home made AM radio theremin

OK so this is a theremin made with three AM radios. How it works, in brief:

Radio 1 (aka. the receiver) is tuned to about 1500, with the speaker on. this is the only radio making any audible sound. (in this video, the receiver is visible on the right side, with the antenna sticking up out of the frame.)

Radio 2 (aka. the static transmitter) is tuned to about 1045 on the dial, which makes it TRANSMIT a radio wave at around 1500. (this is because of the oscillator in the tuner.) (the static transmitter is not visible in this video, but it's sitting right behind the receiver just out of frame.)

Radio 3 (aka. the variable transmitter) has an antenna hooked up to its oscillator, which allows a person to change the speed of the oscillator by moving around the antenna. Radio 3 is tuned to a frequency VERY NEAR that of Radio 2. (it appears higher on the dial because the addition of the antenna has lowered the tuning.) The two very-near frequencies create a beat frequency or combination tone or heterodyne or whatever you want to call it, which is much lower, in the audible range. The beat frequency is what gets translated into sound, that you hear. Altering the speed of the oscillator in Radio 3 (by moving your hand around the antenna) changes the beat frequency between the two oscillators (because Radio 2's transmission is static,) which changes the pitch. (the variable transmitter in this video is, you guessed it, the one that looks like (is) the corpse of a toy car.)

What's extra neat about this is that it's pretty much how the (pitch antenna of the) first theremin worked, as well as like a moog theremin you would go out and buy right now! even the volume antenna works on the same principles with like some circuits or something.

super huge ups and much love to fellow youtuber eltunene, whose video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYPUhPGavQ was where i learned how to do this. much love to all you all too.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• theremin
• homemade
• radio
• am
• homemade theremin
• build a theremin
• theremin build
• build
• make a theremin
• make
• theremin make

[DWoroner]

ahhh, finally a wiz who speaks english. very cool and thorough explanation, the best one ive found. i dont even cafe about the hippy outfit ;-) peace dude !!!

[a3886]

@DWoroner C: thanks!

[eltunene]

Excellent! Your explanation of operation is also very good! Congratulations!