Vectronics VEC-121K, Manual

VEC-121K Owner's Manual 

Crystal Radio Set Kit 

4 

!

  Tighten the screw until snug, this will make a good electrical connection 

between the Fahnstock clip and wire. 

When finished following the directions, “check off” that the step has been done. 

"

  Tighten the screw until snug, this will make a good electrical connection 

between the Fahnstock clip and wire. 

Don’t rush! 

Have you ever noticed that when you try to rush doing something, it never turns 
out right?  Don’t try to build the crystal set receiver in one day!  The time spent 
building a kit is most of the fun.  We will be “breaking down” the kit assembly 
into several phases.  For example, the first phase is preparing the “breadboard”.  
The next kit phase involves winding the coil. 

Working with wire: 

Unspooling:

 Your kit includes a 100-foot roll of 18 AWG enamel-coated wire.  

This wire is used to wind the tuning coil, for your receiver’s antenna, and is also 
to be used for making connections between the radio components.  Do not 
remove the wire tie from the roll of wire until you are ready to use it.  There is a 
right and wrong way to remove wire from the spool!  Never allow the wire to 
uncoil, like a Slinky

TM

 toy!  Doing so will cause the wire to twist and make kinks 

when you try to use it.  Instead, hold the spool of wire in both hands, and 
carefully unroll the wire from the spool.  Re-tape the unused portion when 
finished. 

Removing insulation:

  Electrical connections are made by removing the 

insulation from the enamel wire. When you need to make an electrical 
connection, you will be instructed to remove the wire insulation.  We will tell 
you where the insulation should be removed, and how much to remove.  This can 
be done by using a small piece of 150 grit sandpaper.  Fold the sandpaper in half 
so the “sandy” sides face together.  Place the wire into the sandpaper fold, and 
slide the sandpaper back-and-forth over the wire while applying a gentle 
pressure.  Turn the sandpaper every so often to fully remove all of the insulation.  
Gently scraping the insulation with a small penknife will also work.  Lay the wire 
on a piece of scrap board, and draw the knife blade over the insulation to scrape 
it away.  

Always scrape in a direction away from your body! 

All of the insulation must be removed to make a good electrical connection.  The 
bare area of the copper wire should be bright and shiny when you are finished. 

Making connections:  

The directions will tell you to make one of two types of connections:  

“End”

connections or 

“through”

 connections.