please help looking for Galena/Pyrite crystals/germanium

[telluric42]

hi all

looking at making a crystal detector and looking for a supplier in Australia. not sure the going prices so that would be helpful too.

PS- i read somewhere you can make galena crystals by melting lead and sulphur......anyone try that b4!!!

thanks

[jadaro2600]

hi all

looking at making a crystal detector and looking for a supplier in Australia. not sure the going prices so that would be helpful too.

PS- i read somewhere you can make galena crystals by melting lead and sulphur......anyone try that b4!!!

thanks

Probably not safe, it would require extreme temperatures.  You could probably grow a crystal yourself - but then there's the chemistry.  What you're attempting could probably be done just as effectively with an oxide based point contact.

I haven't been very successful with this, but apparently a point-contact diode is more like a tunnel diode than a normal diode.

[scotty1]

If your in Oz go to Dick Smith.
I ordered 50 diodes for my tests but they didn't want to give them to me because it was only $25 bucks or so.
With a bit of persistence I finally got the order.

I tried to melt Sulphur and Lead but the material I ended up with was no good.
Of the things I have tried, the store bought doides work best, but a Germanium rock also works well.
If you can't get diodes I could send you a few no probs.
Here is my setup running a wall clock. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQT01-OA89k
Cheers.
Scotty.

[telluric42]

thanks all and you too scotty that is very generous of you. i wanted to go back to first principal detectors but if that is too hard i will use diodes.i'm downloading your video as i type sound like somethin out of the evil genious book

dick smith has really gone down hill over the years i get my stuff from jaycar nowadays and the internet too.

i'll keep u posted on my progress.

thanks