Please do check these out.

My first crystal radio
http://nandustips.blogspot.in/2011/02/my-first-crystal-radio.html

Foxhole Radio Detector Variants
https://nandustips.blogspot.com/2013/05/foxhole-radio-detector-variant.html

Series-tuning for a Crystal Radio
http://nandustips.blogspot.in/2014/04/series-tuned-circuit-for-crystal-radio.html

Regards,
Nandu.

 

My first was a Cats Whisker version, lump of Galena that had to be 'tickled' with the whisker.
Max.

 

I heard from a podcast (Soldersmoke) where a piece of Fools Gold (Iron Pyrite) performed better than Galena. I finally got a piece, so it will be my foray into the whisker radio I will make sometime in the future. A diode (1N34 performs even better, but its not the purist design...

 

the razor blade should be a "blue blade" type, preferably a little rusty. there are several comparisons of different minerals used in detectors, as well as different type of detector diode materials on line. for instance a shotkey diode with a little bias works well, and a slightly corroded piece of galvanised tin works well too.,

 

it has been years since I have seen a "blue blade" in a store, a posable source is behind bathroom medacine chest/mirrors, the kind with the slot to dispose of razor blades in.
have you tried anything with negative resistance? there were several projects on a site I used to go to, now locked out at work for me, something like "spark, buzz, bang" or something like that.

 

so much Nostalgia! I have sold quite a few TA7642 AM Radio ICs.

Are there still AM radio stations?

 

try a copper wire and an iron wire in contact and heated, they will have more output than two copper wires.

 

There is a website called sci-toys.com that will be sure to have some interesting reads for ultra-simple radio circuits that work pretty good. I make a batteryless receiver that has been rocking steady for over a year now. Not bad at all.