OK, a confession: it is a long time since I last listened with a shortwave crystal set.
One thing is certain: at the right time it is possible to hear true worldwide DX, and not via relays.
These days there are fewer English language SW broadcasters and it is much tougher. We are also in a period of declining solar activity, so fewer HF bands are open and these stay open for less time. Nonetheless, crystal sets are easy to make and require no power. DXing with crystal sets is a fun activity.
One of my many planned projects is a multi-band crystal set capable of covering from VLF to VHF. It may never get made, but this would be fun.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset .
how do you avoid broadcast band interference? I live in a fairly large city with multiple MW BC stations within a few miles. Is your location more rural?
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KF7JAF
Dave, I have not had this issue here, but traps at the offending MW frequencies should work. By this I mean series resonant tuned circuits (high Q) in the low impedance part i.e. across the antenna winding. Not tried it, but this should give you 20-40dB attenuation of the offending MW broadcasters. My QTH is semi-rural - a village of about 6000 people some 10 miles from Cambridge.
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