Gillette "Blue Blades" as a crystal radio detector!

[Skysoldier]

When I was a kid, my Dad showed me how to build a Crystal Radio using a Gillette "Blue Blade" as the detector. (This was back in 1958, when I was 10 years old.)

He told me that a lot of guy's from his unit, (the 100th Bomb Group) were shot down over Germany and spent the war in POW camps. And they made crystal radios in the POW camps using Gillette razor blades that they got from the Red Cross packages.

I don't know if this is true or not, but my Dad told me that the War Department helped Gillette develop the "Blue Blade" with a special coating that could be used for this purpose.....just to provide the POW's in Germany with a detctor to build Crystal Radios so they could receive news of how the war was progressing, and give them hope.

If you Google "Fox Hole Radios", you get a lot of neat information on this subject.

If this is really true, I would think that Gillette deserves some fantastic recognition for their contribution the war effort in WWII!

But so far, I have Googled the hell out of it...(Who would have thought that "Google" would end up a verb!)......but I can't find anything from Gillette that confirms this!

I am just rambling here, but if this is true, I would think Gillette would have some information on this...........I would really like to know if this is true or not!

 

[44marty]

That is wicked cool, Skysoldier.

If this is really true, I would think that Gillette deserves some fantastic recognition for their contribution the war effort in WWII!
Amen

 

[Skysoldier]

If I had the time and the means of transportation, I would show up at the Gillette factory and research this more.

Hell, I would even give up my Shick and convert to Gillette!

 

[KBCraig]

Bluing, just like gun bluing, is a form of controlled oxidation that puts a thin layer down to prevent further rust. This layor of oxidation, combined with carbon or graphite, provided the necessary detection. A rusty razor blade worked as well.

 

[Skysoldier]

Bluing, just like gun bluing, is a form of controlled oxidation that puts a thin layer down to prevent further rust. This layor of oxidation, combined with carbon or graphite, provided the necessary detection. A rusty razor blade worked as well.

So.....does that mean a gun can be used as a detector? I always thought the detector needed to be a semiconductor.

I think it would be cool to use a firearm to build a crystal radio!

 

[Lauria]

That's really interesting- I find lots of stuff online that specifically mention Gillette's blue blades as the best razor to use in making the radios, but I also can't find anything about Gillette purposely bluing the blades to help POWs.

That is so cool. I could not build a radio using razor blades and a pencil, even having the instructions in front of me on my computer.

 

[Skysoldier]

That's really interesting- I find lots of stuff online that specifically mention Gillette's blue blades as the best razor to use in making the radios, but I also can't find anything about Gillette purposely bluing the blades to help POWs.

That is so cool. I could not build a radio using razor blades and a pencil, even having the instructions in front of me on my computer.

If you want to try it again, I have a small chunk of Galena from Pecos, New Mexico......it works great and you are welcome to it if you want to try again!

 

[yanici]

I thought the "Blue" blades came out after the War. I could be wrong though. I remember the brown ones and during the late 50's the blue ones got advertised.

That is amazing stuff about building a radio with razor blade parts.

 

[richc]

Something similar... there was a hacker years ago named Captain Crunch. He was so named because he discovered that a whistle that shipped with a box of Captain Crunch cereal emitted the exact tone required to manipulate telephone company switches, allowing him to make calls worldwide for free. The so-called 2600hz signal. He went to jail for his transgressions where organized crime members hurt him to learn his secrets. He's a genius.

His story is fascinating. I met him once. He was a long haired hippy freak and completely nuts. He's a friend of a friend.

 

[rattletrap1970]

Hey Skysoldier, go to the Mythbuster's website and put that in as a suggestion. I'd love to see them pull that off.

 

[yanici]

I found a pic on a Google search. This is called a foxhole radio.

 

[Lucas McCain]

I always thought the detector needed to be a semiconductor.

The blade and the lead form a semiconductor. Basically it's a point contact diode created by the oxide layer and the dissimilar metal (graphite, lead, galena, etc.) The blade just forms a substrate for the oxide layer and the sharp edge is the point contact.

 

[Skysoldier]

The blade and the lead form a semiconductor.

I am a EE!....I should have known that.

I always used a chunk of Galena and a bent safety pin

 

[Skysoldier]

Hey Skysoldier, go to the Mythbuster's website and put that in as a suggestion. I'd love to see them pull that off.

Excellent idea.......

 

[rattletrap1970]

I'd still like to see it on Mythbusters.

 

[Exousia]

Wow, a blast from the past. I remember making a fox hole radio in the later 50s and falling asleep many a night under the covers with my headset on. I don't remember using a Gillette blue blade, however. I thought it was a standard blade. My safety pin had an eraser around it so I could adjust it without disturbing the signal.

 

[daveyburt]

What is that item on the forward side of the blade with a coil wrapped around it?

cool stuff

I found a pic on a Google search. This is called a foxhole radio.

 

[Lucas McCain]

What is that item on the forward side of the blade with a coil wrapped around it?

cool stuff

That is a piece of pencil lead (graphite) I am assuming that the coil of wire wrapped around it is just for a good connection to it.

 

[Skysoldier]

And Fahnestock Clips......I'm surprised they still make them!

I wish I could find a set of old, high-impedance, Military Headphones.

Anybody have a set lying around in a junk box and want to trade?

 

[daveyburt]

That is a piece of pencil lead (graphite) I am assuming that the coil of wire wrapped around it is just for a good connection to it.

Thanks - that's what it looked like but, I've never seen one of these contraptions before.

 

[MisterHappy]

Better watch that.....I'm guessing that Tech like this, with no "real world" application ( I mean, everyone has an iPod now, right?) would get you in hot water were you to be found in a public place....

Never got around to the razor-and-graphite xtal radio....maybe with the kids.....

I made an xtal radio out of some kit: diode, coil of wire around a paper tube, all on a cardboard base....so cool that it worked without a power supply, just what it sucked out of the aether!

Thanks for the blast from the past.

 

[C-pher]

damn, I haven't been in this Topic for awhile...and look what I miss? This is a damn cool thread...

 

[bfm]

I remember making crystal radio sets using a razor blade as a kid. Problem now is finding carbon steel blades. I have heard differing stories of success with stainless blades.

 

[C-pher]

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/carbon-steel-razor-blade.html

http://www.canemco.com/catalog/specprep/Razor_blades.htm#(Carbon_Steel)

Also, I'm not sure how close to the Feather Blades I use for shaving....but Feather makes some nutty blades...like if you're new to wet shaving, don't get them for a few years.
http://www.canemco.com/catalog/specprep/Razor_blades.htm#Double_Edge


These...
http://www.leesrazors.com/products/Feather-Razor-Blades-(10-Blades).html

Sorry for the thread hijack.

 

[Gadsden]

Looks like one is for sale on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Gillette-Blue-Blade-Crystal-Radio-Detector-/310165438366

 

[appraiser]

When I was little, mid 1960's my Dad got me a crystal diode radio kit from Radio Shack. Maybe that was the impetus for me becoming a FCC licensed Broadcast Engineer at age 14, and a Chief Engineer at a non com FM at age 17.

As long as they don't kill AM (even though the IBOC has makes DX'ing a lost art) we'll still be able to do this

 

[Executive]

http://yourmathstutor.blogspot.com/2007/08/prisoner-of-war-radio.html

Cool history science experiment.

Chris

 

[cockpitbob]

Looks like one is for sale on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Gillette-Blue-Blade-Crystal-Radio-Detector-/310165438366

That's a really nice eBay add with the schematic and directions. +1 to the seller. However, in it he says something odd. He makes it sound like it's the lettering that acts like a diode, not the blued areas. "..move the pencil lead over the lettering..." and "Use the side of the blade that has the diamond emblem or the side with the most lettering."

So, is it the blued surface or the white surface that forms a diode with the pencil lead? If I weren't so busy I'd get out my ohm meter, a pencil and try it on a blued gun. If that worked I'd try it on something I've cold-blued with Berchwood Casey cold bluing.

 

[Skysoldier]

Maybe we should make a crystal radio with a gun! Now that would be novel!

 

[teasea]

KB1FET

Quote By Sky Soldier,
[If this is really true, I would think that Gillette deserves some fantastic recognition for their contribution the war effort in WWII!
But so far, I have Googled the hell out of it...(Who would have thought that "Google" would end up a verb!)......but I can't find anything from Gillette that confirms this! I am just rambling here, but if this is true, I would think Gillette would have some information on this...........I would really like to know if this is true or not![/QUOTE]

Reply By tea sea
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