What Is The Crystal Radio Initiative?

The Crystal Radio Initiative is an engineering challenge set by Eric Dollard on the Energetic Forum. The goal is to build a Tesla Resonant Transformer to receive the signal from a commercial AM radio station through the earth, and to perfect the receiver and grounding system to the point of drawing significant power. The challenge is to power a small incandescent light bulb, progressing up to 100 Watts!

Here is Eric’s original post:

“A global contest, who will be the first HAM radio operator to disprove Einstein? Will it be you? Here is how the contest works. We learn how to make a “Crystal Set”, just as everybody should. It is a “Rite of Passage”. A crystal set is an A.M. radio that uses no battery, the magnification factor of its tank circuit powers the radio. Hence it can be seen that the A.M. broadcast station’s transmitted energy is powering the crystal set, JUST AS TESLA ENVISIONED. Wow Mr. Wizard that is fantastic. Let’s start today.”
Eric Dollard

If you would like to participate or start experimenting, more information and support can be found on the official discussion board on Energetic Forum.

Eric has also made a whiteboard presentation explaining the technical details. It includes a description of how an AM transmitter works, how a crystal radio works, and how all this is related to Tesla’s wireless transmission. He also introduces the equations for calculating the design of your own coil and walks through the design process of two coils. There’s a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes of video! Also included in the package is a 303 page book in PDF format which consists of a compilation of all the forum posts, information, discussion, experiments and diagrams relating to the Crystal Radio Initiative for your convenience. Be sure to check it out on the official Crystal Radio Initiative forum discussion.

Crystal Radio Initiative video presentation & e-book

Watch this video to get a better understanding of how energy is transmitted and received through the earth:

The Crystal Radio Initiative Calculator

The Crystal Radio Initiative Calculator is designed to make designing your own Tesla Resonant Transformer as easy as possible. Enter your desired frequency and it will give you your coil dimensions. Check out the Advanced Calculator now, or get started with the Free Calculator. You can also read How To Use The Crystal Radio Initiative Calculator for a brief introduction on how to use it.