Step by Step - Radio Kits

The Step by Step was a series of construction kits that started with a simple crystal receiver without any transistor and ended with a radio in a nice metal box with loudspeaker.

The slogan on the box was: A man's job, a boy's hobby".

This "Step by Step" series, and many other kits, were made by the Dutch company "AMROH" that stands for "AMerican RAdio House". The kits were sold from about 1960 to 1965.

Special on these kits was that a small soldering iron was included in the kit. It hat to be heated on a small candle that also was supplied.

Overview

There were four basic kits and three extension boxes. You could start with kit 1, 2 or 3 and then upgrade to the next kit, until you had kit 4, the final version with loudspeaker.

Step 1

This is the first step. This is a crystal diode receiver with earphone and suitable to receive local radio stations. The photo shows the paper box with the earphone. The schematic diagram can be found on the right column.

Step 2

This is basically the same as Kit 1, but now there is a transistor amplifier. In the photo column is a photo of the parts of this kit. On the right side of that photo is the small candle for the soldering iron heating.

Step 3

This is a Medium wave receiver with germanium diode detector and a two-stage transistor amplifier. The amplifier gives an improved receiving with more radio stations. It uses still the earphone.

Step 4

This final kit is a Medium Wave transistor receiver with loudspeaker. It is supplied with a blue metal box and the loudspeaker. For that time, the sound was surprisingly good and very loud.

The diagram below shows the schematic of the "Step by Step" radio 4. The speaker is a special type with impedance of 150 Ohm. This makes it possible to have a good output power with a small current. It eliminates also the need for an output transformer.

More Amroh Information

More information about the Dutch company Amroh and about the "Step by Step" kits can be found on : bakeenei

Do it yourself

Just buy all the parts, put them together and it works...
No, normally not. Even the smallest project can be a lot of work and frustrations.

A simple way to make something is to buy a kit at electronickits.com. Please note that all links open in same window.

1. CK300 - One Chip AM Radio Kit
2. More Electronic Kits

Schematic Diagram

The diagram below shows the final kit 4. The batteries are two 4.5 volt types, the type with the flat connection strips.

At the right you can see the first page of the Step by Step manual. Click on it to download the PDF file (600k).