germanium diode

Have been struggling to get a simple crystal radio set working. I found a good site that seemed to describe it rather well (http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/radio.html). I ripped an ear piece out of an old phone. It seems to work when either wire is tapped on the ends of a battery. Richard and I put up a sixty foot loop of baling wire in the creaky uninsulated attic and I put the radio together closely following the directions. And of course it isn't working. I looked at the package I got the diode out of and it says "silicon" and I looked at the directions and they say "germanium". So the hunt for a germanium diode began. I called on the usual suspects first, Circuit city and Radioshack. The people I got on the line were nice but had not even heard of a germanium diode (I am not making that up). There are plenty of go-to sources on line but after order minimums and shipping, the one diode I want was going to have effectively cost me twenty bucks. I called all the electrical supply companies listed in the yellow pages and none of them carry components like that. Finally the last guy I called told me to try Sodaro's. They are not listed in the yellow pages but are in the white pages. I called and asked the fellow for what I needed. He put me the receiver down and I could hear him conversing with someone and I could tell they were figuring out how the part I requested (1N34A) translated into Zenith and other manufacturers. He picked the phone back up and told me he did not have that exact type but had a germanium diode that was close to what I wanted and he would put it up at the front counter for me. Thinking this might be the last extant germanium diode in the state I headed out there on my lunch break. The place was hard to find because of the lack of a store front. Sodaro's is just a windowless white warehouse with a door and an address number beside it. Inside there is a customer lobby the size of my cubicle. But they had the diode and were very helpful. The older gentleman who I guess owns the place went back and found a few more for me. He opened a pack of alligator clips and charged me per piece instead of making me buy a whole ten pack. The place had this groovy star-wars chop shop feel to it. One of the many items hanging in there dusty plastic bag was an Atari converter. I think maybe it has been there since I was a pup. They rang me up and all the parts cost just over five bucks (plus the gas to get over there I guess). It was a good deal and one of the diodes actually has "1N34A" printed on it so hopefully I can get this radio working.