes and no. If you're using it as a dipole (ie downlead is tapped from the center of the longwire) you are correct. If you take the feed from the end of the wire, it's most sensitive along the length of the wire, and quite effectively nulls from the sides.
Many years ago I had 2 longwire AM antennas, 90º to one another with a switch going to my receiver. In many instances there'd be a completely different station when I'd switch from one antenna to the other.

 

[k0ua]

Here is my reciever.... It transmits too from 1.8 to 54 Mhz.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

As I remember from my childhood crystal radios, a long wire works well for an AM antenna, and you need a ground on the other end of the coil to get the best signal. Modern radios have all sorts more amplification, but the signal still makes the difference.

Crystal Radio Circuits