NORTH WEST MECCANO GUILD


Clicking on many of the pictures enlarges them and provides extra information. The models are usually attributed to the builder.

The Guild is always interested in preventing good Meccano going to waste. If you have any Meccano to re-cycle, please contact the Secretary or a member at one of our events.

Click  “Exhibitions” for a calendar of our events. Or “Event Details” for information about individual ones.

Click “North West” for information about Meccano on display and  Meccano related locations in the North West of England.


In the early 1920s many manufactures produced kits for making simple crystal radio receiving sets which could pick up the programmes transmitted  by the infant broadcasting companies. Meccano Ltd. Was among them producing kits which included standard Meccano parts and introducing some which were later incorporated into the main system. These sets were very simple, consisting of a tuned inductor- capacitor circuit, a pair of headphones and the critical crystal and cat’s whisker combination. The later rectified the incoming  amplitude modulated signal so that so that audio sound could be heard in the headphones.

Very long aerials were needed, often stretched to a post  or mast half way down the back garden.

    These kits have not entirely disappeared. The Web-Master has a couple of post-war ones at home. These use ready made crystal-cat’s whisker combinations, called signal diodes.

Brian  has made a replica using current Meccano parts and home-made replicas of the non-standard components.

It is the 1922 version.

The fibre plates used in the original sets have been replaced by Electrokit Insulated Plates.

Les. Nightingale Jr. Took the pictures at the 2018 Guild AGM.

 The first page of the American Instruction Leaflet can be found at:

http://nzmeccano.com/image-43379

followed by the other 3 pages. Both the inductance and capacitance had to the altered to tune the set.


The Complete Set, minus aerial and earth.

In the centre are the hinged Inductance Discs

The Variable Capacitor. Similar devices are still in use.

The Crystal (originally a “Meccalite” one), part no. 410, and the Detector Arm, part no. 409, holding the cat’s whisker. Very careful adjustment was needed to get an audible signal.

The Headphones

Originally, one one earpiece was supplied.

The Terminals for the headphones

Brian Harper’s Replica Meccano  Crystal Radio Set.