• 15 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Radio

A portable AM/FM radio from the front, then from the back with the cover off.

Parts of a Radio

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Telescopic antenna
  2. Carrying handle
  3. Speaker
  4. Dial scale
  5. Dial pointer
  6. Tuning indicator
  7. Band switch
  8. Tuning knob
  9. Volume knob
  10. Headphone jack
  11. Ferrite bar antenna
  12. Circuit board
  13. Tuning capacitor
  14. Dial cord
  15. Battery compartment

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a walkie-talkie

All 15 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Front 10

  1. Telescopic antenna It pulls out for FM and slides back into itself.
  2. Carrying handle You lift and carry the radio by it.
  3. Speaker It turns the radio's electrical signal into sound.
  4. Dial scale Its rows of marks stand for station frequencies, one row a band.
  5. Dial pointer It slides along the scale to show the station tuned in.
  6. Tuning indicator A light that comes on when a station is tuned in.
  7. Band switch It chooses the band: AM or FM.
  8. Tuning knob Turn it to pick a station.
  9. Volume knob Turn it to make the sound louder or quieter.
  10. Headphone jack Headphones plug in here. The speaker then goes quiet.

Inside 5

  1. Ferrite bar antenna The AM antenna. Turn the whole radio to aim it.
  2. Circuit board It holds the electronic parts and joins them with copper tracks.
  3. Tuning capacitor The tuning knob turns it to set the frequency received.
  4. Dial cord It pulls the pointer along as the tuning knob turns.
  5. Battery compartment The batteries that power the radio sit here.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. Makers' guides and service manuals read as full text on the Internet Archive, each maker counted once: (1) https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-46819 and https://archive.org/details/manual_CRF320_SM_SONY_EN , one maker (telescopic antenna, tuning dial, tune indicator that lights when a station is tuned in, FM/AM switch, headphones jack that mutes the speakers, built-in ferrite bar antenna for AM, battery compartment; dial scale, dial pointer, dial cord, circuit board, carrying handle); (2) https://archive.org/details/manual_RF516_PANASONIC and https://archive.org/details/manual_RXC38_SM_PANASONIC_EN , one maker (telescopic antenna, tuning knob, dial pointer, dial scale, dial cord and dial drum, tuning capacitor whose shaft sits in the dial drum, band selector switch, volume control, ferrite antenna coil, earphone jack, battery cover, main circuit board); (3) https://archive.org/details/central-manuals-player_brigmton_BT-340-ES-EN.pdf (volume knob, earphone jack, telescopic antenna, frequency dial scale, speaker, FM/AM band switch, battery compartment, tuning knob, internal ferrite bar as the AM antenna); (4) https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7433423 (telescopic antenna for FM, ferrite bar antenna for AM, band switch, tuning knob, volume knob, carrying handle, battery compartment, earphone jack); (5) https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-372542 (tuning LED, band selector, volume control, earphone jack, battery compartment, built-in ferrite antenna for AM); (6) https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6749600 (FM telescopic antenna stretched to its full length and turned, tuning knob, volume knob). (7) Wikipedia, text only: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_receiver (antenna, tuning knob and tuned circuit, dial, amplifier, speaker), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuner_(radio) (tuning by variable capacitors), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_antenna (the ferrite loopstick antenna, a wire wound on a ferrite core, used for AM in portable radios), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor_radio (tuning capacitor, speaker) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed_circuit_board (copper traces joining the parts). No maker is named in the copy or drawn. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a radio, shown on a portable AM/FM set. The front has the antenna, the dial and the knobs. With the back cover off you can see the AM antenna, the circuit board and the batteries.

Read the full guide

Front first

Numbers 1 to 10 are outside: the telescopic antenna and the carrying handle on top, the speaker, the dial scale with its pointer and the tuning indicator, the band switch, the tuning knob, the volume knob and the headphone jack.

Then the inside

Numbers 11 to 15 are behind the back cover: the ferrite bar antenna, the circuit board, the tuning capacitor, the dial cord and the battery compartment. Turning the tuning knob turns the tuning capacitor, which sets the frequency the radio picks up. The dial cord pulls the pointer along the scale at the same time.

  • For FM, pull the telescopic antenna out to its full length, then turn it until the station is clearest.
  • For AM, turn the whole radio until the station is clearest. The AM antenna is a bar inside the case.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a radio?

An antenna picks up the signal, a tuner picks out one station, an amplifier makes the signal stronger and a speaker turns it into sound. On the outside you work it with the tuning knob, the band switch and the volume knob.

Why does a radio have two antennas?

The telescopic antenna on top is for FM. AM uses a ferrite bar antenna hidden inside the case: a coil of wire wound on a rod of ferrite.

What does the band switch on a radio do?

It chooses which band the radio tunes across, AM or FM. Each band has its own row of marks on the dial scale.

What happens when you plug headphones into a radio?

The sound goes to the headphones and the speaker goes quiet. Unplug them and the speaker comes back on.

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