Free powered radios and Crosman pellet pistols

Kind of an odd combination, yes? While I was on one of my trips to the Arizona desert I had plenty of time to think and reminisce. One thing that I thought should be mentioned is crystal radios. I used to build these starting in the early 60's when I was a kid and now there is a lot of information on them as well as some folks who make kits as well as finished radios. Some of these radios are quite advanced, complex circuits and and have astounding capabilities. The great thing is they don't use any electricity. Not even batteries. You drive a rod into the ground for the circuit ground and throw up a 10 to 100 foot long wire antenna. Nothing complicated. Most circuits are for regular broadcast (AM) and some will pick up both AM and shortwave (SW) frequencies. During daylight hours the local and high power stations will be the only stations you hear. After the sun sets its a whole different ball game. The bands open up and with the right antenna you can literally hear the world. Kids built these things by the thousands so it ain't rocket science. I built my first one when I was 10. My newest is a model from Peebles Originals http://peeblesoriginals.com/index.php There are other dealers out there but Mike has quality products and reliable circuits so the beginner isn't disappointed. He has kits from easy to advanced so theres something for everyone. My radio is the AM/SW PO 101. I'll be uploading a lot of material including schematics and building instructions at my Scribd page.
Now, pellet guns. The first decent pellet gun I owned was a Crosman 1377 I picked up in 1983. It was the old model with the sliding cover breech. It was a tack driver and unlike a lot of folks I never used BB's in it so the barrel was still in great shape. I lost it somewhere along the way to the present. I either sold it or gave it away. Recently I saw the new model "1377c" at Wally Werld for all of $54. I bought one. I saw on line where guys were modifying the heck out of these and making them into hotrod Crosman's. I bit. First off, a shoulder stock from Airguns of Arizona. Next a fist full of parts from Charlie Mellon. These were a flat top valve, flat top piston, long probe bolt in stainless steel, and a solid pin to replace the roll pin that connects the pump handle to the pump arm. Finally, a solid steel receiver to replace the plastic receiver originally furnished on the 1377. Its amazing what folks do to this gun! I've seen where they put .22 barrels, .177 & .22 barrels of various lengths, custom grips, custom stocks, custom triggers, you name it. It can become rather expensive. So far I think I have a total of $122.80 in custom parts not including shipping. Was it worth it? YES!!! Now I have a high powered, quiet small game/varmint getter. I put my Swift scope on top and now its extremely accurate and registers at 770 fps with 15 pumps. Amazing. When it was stock it shot at 490 fps at 10 pumps. Here's a list of folks I did business with for the parts:
Pyramid Air http://www.pyramydair.com/
Charlie Mellon  http://www.mellonair.com/
Airguns of Arizona http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/
Crosman Airguns http://www.crosman.com/airguns/

Here are some photos:

Heres a shot of the gun. What a beauty!

 This shows the Crosman steel breech. I like the bolt handle that came with the bolt in the Crosman steel breech kit so I put it on the long probe bolt I bought from Charlie Mellon.


Any questions? Email me or leave a comment.
Take care everyone!