Sometimes electronic components can be broken by overcurrent if blocks are wrongly combined during an experiment or a block is inserted while the switch is on. The easiest blocks to break are the two types of transistors and two types of diodes. If an experiment suddenly stops working, damage to these blocks could be the cause. To find out if a block is broken, we recommend that you build the circuits of experiment No. 138, Diode Tester, and experiment No. 139, Transistor Tester.

For this sort of experiment, it is generally heavily influenced by the quality of the radio waves where the experiment is run. However, you may be able to hear better, by doing the following. Try one of these solutions.

1) Wind the antenna wire around a power cable or phone line
This is a commonly used method. Wind the provided enamel wire several dozen times around a power cable or phone line. File down one end of the enamel wire with the provided sandpaper, and wind it around the tip of the antenna wire provided with the electric blocks. A long power cable or phone line that extends outdoors will serve as the antenna. It is most effective if you wind the wire as tightly and neatly as you can, but also be aware that cable can be damaged by forceful winding.

2) Install a simple outdoor antenna
Even if it is not possible to put up a real outdoor antenna, you can get results by hanging an antenna wire from the roof or a second-story window of a single-family home. Long, vertical antenna wires are better at picking up radio waves.
If you live in an apartment or condo, you can hang a weighted antenna wire from a stairway. If long, it can be quite effective, but be sure not to disturb your neighbors.

3) Running experiments on the evening of a sunny day
The condition of radio waves can vary minute to minute. The evening of a day that has been sunny is basically a good time to experiment. Try to do your experiments with diode detector radios on days like these. With diode detector radio, you will suddenly hear the broadcast once the signal exceeds a certain level, so even if you do not hear sound at first, keep working patiently, trying various different things.

4) Look for a place with a strong field
Use a field intensity meter (experiment No. 145) to look for the place with the strongest electrical field and try again there. The tuning coil inside the electric blocks is called a bar antenna, which is actually a very strong type of antenna.

5) Ground the unit
Grounding allows you to pick up more radio waves. In apartments, you can use a ground pin near the outlet for a refrigerator, washing machine or air-conditioner. Be sure to remove the ground after you are done with your experiment.

No, you cannot. The electronic components are different; they are not compatible.