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Crystal Set & NO. 4200 2A Detector

The Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company never produced or marketed a complete, factory-assembled crystal radio set under an official "Model" number like their later tube radios. However, the company actively supplied the massive do-it-yourself market with high-quality components, most notably the Type 2-A Double Crystal Detector No. 4200, introduced around 1922.

A functional, period-authentic Atwater Kent Crystal Set would therefore have been a homemade assembly, constructed by a hobbyist using the Type 2-A Detector combined with other Atwater Kent instruments, such as a Tuner (like the Type 11), an outdoor wire antenna, a ground, and sensitive, high-impedance headphones.

SCHEMATIC

A photo of the reportedly only known surviving factory-constructed Atwater Kent crystal set, a non-commercial receiver originally provided only to hospitals—and a close-up of its unique Type 2A crystal detector, sourced from an examination of a 1930s traveling exhibit.

For more information on the exhibit and the crystal set history, see the August 1989 issue of Antique Radio Classified (ARC), specifically the article titled 'Atwater Kent Crystal Sets - Part 1: Did Atwater Kent Manufacture a Crystal Set?' by Ralph Williams.

Photo courtesy of Jimmy Edington, Atwaterkentsrus

Original Type 2A (No. 4200) Detector Image(s) Courtesy of Grant Kornberg, Technogallerie

Reproduction Crystal Set - Image Courtesy of by Brian Weber

AK Crystal Set - Image Courtesy of John Jenkins | Visit the SparkMuseum!